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silverbullet32

Danica DanVise

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i cant agree with you any more. i mean my vise still holds hooks pretty good, just a little movemnet, but im scared to crimp down on the hook too hard so that i dont smash it and break it. i just think i have it in my mind that to be a good tyer i need a fancy vise. i dont know why. i guess i will wait until this one starts worsening, but thanks for the advise

 

Loren

Sitting thinking "I better be careful here so I don't make the hook move", getting interrupted and irritated when it does, being annoyed about the vise swinging... are all things which shouldn't have to be involved in your tying. Upgrading to a 'fancy' vise won't make you a better tyer, if the one you've got already gives you what you want. But if you can't trust it and/or it won't let you focus on the fly, you should get a vise that DOES give you what you want. It won't tie better flies for you... but if you are comfortable with it, it might help you to do it better yourself. If it takes waiting a month or two to get such a vise, it will be worth the wait.

 

(Just my two cents about upgrading.)

 

I'm not a popper tyer, who ties on big hooks and might use a lot of power when spinning deer hair, but only muddlers made me feel my Danvise swinging. Other things I didn't like were the moving screws, the design of the bobbin cradle, the post that didn't didn't allow the acessories I wanted (being made with metric dimensions and not the 3/8" standard). The only thing I really liked about it was that having a clamp that was tightened from above, I didn't hurt my thigh when moving my legs under the table... :P

 

... but that was far from enough to weigh up the minus part, so less than a year later I sat with a new vise.

 

(Just my two cents about the Danvise.)

 

/Nick

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I tie on a Renzetti traveler pedestal and it works out great for what I do, though if I were spinning lots of hair I may want a c clamp for it or maybe a beefier vice.

 

I've never tied on a Dan Vice but I know a tier who does. Bud Guidry uses nothing but the Dan Vice and now owns 3 of them I think. If you don't know who I'm talking about go over to www.classicflytying.com and look at some of Bud's work. I don't know if he has some special trick or not but it seems to work for him. That said I think I would get the odessey spider vice for $85 or whatever it is. I've seen it in person and it seems like a solid vice.

 

Also if you don't care if the vice is "true rotary" you can get the new Renzetti Apprentice vice for around $100 I think. It looks to be a quality vice and it does rotate so you can see your work from all angles (which, honestly, is about the only thing I ever really use the true-rotary function on my traveler for)

 

Out of the options I've given above, I'd probably go with the renzetti. They last, it has the price you want, has the name, and for the flies you tie would be more than enough vice for you. If well taken care of it will probably last you throughout your tying career.

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thanks guys. i think i will use my vise for a while, and maybe i will get something better for this winter when im stuck inside lol.

 

Loren

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Hi Loren,

 

 

I had the same discussion about the danvise on one of my threads.

 

And I came to the conclusion that it would be much better to buy a Griffin Spider Vise ($85) or an Anvil Vise ($100).

 

Both of these vises have lifetime warranties; and from reviews and opinions I've read, look like high quality.

 

 

 

 

 

BTW I'm hopin' to get one of these for my b-day (Sept 7).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hope this helps,

 

 

Gage

 

 

 

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I tie on a Renzetti traveler pedestal and it works out great for what I do, though if I were spinning lots of hair I may want a c clamp for it or maybe a beefier vice.

 

I've never tied on a Dan Vice but I know a tier who does. Bud Guidry uses nothing but the Dan Vice and now owns 3 of them I think. If you don't know who I'm talking about go over to www.classicflytying.com and look at some of Bud's work. I don't know if he has some special trick or not but it seems to work for him. That said I think I would get the odessey spider vice for $85 or whatever it is. I've seen it in person and it seems like a solid vice.

 

Also if you don't care if the vice is "true rotary" you can get the new Renzetti Apprentice vice for around $100 I think. It looks to be a quality vice and it does rotate so you can see your work from all angles (which, honestly, is about the only thing I ever really use the true-rotary function on my traveler for)

 

Out of the options I've given above, I'd probably go with the renzetti. They last, it has the price you want, has the name, and for the flies you tie would be more than enough vice for you. If well taken care of it will probably last you throughout your tying career.

The odyssey spider is a work horse,,plus...lifetime guarantee...Tied over 700 flies.#6 deer spun hoppers to # 32 cdc midges...i cant say enough good thing bout it.

shane

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I'm also the proud owner of a brand new broken Danvise.

 

The basic problem for me is that the lever that tightens the jaws works from front to back, so that when you work the lever to secure the hook, the whole head assembly rotates to the back. I think that would be ok, if you had three hands: one to hold the hook in place, another to work the lever and the third to hold the head so it doesn't rotate away. The solution, I see from the enclosed DVD, is to hand tighten the rings on the rotating assembly until it's stationary. (Not much of a rotating vise at that point, but I'm willing to compromise.) But, before reaching the point where the jaw assembly was stationary, I heard a "pop" and the thing fell apart. Seems that the screw that runs through the head broke.

