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#1 Troutfisherman

Regal vises

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I've owned many different vises over my lifetime but my Regal is by far my favorite. The first time I used one and my left hand found its comfortable resting position on top, it just felt right. I've always owned the traditional jaws and tie mostly size 2 to 18 and have had no problems whatsoever but I would love to try the stainless jaws on some of my smaller patterns.

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I have three. Well, I have an old medallion (with the original brass base) my folks bought me when I was in probably the 3rd or 4th grade as possibly the greatest xmas gift ever. The factory is a couple towns over, and we went and they showed us around, showed us the cork drag reel they were making for a few years and we bought the vice. That was a LONG time ago - I'm about to turn 42. I used that vice until about 3 years ago when I was given a stainless jawed regal with the pocket base (brass I think). It was a gift from my parents after my son finished Chemo for brain cancer (he's doing great :))...

 

As my wife started to tie a bit, I bought her a regular medallion with the bronze pocket base.

 

I still use the old one for salt water and bass bugs. I use the stainless one for probably 85% of my tying including smaller bass bugs and saltwater. I've tied down to a 30 on it happily - well, as happy as one can be when tying on a size 30 :)

 

I love the things.

 

Ill admit, I ponder getting a rotary vice (or the Regal Revolution head/neck) now and then. It's not a need, just a curiosity. Maybe if I tied commercially I'd do it for speed sake. But I tie for me, or a few friends and thus, gaining a few seconds is not what I'm after.

 

Knowing it's local to me, and having so much history with the product personally just makes it carry so much emotion, and feeling. I get ready to tie, and think of my parents, my son, and decades of tying. Hard to go wrong there :)

 

To the point though, they are great vices and work really well. Definitely worth a look.

 

Will

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Will K,

may I ask what's the largest hook size that you can tie easily with those stainless jaws without slippage ?

Thanks

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My SS Regal will hold a size 2 streamer hook firmly but you have to slide it back in the jaws. Put it too close to the tips and it'll slip. I think that's true with most vises, though. Which is fine with me since I don't tie anything bigger than a 2 and those almost never. Regal used to put a slot in the jaws for big hooks, but I don't think the still do this...at least my two don't have slots.

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My standard jaws have a single curved slot in one of the jaws for this purpose. I've tied #24-2/0 without any concern at all...just squeeze, insert hook, and release.

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Will K,

may I ask what's the largest hook size that you can tie easily with those stainless jaws without slippage ?

Thanks

 

Hi Robow7. I have tied 1/0, but it's a salt water hook often used for clousers that's long and sort of slim - I forget the specific model. For beefier hooks, #1 or #2 pending the brand and model. I think Regal says 2 is the "limit".

 

The SS head seems best for hooks that are size 1 or 2 or smaller pending the model of hook.

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My experience matches the other comments, 1/0 is the largest hook I tie in the SS jaws.

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I owned one years ago,,, sold it off quickly.

 

Placing a small hook in the jaws,,, the hook slides out - flies across the room,,, the jaws slam together and chip.

Many of the Regal vises I have seen have chipped jaws due to this poor design.

 

O'K for large hooks with the groove in the jaws to hold onto the hook wire.

 

Regards,

FK

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I owned one years ago,,, sold it off quickly.

 

Placing a small hook in the jaws,,, the hook slides out - flies across the room,,, the jaws slam together and chip.

Many of the Regal vises I have seen have chipped jaws due to this poor design.

 

O'K for large hooks with the groove in the jaws to hold onto the hook wire.

 

Regards,

FK

For what it's worth (adding anecdotal evidence to anecdotal evidence), while I've heard a lot of talk about this, I've never once seen a Regal throw a hook, or even heard firsthand of a Regal owned by anyone I know ever throwing a properly mounted hook.

 

While I've only been at it a decade or so, the two guys who mentored me in my early days, who recommended the Regal to me, both were still tying on 25yo vises (when I was beginning) without one hook tossed.

 

Not saying it can't or won't happen ever (and in fact, Regal explains this risk and how it can be completely avoided with a second of care that you're spending anyway just to get the hook in the vise), but between just the three I've covered, and not speaking for the intervening years on their vises, that's 60 years of tying without one single hook thrown.

 

I've seen dozens of tyers doing their thing on a Regal, and I have yet to ever personally see even one hook tossed or one chipped jaw on any Regal vise.

 

And again, I understand that this is all anecdotal, but for the people that value that sort of account, I felt it was worth typing up essentially the opposite experience to the above, since I feel that this is an entirely overblown and misrepresented possibility. The vises most certainly do *not* slide properly placed hooks out of the jaws at any size (I've seen #28s in the standard jaws), and the range of "proper placement" is a fairly wide range of positions. It's not like you've got to hit a sweet spot the width of a human hair or anything...it's basically a matter of "put the hook where the flat jaw faces can grip the hook".

