tctrout 0 Report post Posted January 7, 2022 So I decided to take a look at fly tying and a side not often taken...things you DON'T need. In my video, I list 5 things I don't need (keyword: Need), including a whip finishing tool. I use it for about 5% of my patterns, instead opting for a hand whip finish with head cement or super glue. After watching the video, I'd love to hear your thoughts, and more importantly, your 5 things that you don't need. Tim Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
redietz 0 Report post Posted January 7, 2022 Two other things you don't "need" 1) A vise. Flies were tied i hand for thousands of years before vises were introduced. I once watched Lee Wuff tie a size 28 Royal Wulff in hand (no vise.) 2) A bobbin holder. I learned to tie from Helen Shaw's book, where tension on the thread was maintained by wrapping it around a thumb tack in the edge of the bench. I tied for close to a decade before I even owned a bobbin holder. Do I use a vise and bobbin holder today? Of course I do. "Need" and "makes sense to use" are not the same thing. And I was tying for almost 30 years before I learned to use a whip finisher. Now I use one on every single fly I tie. Since I'm left handed but tie right handed, the whip finisher makes a far neater head than anything I can do by hand. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skeet3t 0 Report post Posted January 7, 2022 Not everyone has the manual dexterity of Lee Wulff. Saw him tie a Royal Wulff once on a TV show. I don't have a ton of $$$$ in tools and get along fine with what I have. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chugbug27 0 Report post Posted January 7, 2022 I have a small box of tools I don't need and told my wife I was boxing up to sell on eBay. That was over a year ago. Have I posted any of them? No. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Poopdeck 0 Report post Posted January 7, 2022 First, great podcast on emergers with Tom Rosenbauer on December 10. I really enjoyed it and learned a lot from it. Let’s see, I don’t have a 500 dollar vise, I have 3 vises that I have paid 30 bucks for all three. Actually only bought 2 the 3rd was inherited but 3 for30 sounds better then 2. I don’t have a tension bobbin, a thread splitter or a social media platform. I consider a whip finisher a must. Not because it’s difficult since it’s really just a snell knot that any worm fisherman worth his salt can tie, but because the thread frays on my hand and I don’t want to use hand softener. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
upnorthtier 0 Report post Posted January 7, 2022 For me I agree on 3 items you mentioned, social media, I use a bodkin for splitting the thread and I never owned a whip finisher. I own a few expensive vise, do I need it? no, would I get rid of it? no. Do I need a tension bobbin? no but its all I use and the rest are in a drawer. I guess in a way I agree with all 5. its like saying you don't need a chainsaw for cutting down a tree, you can use an axe. Ill pick the chainsaw all the time. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skeet3t 0 Report post Posted January 7, 2022 My kit had a needle and a handle with a taper and a hole in the end. Half hitch around the end, put the hook eye in the hole and slide the thread off. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
niveker 0 Report post Posted January 9, 2022 I never knew there was a tool for splitting thread before watching this, LOL. My eyes aren't that bad yet. Social media is a pretty generic, all encompassing phrase. I could do without some aspects of social media, namely videos, I much prefer a written step by step with photos or diagrams, online or in my hand. I would miss forums like this, which I assume is included in the phrase, but don't need them. I need a vice, I would not tie without one. Same goes for a bobbin holder, though I have no tension bobbin holders and don't feel the need for one. I don't need a whip finisher, but use one. Though I can whip finish by hand, my fingers are so rough I would need a manicure every time I sat down to tie if I was hand finishing heads. I can and sometimes do use a bodkin or half hitch tool, even an empty pen tube, but if I'm picking up a tool it might as well be the right one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tctrout 0 Report post Posted April 8, 2022 On 1/7/2022 at 5:29 PM, Poopdeck said: First, great podcast on emergers with Tom Rosenbauer on December 10. I really enjoyed it and learned a lot from it. Let’s see, I don’t have a 500 dollar vise, I have 3 vises that I have paid 30 bucks for all three. Actually only bought 2 the 3rd was inherited but 3 for30 sounds better then 2. I don’t have a tension bobbin, a thread splitter or a social media platform. I consider a whip finisher a must. Not because it’s difficult since it’s really just a snell knot that any worm fisherman worth his salt can tie, but because the thread frays on my hand and I don’t want to use hand softener. Thanks for the kind words re: the podcast! Tom and I recorded another one this week on fly tying...it was another fun one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites