Hello All,
I just joined as I am interested in getting a vise for tying flies for a reel-less rod I bought. I have been reading a lot on this site - it is an amazing resource.
I believe the criticism of the collet-based system is incorrect. While some metals, aluminum, for example, have finite lives under flexure, steel is quite different. As long as the flex of the jaws is within the elastic range of the steel then it can be opened and closed an infinite number of times without work hardening or softening. One could think of the jaw arms simply as springs. There are many examples of this sort of application of steel – leaf springs in cars for example, not to mention the myriad industrial collet applications.
With regard to hardening - why wouldn't one simply piece harden the jaws?
J