Half Hitch vs Whip Finish

[FlaFly 0]

Getting in on this thread rather late, but even tho I have a whip finisher, I've never used it yet. If the tie-off is being done at the head of the hook, I use the business end of a ball-point pen. Make a loop around the pen, stick the end of the pen over the head of the hook, and slip the loop off the pen. Make several of these, and it's just as good as a series of half hitches.

[flytire 0]

^^ exactly kim ^^

 

who really cares if one method is faster than the other, whether you use a tool or your fingers, whether or not you half hitch or whip finish

 

just tie the damn knot whichever way you want.

[phg 0]

Just got back from shopping with Wife. Didn't have a chance to look up the single finger whip finish so, thank you flytire. I might never use it, but I am going to learn it just 'cause it looks like fun.

That is cool,...even obvious, once you've seen it done. I'll have to learn that one.

[JohnP 0]

^^ exactly kim ^^

 

who really cares if one method is faster than the other, whether you use a tool or your fingers, whether or not you half hitch or whip finish

 

just tie the damn knot whichever way you want.

Amen. As I am not a commercial tier, speed means little to me. I work in a deadline-driven business and have for almost 30 years. I tie for fun and relaxation, and already have more flies than I could ever use.

[SilverCreek 0]

I tie flies so I am a fanatic about the flies I do buy. The first thing I look at is the head of the fly. If it is not whip finished I will not buy it.

 

It tells me that the tier took the time to finished the fly "properly." I cannot exactly tell how the rest of the flies are tied but I can infer it by how well the head is tied off.

[starsky 0]

Once its varnished does it matter?

[flytire 0]

Once it's varnished how can you tell its even a whip finish?

 

X-ray eyes?

[williamhj 0]

Don't forget a drop of superglue on the tread, a few wraps and wait a few seconds before cutting the thread

[Sundance 0]

When I tied commercially we were required by the shop to use head cement. When tying for themselves, most professionals do not. With a good whip finish cement is unnecessary.

 

One shop in the Madison Valley in MT no longer does either. It is all super glue. Get the bottle with a brush in it. Works just fine.

[oldtrout58 0]

I learned to whip finish by hand in the 70s and still whip finish by hand whenever I misplace or forget to pack the Materelli - love the cool tool.

[JSzymczyk 0]

With a good whip finish cement is unnecessary.

 

Not true. Flies such as (for example) bucktails, streamers, or flies with a squirrel tail wing, have a relatively large diameter head. Even with a tight whip finish it is too easy to torque the head and loosen the thread if it is not secured with head cement of some kind.

 

What you say is only true for dry flies or nymphs which have a tie-off diameter which is not much larger than the hook wire, but not for any flies with a mass of material being held under the head.

 

I don't give a crap about what some shop in Montana does to save a penny.

[JohnP 0]

With a good whip finish cement is unnecessary.

 

Not true. Flies such as (for example) bucktails, streamers, or flies with a squirrel tail wing, have a relatively large diameter head. Even with a tight whip finish it is too easy to torque the head and loosen the thread if it is not secured with head cement of some kind.

 

What you say is only true for dry flies or nymphs which have a tie-off diameter which is not much larger than the hook wire, but not for any flies with a mass of material being held under the head.

 

I don't give a crap about what some shop in Montana does to save a penny.

 

 

Somebody's feeling cranky.