DrLogik

Gene L, Griffin made two types of Griff's a light and a thick formula. The light was really watery.

Vicrider, No, I didn't. I use the UV once in a while and you're right, it just kind of sits on top of the threads. Solarez is what I use and they have a real runny formula for fly tyers. I might test that now that you mention it. I'm thinking it won't soak through though. It doesn't have a solvent carrier, but who knows. Good call-out.

Hard as Nails, the clear bottle that is kind of plain-jane looking, not feminine like the other bottles.

Heff2, From what I read Sally Hansen has a combination of solvents. "They" recommend their own thinner, can't recall the name but it's not rocket science. I would think any nail polish thinner would work. I'm not sure I would use polish remover though. Is it different than the thinner? I don't know. In the scheme of things it's probably cheap to use.

I recently did some casual research on various head "coatings" (as not all were "Head cement") on heavy cardboard. The cardboard was the back of one of the TU note pads we get each year. I thought that fitting. I wanted to see which ones actually penetrated and which ones remained on the surface only. They were a wide range of coatings, some solvent-based and others water based and one that was denatured alcohol based. Most results I got were expected but I did get a couple of surprises. They had to leave a sheen/shine on the surface but they also had to penetrate through the cardboard. Of the 11 different coatings, only 4 penetrated. Of those 4, only one left a sheen on the surface - shiny actually. Plus one more that partially penetrated and left a shine. Two penetrated and did not leave a shine. Those two were Fly-Tite and Pharmacist Formula. Guess what, the one that had the sheen and penetrated isn't head cement and neither was the one that partially penetrated! The winner? Sally Hansen's! I was not really expecting that. I may post the results on my web site and post the link. The one that partially penetrated and left a shine was.............. New Skin! Yep, that liquid wound covering stuff....and it's flexible too! and to a degree waterproof. The other surprise was Cellire. It left a very shiny surface but did not penetrate at all. I don't think people that are users of Sally Hansen need vindication but I have to admit that I never really liked the stuff. I mean, it's nail polish. I'm starting to change my mind.

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What did you learn from this?

I started fly tying by Reuben Cross's book, "Tying American Trout Lures" in 1972-ish and never stopped. Currently I'm on the North Country Spider binge though. Gadabout is right, they still catch fish.

Gene, I saw that same vise and contemplated.... I couldn't pull the trigger. Yeah, that was a pretty good deal you got! I remember when the Patriot first came out. I thought long and hard but decided to buy a used Dyna King Pro off of FleeBay and it's been a gem. How is the Patriot to tie on? What vise is it similar to?

Oof, don't get me started. I have too many also but the absolute coolest one I have is an original Thomas vise vise, aka the "Darbee" vise. Simplicity and beauty personified in a metallic object. Here is Harry and Elsie Darbee's fly tying desks set up side by side at the Catskill Fly Fishing Museum in Livingston Manner, New York. This is what a production fly tying desk looked like back in the day. When I was there a number of years ago I saw that vise and had to have one. I found one on FleeBay for $20 bucks! Elsie at her tying bench: Harry at his bench:

I've been making my own leaders off and on for years. I still do occasionally. I seldom use furled leaders. I like them, especially silk furled leaders but they send off too much spray like Bryon stated. On large streams it's not too much of a problem but on the small streams in the Smokies that I fish it turns the fish off in a hurry. I mostly use Orvis leaders and my own tied leaders now. My leaders don't follow the norm though. I make them a 70/30 formula instead of the standard 60/40 formula. In windy or short casting conditions I find the more aggressive taper turns over the leader and fly better. A 70/30 leader also works better for long leaders (14-16+ feet). I also use a max of five sections and often just four. I don't notice the difference. I used to tie them with the 6 or more sections and it took too long and it was too aggravating. I tried a simpler leader and it worked just as well for my use. I also follow the George Harvey philosophy of using the softest mono I can find. I used to use Mason hard mono for the butt but figured out that Harvey was right, it's just too stiff and doesn't accept the transfer of the energy in the line well.