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What Vise do you use?

What is your primary vise?  

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I use a Renzetti. the least desireable feature that I don't like is after about 15 - 20 dozen BWO's you have to clean and relube everything.

 

What I like best is obviously the rotary feature.us Your waste is almost zero with tinsels, chenille, and saddle hackles.

 

 

I have my Master version for almost a year and haven't lubed anything?!?!? what are you lubing?

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I use a Renzetti. the least desireable feature that I don't like is after about 15 - 20 dozen BWO's you have to clean and relube everything.

 

My Renzetti Masters is about 15 years old and my Traveler is 12,,,,, I have not found any requirement to lub either vise.

 

Please explain your problem, perhaps someone can suggest a solution.

 

Regards,

FK

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I, too, started tying with a Cabelas Master Vise and it has served me well. Last year I bought a DanVise for its rull rotary action and really like it. As has been stated above, it is not real pretty but it works well and I am happy with it. I use my Master vise as a back up and I take it with me on fishing trips.

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I just bought two new vises. I got a new Dyna King Barracuda and a HMH Spartan. The Barracuda is a great rotary vise but I like a small fixed vise for midges. The HMH head tips up to about the 1230 position on a clock which is great for size 20 2488h hooks.

 

I was tying on a Renzitti Traveler which I'm going to leave at the camper so I can just bring up materials when I go up to fish.

 

Jeremy

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I just purchased a Peak Rotary vice made in Loveland, CO. So far I love it. I purchased the Midge jaws too and they are fantastic!

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:ph34r: i think the regal vise cannot be beaten.it is simple ,reliable.holds a good range of hook sizes,no adjustments required,what more can you ask of a tool that does its job in an efficient manner tme after time.i know of three regals that tied millions of flies and at least one of them is still in use. :)

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you can spend a lot of money on a vise just like you can spend a lot of money on a fly rod. i've used an hmh before didn't make my flies look any better. i don't really care if a vise is rotary or not. i don't really like using the rotary action and i tie and fish a lot of dries.

 

i have a regal type vise. it's not a brand name and i got it for $30.00. it works great, i've tied with it for about 3 years now and wouldn't have anything else. i love how i can go from a 16 dry to a 2 wet without adjusting anything. i can't stand fumbling around with a wheel to adjust clamping pressure. sorry troutbum i think my vise is great. i haven't tied anything where i found my vise limiting. the only drawback that i can see for me is that i don't have a pedastil and have to clamp it to something. i'd like a base to put it on so i could travel with it.

 

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I am new to fly tying and using a kit vise. after viewing the norvise videos i am wondering why it is not more popular. it seems like a great idea. what are the pros and cons of this vise vs a dyna king, peak, or similar high end vise. I am trusting your honest imput since i will be purchasing a vise soon. just need to convince the better half... sure it will save money... thanks

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I am new to fly tying and using a kit vise. after viewing the norvise videos i am wondering why it is not more popular. it seems like a great idea. what are the pros and cons of this vise vs a dyna king, peak, or similar high end vise. I am trusting your honest imput since i will be purchasing a vise soon. just need to convince the better half... sure it will save money... thanks

 

I use a Nor-vise, and it's a great vise, well worth the money in my opinion. But I don't use it for everything. I find that the standard in-line jaws that come with it are inconvenient for some types of flies, such as the Tarheel Caddis on my avatar. It's hard to tie past the bend of the hook, and tailing can be an issue as well when you are in-line, making dry flies tougher to tie. You can tie them with the hook offset a little bit from the inline position, and that improves access, but keeps you from using the slick rotary spin you see being used with the Nor-vise. Lots of people have two vises (or more) for different tying setups, and I do that myself. While I just got the fine point conversion jaws for Christmas for my Nor-vise, I also have a Snowbee Waldron vise that is a traditional rotary setup that uses offset jaws. Both the Snowbee and the Nor-vise have extraordinary in-line tube conversions available for nice prices, (easier to obtain the Nor-vise accessories in the States) and both have some other nice accessories as well. I also use a Regal Medallion when I am doing a larger bunch of flies that I normally don't use rotary functions for, as it has a great quick clamp jaw system, and I use an Anvil Apex for most of my midge tying, as it has great access to very small hooks.

 

If I was only going to own one of the vises, it would probably be the Nor-vise because of the accessory range and overall functionality. You really can do the things with it that Norm Norlander shows in his videos. One warning though... it takes some practice. I am a good learner with most tying techniques, and I watched Norm in person on three different days at a show, and had time to ask him some questions. I decided that I was willing to spend the time to learn to use the Nor-vise, and I am glad that I did. I am still not as quick as Norm at it, but I probably will be eventually. But I have tied some nice flies on it, and I really like the whole setup. Mine is bolted directly to a tying desk of its own, and I don't take it with me to tying demoes... I usually take the Snowbee Waldron. Because of the use of the 1/4-20 mounting screws on the Nor-vise, I have considered using high quality quick release plates designed for camera tripods to offer me quick removal capability for the vise and thread post, but the problem with that is that most of the people at the demoes I do will not be tying on anything that resembles the Nor-vise, and I am trying to teach them how to tie. I don't want the equipment to create its own gap in the learning process.

