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oldsoftail

another beginner needs advice.

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I would like some advice on vice selection. I fish the norhtern streems of new jersey for trout and would like to start tying this winter. My question is vice selection , I have looked at the Griffin osyssey cam lock cith c clamp , and the regal medallion pedestal. theres a big price differance between them both, and I know there are less expensiv ones out there , I don't have an permenate worke station , and will be doing some tying on the road. As a newbe should I go for the better or stay low priced, my plans are to be tying long term.

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You say you're planning to tie long term...buy the best you can afford. A good vise will pay for itself in it's first year of use.

 

Me, I like a pedestal, and I'm a very heavy-handed muskie fly tier, and a heavy pedestal like on my Barracuda is plenty stable. Some guys like C clamps, and that's cool. I tie 100% at home in my fly room, so I don't give much consideration to tying on the road, but you can put a pedestal on the hood of your truck, your dash board, a rock, your tail gate, the ground, whatever. A C clamp takes a table or shelf to put it on. Maybe a tree branch, but c'mon...really?

 

That's my take on it.

 

Welcome to the site.

 

Jeff

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I tie strictly at home, so clamp (which I use) or pedistal doesn't come into the picture. Like anything else, you mostly get what you pay for. Stay away from the "knock-offs" made in ?? and stick to the known names.

You can get a pretty nice vise that will last you many years at a reasonable price if you do some shopping around. If you are just starting, I wouldn't spend much over $150 for a vise. Most vises in that bracket will last you for a few years. If you find you really don't like tying, you haven't sold the house to finance it. If you like it, go from there. That's part of the fun. It also has to do with your personal preference and needs. You pretty much know what your needs are, but you'll just have to use a vise to figure out if you really like it or not.

Hope that helps.

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For the money, its pretty hard to beat the Griffin vises. Check the web site http://www.griffinenterprisesinc.com/vises.html for a look at other models. The Superior has a pedistal option, and is also a rotational vise. The Montana Pro kit includes all the basic tools, and comes with a pedistal, for less than $130.00. Its NOT a rotating vise, but that may not be a feature you will need. Griffins are some of the best vises out there in their price range.

 

No, I am not affiliated in any way, but I have tied on them, and sold them in the past. Never had a complaint.

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Personally, I like a C clamp. I carry a small but heavy wood cutting board, for tying on the road, even in the seat of the car. I have been using Dynaking vises for over 15 years in my 40 years of tying. My favorite, a Dynaking Pro, has tied, thousands of flies. They have shown me great customer service, and I have never had anything break in them. I also recommend, like KodiakSalmon that buying the best you can afford is great advice. You'll be happier and it will last longer. It also depends a little on what you plan on tying, i know you spoke of trout, but if you plan on salt water flies, or big streamers make sure you go with a heavy pedestal or a clamp and strong jaws. Dynaking is on the upper price side.

 

When I did tying classes at a local shop here, they had Regal vises for the students, I did not like their hook holding capabilities, or the position of the material spring, it is too far away from the hook when you need it. For me that lends itself to material waste, since you need to cut a longer piece of floss etc. to reach the spring. A vise that has rotary capabilities is very nice for viewing your bugs from all sides, and for tying nymph legs in, you can turn the jaws +/- 90° to tie them in on top of the hook. I think Griffin makes a quality product, and while I have not tied with one, the material spring on the rotary models looks bulky. I use my material spring, which I purchased at an Ace hardware store in two ways. One when using it to hold the floss or hackle etc., I like to attach it in the spring on the side of the vise vs. right on top. It won't smash the tail of the fly and stays farther out of your way. Two, I use the hooked end of the spring as a bobbin holder too. I just use the hook to hold the side bar of the bobbin.

 

The one thing on rotary vises that bugs me, in the V part of the shaft that holds the jaws. When tying in very small tails on small hooks, the back of the V part gets in the way of my left hand. I think the Griffin odyssey would bug me in that respect.

 

Last, HMH does make a great vise, in the mid price range. A little more expensive than what you are looking at currently.

 

Good luck with the search, Cheers Futzer.

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I ,like you do not live near a fly shop. Choosing a vise online is not a good way to go.