 

Before buying this thing, I read a bunch of rave reviews. Now that it broke, I did a Web search and found out that breaking this screw is a fairly common problem. And, that's how I came across this thread.

 

So, if anyone still wants a Danvise, let me know. I have a nearly new one for sale. It comes in two pieces and might make a good paper weight.

 

 

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Good thing I found this post. I was considering getting one myself.

 

I'm not sure why you can't get a decent vise for less than $100, but you can't.

 

Whatfly, that is not true at all. There are many "decent" vices out there for less than one hundred bucks. Unless "decent" means "More than $100"

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I'm not sure why you can't get a decent vise for less than $100, but you can't.

Whatfly, that is not true at all. [snip]

Sure it is. Other than the Griffin 2A and maybe the old Thompson A, what else is there? Even these basic vises are hardly "decent" in terms of having the features of a modern vise, but they are reliable and durable, which for me is the key. There are tons of cheap offshore manufactured imitations that will serve, but one can hardly compare a Sunrise (or even a Danvise) to a Dyna-King, HMH, or Renzetti -- although there's always someone who tries, just to be argumentative mostly. It is unfortunate, but a good new vise from a reputable company at retail price is more than $100 (e.g. Dyna-King Kingfisher, HMH Silhouette). If one can make do with a foreign knockoff, so be it. One should just not pretend that a cheap imported vise is as good as the "higher end" vises.

 

If someone knows of a great vise for less than $100, by all means let me know. For whatever reason at this time such an animal does not exist, and I've often wondered why.

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You are forgetting the Anvil Apex, Griffin Odessy, and a several others that escape me at the moment. But I am not comparing these vices to a Dyna-King, HMH, or Renzetti, that would be like comparing a Honda Civic to a ferarri and saying that everyone needs a ferrari because it drives faster. Sure I bet a Renzetti is a better vice than an Apex, but that doesn't mean that the latter isn't still a decent vice.

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I agree with smalliefanatic on this one. The griffin odyssey spyder (or whatever it's called) has gotten lots of good reviews and definitely appeared to be a solid vice to me. I've heard good stuff about the Anvil too, then theres the Peak vice too which is only a little over $100 and has done well for many people. Then, like I said before, the renzetti apprentice is only $100 and it's a Renzetti. It has everything that my traveler has except the "true" rotary function, so I'm sure it's a very nice vice too. Then there's the Thompson model A that people use till they're as old as Methusala and never quit. The thing is people like different things. What one thinks is great, the other may think sucks. But to say that no good vices exist under $100 is a bit overkill.

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Let's see, the Griffin Odessy retails for $149 (the cam version any way), the Anvil Apex retails right at $100, Renzetti Apprentice is $100, and the Peak retails for $149. So of the examples mentioned, only two are even close to invalidating the statement, (I've heard mixed reviews about the Apex & Apprentice) and they are only pennies less than $100. Are you folks agreeing with me or not?

 

If we are going to use a car analogy, I would not say I'm comparing Hondas to Ferraris...more like Hondas to Yugos. Sure the Yugo ran, but how many of them do you see on the road today? Hondas, while nothing too fancy, perform well and are VERY reliable (and are none too cheap these days). There are the Ferraris of the fly tying world (e.g. LAW, Abel, Tiemco) but that is an entirely different discussion. The optimal price for vises appears to be the $100-$250 range. If you purchase a vise in this range there is no reason why it should not last a lifetime. Below that range, there just are not any quality choices.

 

I have this debate everytime I have to make recommendations to my students when they are looking for their first vise. Unfortunately, I still do not have a reasonable, affordable recommendation to make at this point in time.

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I can get a brand new Apex for $85 and a Griffin Odessy (I am not talking about the cam version) for $70-85 at my local retailer. Not exactly pennies below $100. I think both vices are certainly "Quality Choices."

All I was meant was that there are good choices below the $100 dollar mark, especially for a beginner. Nuff said :)

 

 

 

Jan

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I've got two DanVises. One I bought when I first fell into this crazy habit of tying, and the other I won (along with an Oasis stand) on this very forum for Rookie of the year a couple years back. Which I truly do appreciate. I've been happy with the DanVise for the most part, save one major issue. The jaws are way too soft, and flare with the slightest "overtightening" yet if you don't clamp down, you can move the hook before the thread breaks when tying deer hair.

 

I now have one set of jaws that I can still use for micro (#20-#28) flies and two sets where I have followed Day5's lead and ground the jaws on a grinding wheel to flatten out the ends again. Then heated them and dunked them to harden the metal.

 

I will be getting a new vise sometime in the future, when I can afford to do so, and it won't be a DanVise because of the jaws. Sorry, Al, no offense meant, but I'm just not totally happy anymore. It was a great introductory vise (i.e. inexpensive if I bored of tying), but now that my skills are approaching that of Day5 :rolleyes: I need something that will hold hooks from #32 - 4/0 and hold them steady.

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