 

I like the automatic bobbin, btw, but be sure not to set it down "loaded", or in the tensioned position or it will take off like a wind up toy. If you don't know what I mean, I guarantee you will find out. :bugeyes: The nice thing about the bobbin is the very fine ceramic tube that gives such nice access to any size fly, though I have seen some other bobbins that will do that too, and the automatic positioning is nice once you get used to it, though not necessary.

 

Before I would flat out recommend the Nor-vise, I guess I would want to know what you plan to tie, what kind of space you will dedicate to your vise setup, and how much time you plan to spend with it. Other vises could work better for some settings, I believe, though I would consider most to be less versatile. I have never seen another that spins like a Nor-vise, and if you've watched the videos, you've seen how that works.

 

BTW... I happen to disagree with anyone who gets too dogmatic about their vise being the only "best vise" ever made. If it were true, then all experienced tyers would gravitate to that particular vise. But any brand or model which elicits a very strong following (i.e. a large number of users who are thrilled with their vise) then you are talking about a great vise. Examples would be Renzetti vises, Dynaking, HMH, Peak, Regal, and Nor-vise, for example. There are others people will undoubtedly chime in on, including some that are typically harder to find in the states, such as the Snowbee Waldron, Law, J-vice, Dingo and a few others.

 

Also, there will be some users that will tell you plainly that they don't really care, as they can tie a great fly on any vise. True enough, but it is very enjoyable to have a vise that is well designed and well made, and lots of people are willing to pay more to get something nicer. Having gone both routes, I really appreciate having nice gear.

 

Good luck in choosing your new vise! I am sure you will get a bit more advise from others! :)

 

David <><

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New here. I use a Regal medallion. I love it for its ease of use and simplicity. Squeeze the handle, insert hook, and release handle. Thats it, your done.

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I'm using an Anvil Atlas true rotation vice now and has done so for about 3-4 years. A good tool, but I am longing for a vice with even more hook-holding power and a rotationsystem of higher quality. So far I'm thinking of upgrading with a Snowbee Waldron vice. Anyone of you in possession of one, please tell me what you think of it.

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I'm using an Anvil Atlas true rotation vice now and has done so for about 3-4 years. A good tool, but I am longing for a vice with even more hook-holding power and a rotationsystem of higher quality. So far I'm thinking of upgrading with a Snowbee Waldron vice. Anyone of you in possession of one, please tell me what you think of it.

 

I use the Snowbee Waldron, and I had the Anvil Atlas prior to that. I think both are great vises, but the Snowbee Waldron is definitely a cut above. The things I liked best about the Anvil carry over to the Snowbee Waldron, and it has better holding power for large hooks. It also has even better rotation, and can be converted to an in-line tube vise with an inexpensive upgrade, which I like.

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I'm using an Anvil Atlas true rotation vice now and has done so for about 3-4 years. A good tool, but I am longing for a vice with even more hook-holding power and a rotationsystem of higher quality. So far I'm thinking of upgrading with a Snowbee Waldron vice. Anyone of you in possession of one, please tell me what you think of it.

 

I use the Snowbee Waldron, and I had the Anvil Atlas prior to that. I think both are great vises, but the Snowbee Waldron is definitely a cut above. The things I liked best about the Anvil carry over to the Snowbee Waldron, and it has better holding power for large hooks. It also has even better rotation, and can be converted to an in-line tube vise with an inexpensive upgrade, which I like.

 

Sounds great, thanks for the info!

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Started out with a cabelas vise 9 years ago, upgraded to a Renzetti Traveler 4 years ago, and upgraded again to a Renzetti Presentation 2000 broke the cam on the vise so now I'm back working on my traveler till I get my cam back. Can't stand to tie on a stationary vise any more rotary vises all the way!

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I'm using an Anvil Atlas true rotation vice now and has done so for about 3-4 years. A good tool, but I am longing for a vice with even more hook-holding power and a rotationsystem of higher quality. So far I'm thinking of upgrading with a Snowbee Waldron vice. Anyone of you in possession of one, please tell me what you think of it.

 

I use the Snowbee Waldron, and I had the Anvil Atlas prior to that. I think both are great vises, but the Snowbee Waldron is definitely a cut above. The things I liked best about the Anvil carry over to the Snowbee Waldron, and it has better holding power for large hooks. It also has even better rotation, and can be converted to an in-line tube vise with an inexpensive upgrade, which I like.

 

Sounds great, thanks for the info!

 

My pleasure! : )

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