whip finisher

[ibian 0]

I used a dremel to turn my Thompson whip finisher into a bodkin. I just couldn't get the hang of it and bought a matarelli and learned to use it in a few minutes.

 

Roy

 

That's a great idea, thanks for the tip.

[perchjerker 0]

I have been involved up to my ears for rhe past eleven years with the annual 20 week fly tying course offered by Texas FlyFishers here in Houston The tool kits we make available to the students all have Matarelli whip finishers in them, and I can highly recommend them. One extremely important comment that I would add to the previous comments on the Matarelli is to be sure to get the large model. The price is the same. The tool kits the club has all have the small version in them, and students tend to have problems with them when tying larger flies with lots of materials at the head. I have both and seldom if ever use the small one. I can whip finish heads on hooks from 26 to 3/0 with it. I do a lot of foam and balsa bodied bass bugs, where the tails ar put on after the bodies are completed. It is impossible to whip finish after putting a tail on with the small one, but a piece of cake with the large one.

 

perchjerker

[brianh 0]

I view learning to use a whip finisher like the Matarelli as just another key tying technique. Can I tie off by hand? Sure. I can also trim my yard by getting on my knees and yanking on the blades of grass. It works, but the end result will be a lot uglier than if I used a lawn mower.

 

I'm always amazed at the guys who sit behind a $600 vise armed with a rack of automatic bobbins, "slick, ice tempered" scissors, a battery of hair stackers and assorted other tying toys and gadgets and think that somehow using a whip finisher isn't 'authentic'. We're tool makers - that's what separates us from the rest of the animal world. I for one believe in celebrating that difference and using the tools that work, and the Matarelli is a tool that works like a champ.

[Futzer 0]

Hi BrianH, I agree, and might add though if you are looking at a stack of 1000 hooks for your next order and you are buying all the materials. You learn to tie whipfinishes by hand. (Not Halfhitches, they are substandard). Just so you can make slightly more than minumum wage on the order. Also if you are into backpacking or any other equipment frugal endevor, tying by hand can be a rewarding trick. I really like Matarelli's and for certain things Thompsons, but mostly I hand finish.

 

Cheers, Futzer.