Australian Duster and Feather Superstore Ostrich Feather Grading Process
At the Australian Duster and Feather Superstore we spend countless hours ensuring every feather is graded accordingly before sending to our customers. This ensures that our customers are getting exactly what they pay for.
Feathers are selected that present as nice well formed feathers, basically complete whole feathers where the hurl is constant in the feather. There can be some minor imperfection in a feather under a 5% allowance, first grade feathers are not misshapen and have a good appearance.
A feather can be misshapen – some minor feather part missing and/or the hurl can be thin in some parts. Second grade feathers are used as good fillers in displays and where feathers may be trimmed for millinery or craft work/costumes – where first grade are not required.
Such feathers fail the test for first and second grade because they can be very thin as a result of over processing – badly misshapen – some major hurl part missing.
Used a lot in millinery for trimming and useful for fillers in displays and craft work.
Summary – buyers frequently order and mix all three grades together to minimise cost of purchase.