Hemostats

[SilverCreek 0]

I was a plastic surgery resident before I switched specialties. I don't have the diamond jaw version but the I do have the tungsten carbide insert version that I use in my fly tying kit for de-barbing hooks.

 

Here's what a good pair of the tungsten carbide ones cost.

 

http://www.medicaldevicedepot.com/Sklar-TC-Ryder-Needle-Holder-p/21-80ss.htm?1=1&CartID=0

 

You can get an off brand on Amazon for much less.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Mayo-Hegar-Stainless-Tungsten-Carbide-Inserts/dp/B0015US3BM

Those prices are just stupid !!! No wonder medical costs are extortionate at best !!!

Since you brought it up, this is off topic. But.......

 

Suppose a plastic surgeon is re-attaching your arm and the needle slips as he is sewing one of your arteries together? You never know where in the body or how they are going to be used so the good ones are the best that can be made. The ones I posted are not even the best ones; they are the ones where pricing was available.

 

These instruments last for many decades. There are technicians that travel from hospital to hospital to refurbish the instruments in a motorized "lab" and when they cant fix the instruments, they get sent back to the factory to be repaired and returned, or they get sold as used and renewed instruments.

 

They are expensive but the things that are really expensive are the medical vascular stents, prosthetic joints, pacemakers, etc. Implantable devices are really expensive.

[mikechell 0]

Trust me ... I am somewhat jokingly complaining about the cost of medicine. However, a pair of hemostats that probably has $2.00 worth of material, and maybe 10 bucks worth of manufacturing should NOT cost hundreds of dollars. I am relatively sure that the R&D was paid off decades ago, since these instruments have been around for more than a century.

There are medical cost that are worth every penny, but common-use surgical equipment? Getting that much money for it just because there's no alternative ... that's the true meaning of corporate greed.

 

Back to the subject: I like the perfectly operational hemostats I have. Purchased at a flea market for 5 bucks.

[Rocco 0]

Mine are made in Pakistan, cost @ 2.00 per two at gun shows on the tools counters.

 

Rocco

[Flat Rock native 0]

I have a curved model with a "ketchum release" style devise built on it. Works on everything from brook trout to northern pike.

 

I prefer barbless hooks too, easier to get out of me when the wind or a distraction causes me to miscast. Only been to the emergency room once when my nephew hooked me in the nose with a beadhead pheasant tail. Had a barb that had not been pinched down. He still brags about the 230 pounder that got away.

[captkenroy 0]

I'll give a second to Troutbum11's post. I like the added sissor jaws. I picked up 4 pairs at a local Flea market for $10. Two for the boat, one for my fly tying box and one for my vest. Yeah, they are Pakastani made and rust a little but salt water is hard on everything.

 

I seldom fish with a fly smaller that #2 so the straight jaws work for me. Additionally, I tie 90% of my flies without a vise. I use the hemostat to hold the hook on occasion.

[JohnP 0]

Where did you get yours, Flatrock? That sounds like a nice combination tool.

[Flat Rock native 0]

Where did you get yours, Flatrock? That sounds like a nice combination tool.

 

Possibly the West Laramie Fly Store-it is a Dr. Slick model which I have used for several years, having only been dropped into shallow or clear water occasionally.

[JohnP 0]

Where did you get yours, Flatrock? That sounds like a nice combination tool.

 

Possibly the West Laramie Fly Store-it is a Dr. Slick model which I have used for several years, having only been dropped into shallow or clear water occasionally.

Thanks!

[DrinkSmokeFish 0]

I seem to be in the minority, but I really prefer mitten clamps. I also have a pair of long straight hemos just in case.

[Chase Creek 0]

what are mitten clamps??