I am wanting to do a feather inlay on a wood handle.I plan on using Amazon parrot feathers as the customer is a parrot nut.Do the feathers need to be prepped in any way ie washing.I will be sticking the feathers to the handle with cp.What would be the best finish to use?I usually finish my handles with Tru oil,but would probably need to use something different over the feathers.Can I use regular wrap finish on wood?Should I do the entire handle?Any advice will be greatly appreciated.Alittle bit off topic but just want to say what a great help this site has been to me.Hats off to Tom Kirkman for doing such a great job!

There's a lot of ways you could do this. Some people use epoxy thread finish on their wood handles. You may or may not like that look, but you will need some depth to cover those feathers.

I'll toss out this method - lay the feathers on the handle where you want them to reside and trace around them with a soft lead pencil. Now carve out a "relief" area just deep enough to to allow the feathers to reside there without protruding above the handle surface. Set them in place and preserve/seal and then cover with epoxy. After that has set up, finish the remainder of the handle with your Tru-Oil. This puts the feathers down into the actual handle and really sets them off.

.............

Tom's got a good idea there. I used to put shinny coats of clear on my handles. Then after useing several found it to be too slippery where my hand touched the clear. Now i just wipe a very thin coat on. It gives it a better grip and is not slippery
Experiment with some scrap to see what feels better

I do inlays on reel seats. I usually cut a slight depression with a gouge and a parting tool. Then wrap the depression with thread to give backround to the feather. Inlay the feather fill the depression with epoxy, sand and epoxy the handle. If you don't like the gloss, wet sand and use polishing compound or rotten stone to ge the finish you like.