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I owned one years ago,,, sold it off quickly.

 

Placing a small hook in the jaws,,, the hook slides out - flies across the room,,, the jaws slam together and chip.

Many of the Regal vises I have seen have chipped jaws due to this poor design.

 

O'K for large hooks with the groove in the jaws to hold onto the hook wire.

 

Regards,

FK

For what it's worth (adding anecdotal evidence to anecdotal evidence), while I've heard a lot of talk about this, I've never once seen a Regal throw a hook, or even heard firsthand of a Regal owned by anyone I know ever throwing a properly mounted hook.

 

While I've only been at it a decade or so, the two guys who mentored me in my early days, who recommended the Regal to me, both were still tying on 25yo vises (when I was beginning) without one hook tossed.

 

Not saying it can't or won't happen ever (and in fact, Regal explains this risk and how it can be completely avoided with a second of care that you're spending anyway just to get the hook in the vise), but between just the three I've covered, and not speaking for the intervening years on their vises, that's 60 years of tying without one single hook thrown.

 

I've seen dozens of tyers doing their thing on a Regal, and I have yet to ever personally see even one hook tossed or one chipped jaw on any Regal vise.

 

And again, I understand that this is all anecdotal, but for the people that value that sort of account, I felt it was worth typing up essentially the opposite experience to the above, since I feel that this is an entirely overblown and misrepresented possibility. The vises most certainly do *not* slide properly placed hooks out of the jaws at any size (I've seen #28s in the standard jaws), and the range of "proper placement" is a fairly wide range of positions. It's not like you've got to hit a sweet spot the width of a human hair or anything...it's basically a matter of "put the hook where the flat jaw faces can grip the hook".

 

 

Cold, I'm with you. I'm sure it happens because I've heard about it... But in all the years I've used one (I'm going to say close to 30 years or a hair more (how old are you in the 3rd or 4th grade?) I've broken 1 hook, and never spit one across the room nor chipped the jaws. And I tied plenty of #20-30 size range flies in my original jaws (pre shift to SS). The hook I broke, was a saltwater hook, and I misjudged how to put it in the "slot" and the vice snipped the hook, but the vice was fine.

 

I've never met anyone personally that chipped the jaws either.

 

Again, I'm sure it's happened - anything mechanical can and will eventually fail... So please, FK, know that I'm not trying to bust you :). Context and intent is hard to get through on the internet. No issues with what you noted at all. Just noting my experiences.

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I figured that sooner or later the hook spitting issue would come up. I have been tying on Regal vises for at least 20 years and tied thousands of flies on them. I've had it happen once. It can be avoided by not placing small hooks at the very edge of the jaws.

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Had it happen to me. So long ago I do not recall the size of the hook. Put the hook in the way I usually do with the barb exposed as it is a reference point for tying. The jaw chipped. Regal repaired it.

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Well I understand many have never experienced the jaw chipping,,, Regal must have redesigned the jaws or backed off on the spring pressure.

 

Many of us tried the Regal and gave up,,, the jaw chipping was a serious problem years ago.

Regal would replace the jaws for the first claim,,, after that you were on your own.

I owned the very first with rotating head design, cannot remember the year but most likely in the mid 1980's.

 

Commonly it would happen when you pulled down on the thread in line with the jaw opening, the hook would pull out and if tethered it was not a problem however, the jaws would slam together.

This chipping problem was not unique to Regal,, the early HMH Hunter vises would also have jaw chipping with small flies pulling out of the jaws, they would have much smaller chips and could be easily reshaped with a file.

 

I am a vise junky,,, HMH from the late 1970's (4-5), Regal, Dyna King (several), Renzetti (about 6-8), Nor Vise, Xuron, Thompson,,, two custom made specials,,,,, and several others best forgotten.

 

Regards,

FK

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I bought my first regal (medallion) about 1982 and it is sill going strong. About 2 years ago I bought the Revo and I love it to. I've tried other vises but none ever appealed to me. I have the traditional jaws in both and tie everyhthing from #28 midges to 6/0 Salmon flies. I would own anything else. I tie professionally and commercially probably putting out 18,000 flies a year.

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I'll also mention that after almost 15 years of use that I've never thrown a hook, nor chipped a jaw, nor seen it happen and they used to use mostly Regals for the beginner fly tying classes. I have heard that this phenomena was instrumental in leading to the stainless steel jaws but don't know that for fact. Maybe someone else closer to the company could comment on that.

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