Imitation Porky guard hair has recently been “invented” to respond to the dwindling supply and high cost of the real porcupine guard hair, especially the longer, most desired hair. This substitute is made of a synthetic fiber, colored and tapered at the tip and bottom end like real porky hair.

Besides cost, there are other advantages to using imitation porcupine hair:

• It all comes 9-3/4 inches long
• It doesn’t have to be cleaned or sorted
• To get the shorter lengths for the back of the roach, you simply trim it to the desired length.

Porky Roach Making Process

In general, the roach making process is still the same as described in our “The Making of a Porky Roach”, DVD. The change is that you now can always size the front of the roach’s hair length to 9 inches.

There are some differences in working with this material compared to genuine porky hair. The tips below address changes you may want to make in using this imitation porky guard hair vs. genuine hair for roach making.

How much hair is needed?

• Twice what you would allow for a porky roach made with genuine guard hair. This is because imitation porky hair fibers are heavier than genuine hair, it appears that you will need at least twice the weight of imitation hair than what you used in real hair.
• As more roach makers work with this material, we will get a better idea of what is needed for optimum results, but we would suggest buying an ounce more than twice the real hair weight. Having slightly more will allow you to plan a wider front half row than you would have before this much less expensive material became available.