How do you go about researching a old topic

[osage1]

I am trying to find a topic on feather wearing out to soon.

Thanks

[Blackhawk]

You can do a "search" from here.  Just click on "search" (near the top center), type in "feather wear" in the box that comes up, scroll down to select "subject only" and then enter.

[osage1]

Blackhawk, Thanks for the information, it helps alot, for these old guys that came along before computers.

[TonyW]

Just for fun, I went off site and Googled "feather wear" and came up with this:

Ultraviolet radiation has been known to degrade keratin, a fibrous protein molecule that is the main structural material in feathers which results in feather wear. Birds wintering farther south, closer to the equator, potentially have a faster rate of feather degradation due to an increase in UVR intensity.

Never considered this, but it is a good reason to keep your fletches protected from direct sunlight. Kind of explains why some old fletches crumble, while some just as old are flexible.

[TonyW]

Then I found this:

Feather wear is really based on three factors.
1) Pigment (amount of melanin in the flight feathers)
2) Flying style and wing design
3) Migration strategy

In relating these to the pintail I would say this:

1) Pigment - amount of melanin - the more melanin (black) pigment there is, the stronger
the feather and the slower it wears. This is why most serious flyers that are pale in
colour all have black wing tips to increase the strength of the feathers. To further
complicate things, birds in the harsh tropical sun tend to suffer more bleaching of the
feathers. The reduced melanin can result in increased feather wear compared to a bird that
comes from temperate climates even in the same species.

2) Flying style - Each time a wing is flapped, the twisting and wear that happens in a
flight feather is far greater than when a bird glides. For this reason, an albatross that
spends its life on the wing has feathers that will last a few years between molts, but a
small bird that does not soar will have increased feather wear and will have to molt
annually. Also the higher the wing loading (grams per square centimeter) the wing has to
support, the more work it has to do and the faster it will wear. Again and Albatross has a
much lower wing loading (very large wing area compared to weight).

3) Migration techniques - some birds can fly very long distances coasting on prevailing
winds and thus reduce feather wear. Others that do not use these migration wind patterns
have to do all the work themselves and have more dramatic feather wear.

 Albatross feathers would be the way to go.

[Blackhawk]

How about penguins?  I am fresh out of my albatross feathers.  

[osage1]

TonyW, I have been using Raven arrow feathers for years, they get them from turkeys and are a ivory white in color.

I am having this problem with one bow more than another.

I think it may have something to do with the self, i have started turning the cock feather in, i am going to try that for awhile.

[TonyW]

Yeah, you are on the right track about looking at the shelf and the cock feather. (Also check the nocking position.) A lot of people use 4 fletches to avoid a cock feather.
I didn't mean to veer off your concern by googling, but the research about feather durability on birds got me thinking. Turkey feathers are the norm, but what about other birds?

Lon -
Penguin feathers would make great fletches for fishing arrows!

[osage1]

TonyW,  There is something about this feathers, i noticed today, when i tried a arrow with the same spline, but differnt type of feather, it didn't wear the bottom feather like it had been.

I shot a lower profile feather and got better flight, this feather had been dyed a color and the other feather, was a natural feather with out dye

I don't know if the dye has anything to do with it, but i am going to check it out.