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JohnWu

Hackle pliers slippage, gd scissors?

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Kimo,

Thanks for the link for those nippers. I've been looking for some since seeing them being used by a guy on the InTheRiffle YouTube channel.

 

Joe

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Kimo,

Thanks for the link for those nippers. I've been looking for some since seeing them being used by a guy on the InTheRiffle YouTube channel.

 

Joe

Joe,

That is either me or James Spicer on InTheRiffle. Funny you should find me there.

As far as the nippers go I really like them.

There are other brands and they are a lot cheaper but they don't offer the same warranty.

 

Kimo

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Kimo, could you give me an idea of the scale of these nippers? I'm sure the stainless ones at work are same but may be overly industrial in comparison.

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Kimo, could you give me an idea of the scale of these nippers? I'm sure the stainless ones at work are same but may be overly industrial in comparison.

Here you go.

 

nippers_scale.jpg

 

Kimo

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Good stuff. Going to try Kimo's suggestion. Been cursing over some size 20 parachute Adams for a couple evenings now and was attributing it to the progression of age. The double hackle has been killing me. I've always used the shrinkwrap on one jaw and it helps, but doesn't always seal the deal.

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Yup, if you hold the hackle parallel to the jaws, you'll have less of a problem. Also, make sure you have the stem of the hackle in the jaws. I work with delicate hackle, like Starling, and haven't had much of a problem.

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I totally agree with Bugsy on the scissors. I have way more pairs of scissors than I need. I got 7" Fiskars for synthetics, the Wiss nippers that AK Best likes, a few of the Dr. Slicks, the Italian Engels, some no-names from Pakistan and I'm sure that I'm forgetting some, oh the Anvil taperizers.. You need at least two pair if you are only tying trout flies. You need additional scissors if you work with deer hair or synthetics. I have the Thompson Ice midge, straight and curved. The curved are out of alignment so retired. The straights have a lot of miles on them and have been professionally reconditioned. Never use, or let anyone else use your best scissors for non fly tying tasks.

 

These are the 4 pairs I am currently using the most. Left to right are the Thompson (serrated one blade) which are no longer available but the Anvil brand are a very close replacement, curved Dr Slicks that do one or two things well, double serrated curved Solingen and heavy duty 5" double serrated utility good for lots of stuff.

 

scissors.jpg

 

If I were starting now my first good pair would be the double serrated Anvil straight scissors.

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I have to try the heatshrink trick on my HP's. I have some real soft rubbery stuff that should work.

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I use Dr. Slick scissors, I have several. I like the 4" "Hair Scissor" so much I bought a couple extra when they were on sale. Not that I have needed them because if you're not cutting wire and sheet metal they stay very sharp for a long time. I also don't make a habit of throwing them at concrete. I also have Dr. Slick hackle pliers- the so-called standard type with one rubber jaw and one brass jaw. I've been using them for 3 or 4 years and have had no problems.

 

It is strange- I have always used hackle pliers by grabbing the hackle on the long axis---- I never considered people would grab the hackle perpendicular to the axis of the tool. Why do that?

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....

It is strange- I have always used hackle pliers by grabbing the hackle on the long axis---- I never considered people would grab the hackle perpendicular to the axis of the tool. Why do that?

To break it off. People often deliberately do something, and are then surprised by the inevitable consequences...

 

I learned, many years ago, to grasp hackles "in line" with the stem. Works much better.

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