Whip finish

[CSB1 0]

I learned from Vern Lunde owner of Lunde's Fly Fishing Chalet out in Mt. Horbe Wi.. I had been buying some materials from Vern and ran into him at a show out in Cottage Grove Wi.. He sat me down and showed how it was done. I worked at it for a while and got it down, and like most things the more you work at it the better and easier it gets. Well that was 24 yrs. ago, how time flies when your having fun.

[JSzymczyk 0]

OK Joel... what was it 35 years ago, ... 10 or 11,.... or maybe 30?

Que? 35 years ago when I was 10 or 11. 34 or 35 years ago?

 

Go see the Storekeeper and bring me back 30 feet of Shore Line and a bucket of Prop Wash.

 

Just do your whip finish with 5 wraps and you'll be fine.

[cjsnyder1234 0]

Thanks Cjsnyder, if you want a real challenge try whip finishing a parachute below the hackle, above the thorax, around the wing post without moving the hook in the vice. Harder to explain than do... or maybe not! Not repositioning the fly in the vice before doing the whip finish saves me a few seconds per fly. Not much until you do one of my maximum days of 10 dozen flies. Then it means finish work 1/2 hour earlier.

Cheers,

C.

Ya I normaly just til my fly towards myself a tad then I whip finish the fly as you stated. I find if you use your fingers you can "bend" the thread to the angles you want but with a tool it is much more static.

[williamhj 0]

I'm a big fan of the tool. Will do it by hand sometimes but 90% of the time grab the tool. For parachutes, I just put a drop of superglue on the thread and wrap a few times around the post, let it hang for a couple seconds and snip it off. Secures the hackle, stiffens the post and locks in the thread.

[wschmitt3 0]

I haven't quite mastered the hand whip finish yet but where I have fount it very useful is for finishing parachutes on the post rather than behind the hook eye. I am still undecided which method I prefer for the parachute but when I decide I want to tie off on the post I use a hand whip finish. For most flies I would rather use my matarelli whip finisher or I finish the fly off with my Half Hitch Mag (by Rite Bobbin) to finish the fly when I can get the end over the eye of the hook.

[mikechell 0]

I found that I HAD to whip finish by hand when I tied these today.

 

 

I couldn't control the whip finisher, the tag end of the thread on the spool and the feathers all at the same time. Hand whip finishing took the tool out of the equation, and I got them done.

[KOKOEK9 0]

if you get a tool get a Matterelli they are easiest to use, I have a Thompson and can't figure out how to use it. last year there was a post here some body showed a one finger whip finish never tried it though

[mikechell 0]

I can use, and have both the Matarelli and the Thompsons. I finally found a video on Youtube that kind of explained it. But in truth, you are still looking to make the "inverted figure 4" that you do with the Matarelli.

 

When I get home, if I remember, I'll post some pictures of it.

 

Maybe this will help.

 

[NickJ 0]

My dad taught me how to whip finish when I was 10 or so... Lay a loop of tying thread parallel to the hook, with the loop extending past the hook eye, make the appropriate number of turns to finish the head, put the thread through the loop, and pull it through. Voila... Works fine on large flies, for the little guys, the tool is awesome.

[Adam Saarinen 0]

I done a half hitch 3 times & put a drop of glue or varnish on with a needle for years & it was fine! I learnt the whip finish by hand for my own ego! Thanx youtube!