Cat whisker material

[DanielB89]

I have always made my own silencers from wool yarn and I am looking into buying some bulk cat whisker s silencer material. Through my searching, I found a few different types and need some advice from more seasoned people than myself.  They have silicone, rubber, regular, fine, etc. I am wondering exactly which one of these I am looking for.

Thank you for your help.

[Greg Dearth]

This thought comes from a little research that I have done. It looks like the rubber skirts that are used for fishing lures should work well. They come in a variety of colors. You can also select a fine or medium skirting . I would think the fine skirting would work for string silencers.

[Tim Finley]

I bought a roll of the fine rubber from a fishing lure co. I don't remember which one but it works great and you can make hundreds of silencers from a roll. You could also buy smaller pieces about 4 feet long . They had many different colors.
   I don't remember the name of the company but they sold lure material to fishermen that build their own tackle .

[Jerry Jeffer]

Greg's idea sounds good, or you could just buy a bundle of wool yard at a craft store. Both inexpensive and can be bought in bulk.

[TGbow]

Originally posted by Tim Finley:
I bought a roll of the fine rubber from a fishing lure co. I don't remember which one but it works great and you can make hundreds of silencers from a roll. You could also buy smaller pieces about 4 feet long . They had many different colors.
   I don't remember the name of the company but they sold lure material to fishermen that build their own tackle .

I buy the skirting from Jan's Net Craft, it wlll last a long time.

[LBR]

I use the regular round rubber.

Keep in mind the biggest mistake folks make with rubber silencers is leaving them too long.  Too long and they will tangle and/or make their own noise.  All you need is a small, tight ball.  Tied on around the string is best, but it may take a little practice.

[TGbow]

Daniel, I sent you a pm

[tippit]

I use round silicone rubber by Raineys...fly tying stuff in large diameter.  The round silicone rubber stays separated/flared verses the flat rubber which want to tangle.  It's very tough and only need 7-8 strands just tied on the string...tippit

   

[Bladepeek]

I usually use wool, but I've also bought the rubber skirting from lure companies. Very inexpensive and they work well for me. What I like to do is use twice as much of it, but trimmed very short so I get a compact, round ball instead of the long strings.

[JRY309]

I bought some from a fishing lure company,it was like $1.67 for a 5 ft. piece.I bought a couple of different colors that will last me for a long time with about 30 ft. of material.

[Jim Picarelli]

Originally posted by JRY309:
I bought some from a fishing lure company,it was like $1.67 for a 5 ft. piece.I bought a couple of different colors that will last me for a long time with about 30 ft. of material.

I just bought three roll from them...Three 5 1/2 ft rolls for for $10 and change shipped

[TGbow]

Buying the bulk really saves money. I haven't bought cat packaged whiskers in years.

[DanielB89]

Thank you for all the replies guys.

So it seems everyone ties them on? No one puts them between the strands? Anyone have any preference? I have always put wool silencers between the strands, see like it would do better that way, thinking logically.

[DennyK]

I use the round rubber. I've had them on my bows since January and show no signs of wear. Check out Ryan's techique for tying them on on YouTube-works great.(Tying On Catwhiskers) Good Luck!

[LBR]

Tying them on looks better, and more importantly they are adjustable when tied on around the string.  Silencers can be tuned just like brace height, and they have a spot where they will work best.

[Jerry Jeffer]

Yes, put wool between strands.

[stagetek]

Janns Netcraft sells quite a few different colors of round rubberbug legs. I've used them on all my bows for years.

[TX FLY CASTER]

Janns Netcraft has a good supply of skirt material for spinnerbats. Also Hareline Dubbing carries the same materials for fly tying.

[Hopewell Tom]

S2 Bowstrings, Ryan Sanapei from Hawaii has a video on putting cat whiskers on. I can't find it in the How To Resources, but it's here somewhere...
Like the others say keep them short. Ryan cuts the pieces 1 1/4" long and ties them on. They are very neat little balls.
Another thread on material listed lurecraft.com/catalog.cfm/living - rubber as a source. I haven't checked it out, but will now.
I need some material myself.

[Charlie Lamb]

Jan's Netcraft is a good source. I like to tie a small bunch of the whiskers... lay them on the string like rolling a cigarette then tie in the center very tightly to make them "puff". Then I slide a small bunch of yarn on either side between strands of the string. Push the yarn up tight to the rubber and go huntin'. Best of both worlds.