What Vise do you use?

[wnctroutbum 0]

I have a Renzetti Traveler and am very happy with it, I am not the best tyer but the rotery is very handy

[neoFLYte 0]

Most of the time I use a Peak Rotary Vise. As I'm writing this, I'm actually wondering why I use the thing. The only thing I like about the vise is the rotary aspect because I can rotate the fly to check for "balance" as I'm tying. I don't like the fatness or the finish of the standard jaws. If you let your thread flatten, the surface of the jaws can actually catch the fibers and cause problems.

 

The Peak midge jaws are finer but, as indicated by their "midge" designation, you'd better want to tie true midges if you use these jaws.

 

Overall, the Peak vise takes a lot of patience to work around its quirks.

 

I also have a Griffin Montana vise that I like fairly well. It's a no-brainer vise for when I'm tying "easy" flies. The jaws are nice and pointed and they don't snag flattened thread fibers.

 

I am on the verge of buying an HMH Spartan vise.

[morfrost 0]

I 've now used the Danvise for about a year and I really like it. I've owned and used a Sunrise AA ( Thompson style) for a long time, then a Regal imitation for a couple of years, and wanted to upgrade to a rotary. I bought the extension so I could fit my sausages (fingers) around the jaws. I too can't seem to justify spending $ 300+ for a vise.

 

I was at the Dieppe Fly Fishing Forum in late March and saw Bill Carpan of Nova Scotia there. He was one of the guest tyers, and was causing quite a stir with his vise setup.

 

He had the business end of a Danvise chucked into the business end of a battery powered reversing drill. This was mounted on a cradle built on to a piece of plywood such that the central axis of the drill was parallel to the table top. I think he was using a Norvise bobbin to feed thread onto the hook shank. Really sped up certain parts of the operation, particularly when he used the rotary function.

 

 

 

 

 

[glm38 0]

Most of the time I use a Peak Rotary Vise. As I'm writing this, I'm actually wondering why I use the thing. The only thing I like about the vise is the rotary aspect because I can rotate the fly to check for "balance" as I'm tying. I don't like the fatness or the finish of the standard jaws. If you let your thread flatten, the surface of the jaws can actually catch the fibers and cause problems.

 

The Peak midge jaws are finer but, as indicated by their "midge" designation, you'd better want to tie true midges if you use these jaws.

 

Overall, the Peak vise takes a lot of patience to work around its quirks.

 

I am on the verge of buying an HMH Spartan vise.

 

I know everyone is different with different tastes but I sure like my Peak vise. I'm not really into rotary tying but being able to turn the fly over and see it from all sides really comes in handy. I tie everything from #22 to #2 with the standard jaws and I have yet to have a hook slip. I also like the way the cam has a "positive stop". Lifetime guarantee. Made in USA. Overall I couldn't be happier with it. I actually owned an HMH spartan for a while. I liked it too but I sold it after I got the Peak.

 

Greg

[92Esquire 0]

I know everyone is different with different tastes but I sure like my Peak vise. I'm not really into rotary tying but being able to turn the fly over and see it from all sides really comes in handy. I tie everything from #22 to #2 with the standard jaws and I have yet to have a hook slip. I also like the way the cam has a "positive stop". Lifetime guarantee. Made in USA. Overall I couldn't be happier with it. I actually owned an HMH spartan for a while. I liked it too but I sold it after I got the Peak.

 

Greg

 

I own both the PEAK and an HMH Spartan. To be honest, I prefer tying trout flies on the PEAK. The Spartan is more of a travel vise for me. I like it very much, and it's a well-made vise. However, for most of what I tie, the PEAK would be a better choice. However, I also own a DK 'cuda, and that is my favorite all-around vise.

 

Nothing at all wrong with any of them, plus they all appear to have top-notch customer service. Great folks.

[Denis Lamy 0]

There have been some posts recently from newbies asking for advice about vises. So, I thought it would be a good time to get everybody's 2 cents worth and proved some information for them.

 

Hi everyone,

 

I'm new around here so I tought I'd start with an easy topic.

 

Like many I started with cheap vises, mostly Indian made ones, but now I'm working with a Dyna King Barracuda. It is a full rotary vise with a cam lock jaw and it performs very well both on very small hook (#20) up to large ones (3/0). So it cover my range of hooks very well (1/0 to #18).

 

http://www.dyna-king.com/images/products/vises/barracuda.jpg

 

[berny v 0]

Me i have 3 my first one was a cheep one i bought 30 years ago,after that i made my first vice like a renzetti,and after that (last week)i made my 3 vive like a norvice

I made some ammélioration on mine last week ,that help for control the rotation

[jimk 0]

I use two vises, mostly a 720 vise but for large hooks, a Regal. The 720 is awesome for parachute flies.

[grouch 0]

I started with a Thompson, got the upgrade urge and bought a Renzetti Traveler that worked well for me. I discovered that I really didn't like the true rotary vises. I never used them as they were intended and it always seemed like something was in the way of where I needed to be. Sold the Renzetti and picked up the vise I will use for the rest of my life, a beautiful HMH Spartan. I have all three jaws for it plus the tube jaw. The vise is a joy to use and I can't recommend it highly enough.

[Jeremism30 0]

I use a cheep one still. Paid $25 for it and it suits me just fine.

[yellow bomber 0]

Started with some cheapie Sunrise thing or something or other, after replacing a bajillion of those little washers at the clamp handle, i threw some cash at a Regal Medallion this weekend, maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan what a difference, absolutely amazing gripping power and although it doesn't have "true" rotary, is still able to be rotated to view all sides. I haven't used any other vises, but it would take something out of this world to change my view of this stellar piece of gear! :thumbsup:

[Thomas Schreiber 0]

There have been some posts recently from newbies asking for advice about vises. So, I thought it would be a good time to get everybody's 2 cents worth and proved some information for them.

 

Hi,

 

For dryflies I use a Regal medallion with midge jaws. It has a very firm grib of the hooks, and the workspace around the hook is nice. Also you can easily change height and angle of the hook. It does not have true rotary function, but for dryflies it's rarely needed.

 

Everything else is tied on a Renzetti traveller. Best allround vice out there in my humble opinion.

 

My 2 cents on that topic

[Arkansas Mike 0]

My first vice was a super cheap one I bought at Wal-Mart. I think it was part of a kit. I was bitten bad by the fly-tying "bug", so bought a Regal Medallion about a week later and have been using it ever since. I love it, but I plan on buying a true rotary here in the next month or two. I'm leaning towards a Renzetti.

[brianh 0]

Been using a Peak for the past year but just acquired a Dyna-King Barracuda. After having tied just a dozen flies or so on the Dyna-King I can see that I'll be selling the Peak. It's all in the jaws, man. It's all in the jaws!

[mikeb5 0]

I Started out with a 1-A and just recently got a Griffin Odessy.

I tie mostly cappie jigs and it works great for me.

Still have the 1-A for bigger hooks.

mikeb