Goose Quill was a popular material for making fishing floats for many years and you can usually find a few vintage goose quill floats available to buy on eBay along with new, but traditionally made goose quill floats
by the handful of float makers who are still using traditional materials.
The simplest goose quill floats are made by stripping the feathers from the quill, attaching a ring to the base, or using the quill itself folded over to form a ring, and then painted at the top in a bright colour, usually orange or yellow, and finished with bands of black and white. It was also common to whip the body of the float to strengthen it, before sealing it with varnish.
A variant made by inserting one length of goose quill into another, known as double quill, produced a thicker shorter float that was stronger and could carry more shot.
Used for trotting the swim, the smaller thinner floats can be used in place of stick floats, while the larger and double built versions can take the place of big sticks, balsas and the smaller chubbers.
You are more likely to find goose quill floats offered in collections of vintage fishing floats
than singly, but traditionally built modern versions are often available in sets of different sizes.
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A CLASSIC HAND-CRAFTED, LANCASHIRE GOOSE QUILL FLOAT (ONE) £2.99 (0 Bid) Auction Ends: Wednesday Jun-19-2013 15:04:46 BST | Watch this Item |