I  like to use whole uncut white feathers for the two hen feathers and one homemade cock feather. I found 7 good looking specimens (one is a spare). Next I split them to get rid of the side that I wont need.  Then I found the best section in the middle of the length and cut off the ends. These are longer than I need but I will trim them later. Because the split base is way to thick I need to thin them down. I use a belt sander with a fine grit belt because the bases are pretty soft. I finish them with a sanding block.   The thined feather is a lot less beefy.



Next I cut them to their finished length. 


The next step is to cut down the height a little so they fit in the fletching jig.



After fletching, I use a feather burner to give them their shape.