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Keith M

Half hitch vs. whip finish

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Hey guys,

I have been finishing off my flies with what I thought was a whip finish, only to find out that they are half hitches (several of them). Is the half hitch sufficient or is the whip finish the way to go?

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Half hitches are fine. I always use head cement with them, though. A whip finish will give you a smoother head, and if you're tying for fishing and not show you shouldn't have to use cement on the head. Whip finishing may seem to be a bit confusing to learn, but once you get the idea, it's fast.

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A half hitch done by hand and the ties thrown with a whip finish tool are one and the same, all alf hitches; you just do one with your fingers and the other with an instrument. Half hitches are used to tie off many diferent types of thread or rope when wanting to end the wrap and hold something in place.

 

Ray

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Harold,

 

A half hitch done by hand and the ties thrown with a whip finish tool are one and the same, all alf hitches; you just do one with your fingers and the other with an instrument.

 

???

 

Am I understanding you correct that you are suggesting that half hitches and a whip finish are identical? If so, I respectfully have to disagree B)

 

Very different beasts.

 

Cheers,

Hans W

 

 

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Am I understanding you correct that you are suggesting that half hitches and a whip finish are identical? If so, I respectfully have to disagree B)

 

Very different beasts.

 

Hans,

 

Yes, its possible I may be wrong; I posted my impression in watching myself do both. What is the difference?

 

It appears to me that when using a whip finish tool, you are throwing half hitches time after time to stop the thread. You are doing the same thing with your fingers when tying off without the tool.

 

Ray

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Ray..

 

Sorry to disagree with you but half hitches and a whip finish are not the same. A half hitch is where the loop or "bight" of the thread is taken over the standing part of the thread (and in this case the hook shank) once and then tightened down. A whip finish can be performed by hand or with a tool and is actually a series of loops made over the thread and shank of the hook in succession and then drawn down by pulling on the tag end of the thread.

Half hitch is, well..half a hitch. Whip finish is basically like a nail knot like you'd use to attach leader to a fly line.

 

All in all, either is fine to use. I usually half hitch a couple times if it's a quick fishing pattern that I know is gonna get lost / mangled / destroyed. I whip finish when I want a smoother, larger head.

 

Hope this helps....Scotty :D

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Wow...that was quick! :blink:

 

Maybe we should all grab a drink and head to the chatroom for a knot tying discussion? :hyst: :drunk:

 

Cheers....Scotty

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I'm not a knot name expert, so it is possible you and I are talking about the exact same thing and I'm using the wrong terminology. I do the same thing (I think) with my fingers that I do with the whip finisher, so I guess I'm whip finishing both ways, and I thought the name for that tie was half hitches. I think my problem is terminology!

 

Ray

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1 loop around with right hand (assuming) and then pull thread tight with left hand =half hitch.

 

Multiple loops around and THEN pulling thread snug with left hand = whip finish.

 

They are very similar. I gained clarity when I learned to whip finish by hand. Before then I had either thrown a couple half hitches by hand or whip finished with my Matrelli(sp?) tool and the difference wasn't apparent to me. :dunno:

 

Cheers...

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What is the difference between single half hitch and a single turn whip finish?

 

A series of single turn whip finishes (where the tag end is pulled tight between each one) is the same as a series of half-hitches.

 

The typical "more than a single turn" whip finish is different than a series of half hitches.

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Nemoblackdog,

 

What is the difference between single half hitch and a single turn whip finish?

 

In this case, none. But then I would not term a single turn whip finish such B)

 

The whole point is that a series of half hitches is one knot per half hits, each trapping a single turn of thread. A whip finish traps the tag end under a series of thread turns.

 

Cheers,

Hans W

 

 

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Kinda like the difference between a bicycle and a one wheeled bicycle. It's not a bicycle, it's a unicylce.

A "single turn whip finish".....is a half hitch. :huh:

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A "single turn whip finish".....is a half hitch.

 

Exactly, and then when either another half hitch or whip finish is applied, you progress slightly on the thread, and apply exactly the same technique again, don't you, either another half hitch or whip finish which ends up being exactly the same thing.

 

I'm not being argumentative here; I have wondered about this and debated myself when trying to learn and understand whip finishing, both with the tool and by hand. In the end, I decided I was doing the same thing whether with an instrument or by hand. By hand, you are making one half hitch followed by another, and with the whip finish instrument, it appears to me you are doing exactly the same thing. You are not throwing multiple loops on one thread; you are throwing multiple half hitches because every time you do the process, the instrument twists, from one to the next, completing one half hitch after another.

 

I looked for good illustrations but really didn't find anything that would do, easily seen and understood. I'm just going to keep doing what I have been, whatever that is!

 

Ray

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Howard,

 

I'm not being argumentative here; I have wondered about this and debated myself when trying to learn and understand whip finishing, both with the tool and by hand. In the end, I decided I was doing the same thing whether with an instrument or by hand. By hand, you are making one half hitch followed by another, and with the whip finish instrument, it appears to me you are doing exactly the same thing. You are not throwing multiple loops on one thread; you are throwing multiple half hitches because every time you do the process, the instrument twists, from one to the next, completing one half hitch after another.

 

I do not think so.

 

Half-hitch = single thread turn knot

Multiple half-hitches = multiple single turn knots, where each knot traps a single thread turn

Whip finish = a number of thread turns, side by side preferably and wrapped towards the eye of the hook, with the tag end disappearing under all the thread turns

 

Seems pretty distinct to me B)

 

Cheers,

Hans W

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With a whip finish, the "tucked" thread if you will, only croses under the overlying wraps once, and never over. Therefore you can get a nice smoth knot. With multiple half hitches the working end tucks under the standing part of the thread, then has to cross back over ithe standing part to start the whole sequence again, outherwise all you would have is a coil, not a series of knots.

 

Edit, Yea what flytier posted while I was typing my post. LOL

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