Give you one more tip I have learned, probably took me too long (and much cussing) to figure this one, and betting most here did this from the start.

Start with the feather pieces near the thicker end of the vein. Pull off the stuff thats just fuzzy junk and pitch it. Work your way to the top thinner part. Starting at the top and working to the thicker end is hard to do, and will make ya mad!!! I gotta thick head so probably no one else here ever tried from the top down! lol