tools and materials quality

[glhop1 0]

I've been reading for a few days and everyone has great input, but I'm wondering if there are certain brands to avoid. Being on a budget, I don't want to buy some crap that I will end up leaving sitting around forever because it's not worth buying. I'm starting with nothing at all, so any pointers will be appreciated.. and yes I've searched and read a lot of threads, just throwing it out there before I order equipment to get started tying.

[mikechell 0]

Brands to avoid ... probably not. No one stays in business selling truly substandard stuff. But, I'd say, stay away from E-bay sales to start. You can end up with a whole batch of stuff you have no idea how to use.

Buy one of FlyTiersDungeon's box sets for a mass of synthetic materials. For VERY little money, you'll have a ton of material to play with. Figure out which kinds of flies you want and buy just what you need for those. Eventually, you'll probably have more stuff than you'll ever use. Some of the people on this site could open a shop of their own if they ever decide to clean out their storage.

[SilverCreek 0]

You can save money by buying private label hooks like Saber or Allen.

 

http://www.flyshack.com/DisplayCategory.aspx?CatID=640

 

http://www.allenflyfishing.com/fly-hooks-etc/

 

When using thread buy a non fused, non twisted thread that can be split for split thread dubbing. Start with a few colors like Black, White, Tan, Olive, Brown, Cream.

 

Call a taxidermist and see if they have some scrap fur like beaver, mink, muskrat, otter, that they can give you.

 

You can save money by buying a used top line vise on Ebay. I would recommend a real Renzetti Traveller and not the knock offs.

[tidewaterfly 0]

 

 

But, I'd say, stay away from E-bay sales to start.

 

I buy a good bit from Ebay sellers, but agree if Mike means used lots. Unless you know what you're buying, you can end up with junk.

 

IMO, if you buy tying tools from the popular/major brands, you'll be fine. There are off brands that are OK too for some tool types, but sorting that out can become confusing.

 

I've been using Griffin bobbins since they started making tying tools & have always liked them. Everyone has preferences for tools.

 

Other popular brands include DR. Slick, Materelli, Renzetti, and of course Orvis. There are others that I'm sure will be mentioned.

 

As far as tying materials, I've yet to find a brand to avoid, but some packs will be better than others, even from the same brand. Fact is a lot of shops have their own house labels, but are actually made for them by one or more of the major wholesale suppliers. I look for deals all the time, but again it goes back to knowing what you're buying. If you purchase from a good source, and there have been discussions here about that, you may sometimes pay a bit more or less than from other sources, but many times it balances in the end. I don't mind paying a bit more on some items, if it saves on shipping costs by buying from one supplier. It never hurts to take a little time to shop around & compare however.

 

Yeah, I'm one of those folks Mike mentioned, I keep a good supply!

[glhop1 0]

You can save money by buying private label hooks like Saber or Allen.

 

http://www.flyshack.com/DisplayCategory.aspx?CatID=640

 

http://www.allenflyfishing.com/fly-hooks-etc/

 

When using thread buy a non fused, non twisted thread that can be split for split thread dubbing. Start with a few colors like Black, White, Tan, Olive, Brown, Cream.

 

Call a taxidermist and see if they have some scrap fur like beaver, mink, muskrat, otter, that they can give you.

 

You can save money by buying a used top line vise on Ebay. I would recommend a real Renzetti Traveller and not the knock offs.

I can get some scrap fur mainly just deer, maybe some turkey feathers.

[glhop1 0]

thanks for the input, and wow there are a ton of hook options, lol. I'm guessing the 2xl and 3xl are referring to shank length?

 

I think I'm going to mainly stick to bass streamers and poppers to start with, then get into other ties as the need arises.

[tidewaterfly 0]

Yes there are a lot of hook styles & several brands to choose from. Depending on how big you wish to go with bass flies, that Bass Bug hook that Allen has is a good one and very reasonably priced.

 

And, yes 2xl & 3xl is shank length.

 

I tie on plastic bait hooks too, so that's another option if you need bigger.

 

A very good, but inexpensive hook is a Mustad 3366. Not the sharpest or strongest from the package, but still for the price certainly fishable. I used them for many years before going to better & more costly hooks. Still have some flies in my boxes tied on them. A quick sharpening & they keep on catching!

[utyer 0]

Asian made vises are made under dozens of different brand names. Cabelas sells one brand, and Bass Pro sells one with a different name, and every other shop (on-line or local,) will have inexpensive Asian made vises and most will have a different brand name. Since there ARE good quality US made vises at well under a hundred dollars, I would recommend any one of the sub $100.00 US made vises.

 

I'm NOT saying you can't get a reasonable length of service out of an Asian made vise, but if you don't, your only option will be to replace it. Most other tools won't cost all that much to begin with, so replacing a $4.00 set of scissors with a good $15.00 set won't break the bank. You will wear out cheap scissors, and many tiers wear out even the best scissors. Most of the other tools will last through years and years. Little wear on a whip finish tool, hackle pliers, or hair stacking tool.

 

Almost all the fly tying materials sold by retail outlets (on-line or local,) come from a very limited number of suppliers, and the quality is usually good enough for the job. Once you learn what any material is uses for, and the properties of the material that make it suitable for use in a given pattern, then you can usually find several substitutes that will do the job quite well.

 

As for hooks, I have been very happy with the Allen hooks, and the new bass popper hook is superb. It is very similar to the Gamakatsu B 10, and comes in smaller sizes.

[kennebec12 0]

I also agree that there really aren't any brands to absolutely stay away from. If your tying a lot of bass flies then craft stores like Michaels or A.C. Moore will have some materials that may be useful for you, like rather then paying $4 for a little piece of foam from a fly shop you can get big sheets of more or less the same foam for practically nothing. One thing I think that can be a gimmick is not the brand itself but the packaging, like with feathers maybe buy one or two small packs of a particular kind (if your not buying a kit) and learn to use them and then I'd go right to buying "bulk" (like whole capes, or skins). It may seem like a huge investment and you may screw up a few times and waste material, but in the end there's a lot more material at lower cost compared to continuously buying little packages. And if your only tying a few flies a week those bulk materials will last a long time and you'll forget what you even paid for them.

[RCFetter 0]

I just started tying in March and spent a lot of money on material because I inherited a nice set of tools.

 

On the subject of brand names, I think "Hareline" (Hareline Dubbing Inc.) seems to be better quality than most other brands except for hackle. My first fly was a wooly bugger and I only tied wooly buggers for about 2 weeks. I bought a lot of cheap hackle and ended up buying Whiting's Bugger Packs.

 

In terms of online material dealers, I've been told that Performance Flies sells quality stuff but I've yet to order from them.

 

When I got into tying hare's ear nymphs I bought a hare's ear mask but then I learned that most hare's ear masks sold in the U.S. are really rabbit. I posted about that on this forum and someone pointed out to me that Performance Flies sell true English Hare's Masks.

 

As noted, my opinions are based on six months experience and information read in this forum and another fly fishing forum.