I traveled 3 hrs to a fly shop to pick my current vise. I chose the Apex Anvil. It is a very simple ,sturdy

vise that has an array of functions including rotory. The jaws can be set at any angle to accomidate any

tying style. I like using the pedestal. It is rock solid but also allows you the freedom of quickly moving the vise. The price is about $ 100 . And in my opinion is the best vise there is. But I would suggest you put your hands on as many vises you can before you buy. If not at a fly shop, at a tying event. Be patient, this is a decission that will effect the quality of the time you spend at the tying bench.

Fred

 

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On the Subject of C-Clamp, and pedestal. When traveling I attach my Clamp to a Shelf in my Tackle Box,which also carry's my travel tying materials.Pedestal would be alright if you always had a fairly even surface to tie on. But I like the security of the clamp, because I wrap my materials really tight,and the portability of having a "bench in a Box" Really help's when your in an area that you cant get your vehicle into.

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One question to ask yourself is are you SURE that you're only going to be fishing the streams of NJ? I'm still a beginner - been fly fishing for 3 1/2 years, tying for 3.

 

The reason I ask that question is that when I took up fishing, I was ONLY going to fish for mountain trout in the Smokies. That meant flies between size 16 and 12 only. The simple truth is that pretty much any vise will do for size 12, 14, and 16. However, within a couple months I had discovered tailwater fishing, which expanded the sizes to 18, 20, and 22. At this point, I bought a vise, a pretty good one. That vise was great for these sizes.

 

Then I got an opportunity to go Steelhead and Salmon fishing in the great lakes. That expanded me up to 10's, 8's, and 6's. Also some light saltwater in size 6. Then this summer I got to try tailwater striper fishing. Now I'm tying on saltwater 4's, 2's, and 1/0's. And while my vise still works OK, I feel like I'm struggling a bit in the larger sizes, so I'm looking into a different vise.

 

3 years, and I've gone from 16 - 12 up to 22's - 1/0. That's the beauty of this hobby - once you can tie one fly you can tie the next. Preparation for a new type of fishing can be almost as much fun as the fishing itself.

 

Of the vises you mentioned, I'd nod towards the Regal. Nothing against Griffin - I tied on a 2A for a bit - but I think the Regal is a dandy vise. I'd also look at the HMH, Renzetti Traveler, and Dyna-King Trekker if I could. Don't get hung up on the fact that one vise "comes with" more bells and whistles - there are plenty of folks who have gone down the full-rotary path only to wind up back on a high quality, simple vise like the HMH.

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You say you're planning to tie long term...buy the best you can afford. A good vise will pay for itself in it's first year of use.

 

Me, I like a pedestal, and I'm a very heavy-handed muskie fly tier, and a heavy pedestal like on my Barracuda is plenty stable. Some guys like C clamps, and that's cool. I tie 100% at home in my fly room, so I don't give much consideration to tying on the road, but you can put a pedestal on the hood of your truck, your dash board, a rock, your tail gate, the ground, whatever. A C clamp takes a table or shelf to put it on. Maybe a tree branch, but c'mon...really?

 

That's my take on it.

 

Welcome to the site.

 

Jeff

thanks Jeff,

Your right , a good vice will be the best bet in the long run, I have to do some hands on to see what i feel comfortable with, and also my price range

thanks again for the welcome

jerry

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I tie strictly at home, so clamp (which I use) or pedistal doesn't come into the picture. Like anything else, you mostly get what you pay for. Stay away from the "knock-offs" made in ?? and stick to the known names.

You can get a pretty nice vise that will last you many years at a reasonable price if you do some shopping around. If you are just starting, I wouldn't spend much over $150 for a vise. Most vises in that bracket will last you for a few years. If you find you really don't like tying, you haven't sold the house to finance it. If you like it, go from there. That's part of the fun. It also has to do with your personal preference and needs. You pretty much know what your needs are, but you'll just have to use a vise to figure out if you really like it or not.

