My thoughts on vises

No I do not mean drinking, gambling or running around at night. I am talking about tying vises. I have been tying flies since the 1950's and was using a Herter's vise. For a while I was tying for a living while in Wyoming. Problem is when you do it for living it takes the fun out of it. While there I owned a fly shop and wrapped custom rods. I sold all types of fly tying material and vises. I have used everything from the Renzetti Master to the Sunrise A. I did not use a Peak but some of the guys in here will tell you about them. If you are a new comer do lots of research and do not be in a hurry to buy and ideally it would be nice to go somewhere where you can look at them like Cabelas or Bass Pro. The most common is the lever vise. This vise is like the Thompson A vise. If you like this style get a good one as cheap copies are more trouble than they are worth. The top end of these is the Dyna King or HMH. The one I am now using is the Regal copy and works really well and is less than $40.00 delivered. The thing I like about it is that it gives me a hand rest. To me the most important feature is its ability to turn 360 degrees so I can see the bottom. If I were going back into serious tying I would not use any other vise than the Nor Vise, period. Once you get the hang of it it cannot be beat in my opinion. Go to the site below and check out the different reviews. I also cannot stress enough to buy the book called "The Fly Tier's Bench Side Reference."

Fly Tying Vises In-Depth Review by Fly Fish Ohio!

There are lots of tiers in here and they need to give their views on their vise and why they like them.

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/d...w10/MyVise.jpg

I;veonly been tying since last march I started with a cheapvise that came with a tool kit ,And I still have it I use it to take along on the road .I looked around at alot of diff vices and found a deal on a danvise 40.00bucks with shipping .it has been just great I like it alot .But it is not the high quality as a peak or others .So far no problems with it at all. the deal left more money for more materials!!Man this is addicting I 'm always loking at new and diff materials ,and now i,m staarting to ty flys as well as I have been just tying jigs.I 'm currently taking fly tying class at a local fly shop , everyweek learnsomething new.ANd getting to test drive the new high quality vices makes me want a new one,

I just sold my Dan Vise. I put the jaw extension on it but the thing for me was too awkward to operate. I did like the clamp tho. At least you are getting some help. And yes it is addicting. Get the book and you will open a world you only dreamed was out there.

Welcome to the board!

Sounds like you have the right idea on a vise if tying commercially. I have a Nor and I sell Peak and I have a Renzetti Salt Water Traveler with cam jaw. I would never give up my Nor for sure! Love this thing and have had it over a year now and is a great vise and Norm is a very nice guy. I can't see a lot of functionality between my Renzetti and the Peak and the Peak built like a tank and great machine work. paid about $70-$80 more for the Renzetti, but could have bought a regular traveler for a good bit less.

It all comes down to what fits you and what you like. Most studies I have seen (especially the Fly Ohio one say Peak is best vise under $150 and will last for sure.

Skip

Skip you did the right thing by going with Peak. The traveler has nylon bearings, it is the only way they can hold the price down but it makes it wobbly and you can't tighten it up, not as smooth as others. By the way what do you think of Norms bobbins? Expensive but worth every penny.

Love the bobbins too. I even tried that guy's in Canada that are $100 each and that thing makes me nuts and don't like it as much. I have 4 of Norms bobbins and probably 16 or more of the spools with different color threads on them. The best thing about them is that the spring re-sets after so far out which is exactly what I didn't like about Ekich Bobbin as it doesn't re-set and you have to control the tension by moving the thread spool away from it's keepers to let it unwind and that is pretty often and if you don't hold it just right it will do it when your not ready. I have so many regular ceramic bobbins I still have to use them, but also for smaller thread I like the auto or Rite which I feel sure you know.

I do wish it was a bit easier to change the spool, but I prefer it to that darn Ekich and you can buy 3 of norms for what one of them coat.

Do you know DonO? I am starting to work with him a bit learning the rope dubbing better. Also teaching me how to deal with polar bear which is way different stuff. Very nice guy and sent me some of his polar bear and some Australian possum. I also bought some colors of died polar bear and got to say boy that stuff will set you back on what it cost, but near impossible to get too.

Skip

I do not know him. I can tell you that Norm's dubbing table is worth it weight in gold.also he has videos that show how to dub on his vice. Dubbing with the Nor Vice is a snap.

Nor-Vise | Videos | High Quality Fly Tying Vise System

Check out his demo on dubbing

Can't speak on the commercial side of things, but for the hobbiest, anything that will hold the hook firmly is good enough for me. For years i tied using 2 pieces of steel with a thumb screw to tighten them together and have also made plenty when i get an imaginative spark by just holding the hook with my fingers. I have upgraded twice over the years. 1st 'real' vise was an AA that took a beating, i can't over emphasise the point to NOT over-tighten the jaws when trying to hold a 2/0 or 3/0 hook!!!! :D Lesson learned. I now tie on a griffin oddesy and love it - the 360 rotation is sweet. The thin jaws also let you work around your jig/fly easily. Yes it does have plastic parts, but i also average tying only about 10 or 20 things in a weeks time. ;)

Lee Wolf tied all his flies with his fingers. He never owned a vise. You should do a small write up on the Griffin Vise. I did not mention it as I know very little about it. Have heard good and bad about different models. Most importantly is would you recommend it to others. I do not see how you can tie for any length of time without the 360 jaw. The commercial shops I have seen where they turn out thousands of flies a day and each person ties only one fly all day long and they mostly use the Thompson A. That is the only exception I know of.

I have a Renzetti Traveler and have no wobble like you described. I got mine used and didn't pay full price so it was a true deal. Mine is an old style with knobs and no cam lock. I'm naturally partial to it, and handle every vise I can get near. Haven't found a Nor yet, but don't tie commercially anyway. To each his own, just wanted to throw in my two cents.

Thanks for your feedback. The Travelers I got were about 20 years ago. I am sure the problem has been corrected. If you tie as your major hobby I still urge anyone to check out the Nor-Vise. Norm is as good as they come and is always there to help. Go to the NorVise web site and check out his instructional videos. There you can see the vise in action.

My old vise looks more like the Thompson Pro Vise than any of the others. It is very old, probably 50-60 years. It belonged to my uncle and his brother in law. They tied bucktail jigs on it. The base is painted green and has a thumb screw to attach it to a table. The tube that holds the jaws is chromed. Can anyone tell me what brand it is. I still use it a lot, have a new one a lot like it but still use the old one. Thanks.

Post a picture of it. Someone can surely identify it.