Hackle pliers

[skeet3t 0]

20 hours ago, The Mad Duck said:

These little gizmos are really handy stream side helping to tie small leader knots

Bifocals or the clip-on magnifiers work for me. Getting new glasses next week, should help.

[Chris_in_Louisiana 0]

I have to say this has been an incredibly informative post.  I've tied on and off for 25+ years.  Yet, I am not the least bit familiar with a few of the styles of hackle pliers shown here.

[Toothy 0]

21 hours ago, chugbug27 said:

Here are the pics. The first shows there is some kind of thin coating. The second shows what seems to me may be a very slight, rounded serration in the two inner surfaces. This is as close on the detail I could get with my camera.

Nice pictures.  When I look at mine closely they look like this on both sides.  I don't see any coating, I just think this is an area that the paint didn't cover...🤷🏼‍♂️

Regardless, they hold beautifully and the ring on the other side is very comfortable to hold and wrap with.  I mostly use mine while wrapping biots. 

[Abel M. 0]

9 hours ago, RCFetter said:

Tim Cammisa of 'Trout and Feather' recommends Stonflo which sell for about $13.

 

 

 

Those hackle pliers work great for their intended use. I also use those for twisting dubbing loops, they are easy to spin.

[Abel M. 0]

O guys look i found my hackle nabbers. I don't know if they still make them but they work great for delicate soft hackles. 

[mikechell 0]

I use hemostats.  Since I use the rotary function on my vise, I don't worry about stressing the hackle.  I've got a lot of control with my 6 inch hemostats.

[Jaydub 0]

9 hours ago, Abel M. said:

O guys look i found my hackle nabbers. I don't know if they still make them but they work great for delicate soft hackles. 

Do you know who made those? They look like they work on the same principal as the old Jade River Bead Nabber.

[Abel M. 0]

12 hours ago, Jaydub said:

Do you know who made those? They look like they work on the same principal as the old Jade River Bead Nabber.

Jaydub i don't. I only remember i got them at Bob Marriott's about 10 years ago because one of my kids saw them n liked them. 

[SalarMan 0]

I just picked up on this thread...it surprised me as most fascinating. I have most of those shown here except the C&F and I use them all for different purposes.

Just may have to try those C&F pliers though. They look super.

[Bimini15 0]

What is most fascinating to me is to think how spoiled we are in that people have been tying flies for centuries without any real precision tools, and here we are, owning four or five modern hackle pliers each, which apparently do not make anyone 100% happy.

We are one funny bunch...😁

[jcozzz 0]

So true Bimini,I have so many gadgets, 15 GOOD scissors,twenty bobbins ,precision pliers,tiny calipers and metal rulers, files ,surgical tweezers and clamps and on and on.I really only need sp little of these.I rarely use a hackle plier but have settled on the test clamp type.The plastic ones pictured are a cheap version of the actual test clamp that come with wires attached for electronics.I think you could hold a single human hair with one.I am not a hoarder in general but sure am with all this stuff.I only tie for myself and way too many .

[Toothy 0]

Quality tools that perform their job admirably are a joy to use!   

[tjm 0]

About 47? years ago I read or was told to wrap one jaw of my English hackle pliers with 3-4 turns  of masking tape to both increase the grab and keep them from cutting, that original painters tape is still on them and they still work, although I have recently started using the test probe clips a lot.

[WWKimba 0]

14 hours ago, tjm said:

About 47? years ago I read or was told to wrap one jaw of my English hackle pliers with 3-4 turns  of masking tape to both increase the grab and keep them from cutting, that original painters tape is still on them and they still work, although I have recently started using the test probe clips a lot.

Shrink wrap tubing works as well.

Kim

[Sandan 0]

4 minutes ago, WWKimba said:

Shrink wrap tubing works as well.

Kim

Yep, that's what I use. Last week at Bugs and Bourbon my buddy's hackle plier rubber tip cover came off.  I broke out the heat shrink tubing and a lighter, 2 minutes later he was good to go and thought using the shrink tubing was a great idea.  Unfortunately I couldn't take credit for the idea.