Hope that helps.

thanks chase for the 150 guideline its right around my budget, I just have to see a few up close to see what i feel comfortable with.

thanks again

jerry

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For the money, its pretty hard to beat the Griffin vises. Check the web site http://www.griffinenterprisesinc.com/vises.html for a look at other models. The Superior has a pedistal option, and is also a rotational vise. The Montana Pro kit includes all the basic tools, and comes with a pedistal, for less than $130.00. Its NOT a rotating vise, but that may not be a feature you will need. Griffins are some of the best vises out there in their price range.

 

No, I am not affiliated in any way, but I have tied on them, and sold them in the past. Never had a complaint.

Thanks for that web site. Going to check it out , and that 130 is in my ballpark.

thanks again

jerry

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Personally, I like a C clamp. I carry a small but heavy wood cutting board, for tying on the road, even in the seat of the car. I have been using Dynaking vises for over 15 years in my 40 years of tying. My favorite, a Dynaking Pro, has tied, thousands of flies. They have shown me great customer service, and I have never had anything break in them. I also recommend, like KodiakSalmon that buying the best you can afford is great advice. You'll be happier and it will last longer. It also depends a little on what you plan on tying, i know you spoke of trout, but if you plan on salt water flies, or big streamers make sure you go with a heavy pedestal or a clamp and strong jaws. Dynaking is on the upper price side.

 

When I did tying classes at a local shop here, they had Regal vises for the students, I did not like their hook holding capabilities, or the position of the material spring, it is too far away from the hook when you need it. For me that lends itself to material waste, since you need to cut a longer piece of floss etc. to reach the spring. A vise that has rotary capabilities is very nice for viewing your bugs from all sides, and for tying nymph legs in, you can turn the jaws +/- 90° to tie them in on top of the hook. I think Griffin makes a quality product, and while I have not tied with one, the material spring on the rotary models looks bulky. I use my material spring, which I purchased at an Ace hardware store in two ways. One when using it to hold the floss or hackle etc., I like to attach it in the spring on the side of the vise vs. right on top. It won't smash the tail of the fly and stays farther out of your way. Two, I use the hooked end of the spring as a bobbin holder too. I just use the hook to hold the side bar of the bobbin.

 

The one thing on rotary vises that bugs me, in the V part of the shaft that holds the jaws. When tying in very small tails on small hooks, the back of the V part gets in the way of my left hand. I think the Griffin odyssey would bug me in that respect.

 

Last, HMH does make a great vise, in the mid price range. A little more expensive than what you are looking at currently.

 

Good luck with the search, Cheers Futzer.

Right now I think I have to really get hands on before I can make any kind of decision . I see now that there is a few things i have to consider before bying . thanks for the info.

jerry

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I ,like you do not live near a fly shop. Choosing a vise online is not a good way to go.

I traveled 3 hrs to a fly shop to pick my current vise. I chose the Apex Anvil. It is a very simple ,sturdy

vise that has an array of functions including rotory. The jaws can be set at any angle to accomidate any

tying style. I like using the pedestal. It is rock solid but also allows you the freedom of quickly moving the vise. The price is about $ 100 . And in my opinion is the best vise there is. But I would suggest you put your hands on as many vises you can before you buy. If not at a fly shop, at a tying event. Be patient, this is a decission that will effect the quality of the time you spend at the tying bench.

Fred

Thanks Fred.

I can see that your right ,Ill have to take a road trip to check out the choices for myself, there is so much to consider, especially what i feel will worke for me.

thanks again.

jerry

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On the Subject of C-Clamp, and pedestal. When traveling I attach my Clamp to a Shelf in my Tackle Box,which also carry's my travel tying materials.Pedestal would be alright if you always had a fairly even surface to tie on. But I like the security of the clamp, because I wrap my materials really tight,and the portability of having a "bench in a Box" Really help's when your in an area that you cant get your vehicle into.

Great ideas twist, that gives me somthing to think about . I like the shelf in the tackle box.

thanks again

jerry

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I have used and highly recommend the Renzetti Traveler C Clamp vise. It is rotary, will last forever, tie a wide range of hook sizes, affordable, and is very portable. You can pick up a generic pedestal base and use it if you need a pedestal. When I tye on the road, most of the time I use the C clamp. I carry a minimal fly tying bench or clamp to a table or other flat surface.

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