How to Prepare & Dye Turkey Feathers for Arrows

Turkey feathers often make the best arrow fletchings.

The process of fletching is done to provide stability to arrows by adding materials to the end of them, most commonly feathers. According to archeryreport.com "Fletchings serve to steer the arrow into a straight flight by creating balanced forces around the shaft." Archery enthusiasts most commonly use turkey feathers for fletchings on arrows as they're smooth, sturdy and not that expensive. You can add them to homemade arrows and dye them yourself without difficulty and without hunting a turkey. Just ask a local butcher to save you a box of turkey wings around Thanksgiving or Christmas as use the feathers from that.

Things You'll Need

• Pen knife
• 2 oz. aniline dye: red, yellow or orange
• Microwave-safe container
• Microwave
• Spoon
• 1/2 tbsp. vinegar
• Newspaper

Instructions

1. Take a clean feather and pull it in half vertically, starting at the tip. Split the rib of the feather straight down the center. Use a pen knife to help you if the feather does not split evenly.

2. Shave the rib of the each piece of feather down to 1/32 inch using your pen knife.

3. Trim your feather so that it is 5 inches long in its entirety. Trim the feather so that there is 1/2-inch stem on either side. Ideally your feather should be an inch wide.

4. Pour 2 oz. of red, orange or yellow aniline dye in a microwave-safe container and mix 1/2 tbsp. vinegar in the solution. Stir the contents together with a spoon.

5. Heat it for approximately one minute in a microwave on a low-heat setting. Carefully stick your finger in the liquid. It should be hot but not unbearable.

6. Soak your trimmed feather pieces in the solution, for a few minutes, stirring them now and then. Lift them out with a pair of tweezers and lay them on a piece of newspaper to dry. When dry, you can attach them to the shaft of your arrows.

Tips & Warnings

• If you don't have a microwave, you can heat the dye solution in a pot over a stove.

• Red, yellow or orange are the best colors for arrows as their brightness makes it easy to find the arrows.

References

• Archery Report: Fletching
• Hunting Society: Arrow Making
• "Popular Science"; Arrow Making Simplified for Beginners; J.G. Pratt; August 1931