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Alright, finally getting my vise after doing some swapping on fishing gear. I've decided to get the Griffon Odyssey Spider. One of my reasons for this is that they are made in the USA. Just wondering if anyone has ever had any experience with the Griffins, especially this model.
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I bought one back in the summer. So far I really like it. Pretty easy to use.
Sorry never had a Griffin at all. The only Vises have owned and used are the Danvise (first real vise), then my Renzetti Salt Water Traveler, Peak and my Nor-Vise. I use the Nor for a few reasons, but if not for these I believe the Renzetti is about as good as it gets! The Peak is as good a vise as can be bought for under $160 and is built like a tank with really great machine work!
Skip
I would have loved to step up to a Renzetti or such quality, however I am doing my best to get started on this hobby with spending as very little of our money as possible. I've been swapping out a bunch of trolling gear that a buddy of mine who retired from walleye tourneys gave me to do what I want with. The friend who is ordering it for me also had a hundred spools of tying thread and a bunch of synthetic hair so it's a big step forward. I love horse trading so it's the easiest and most financially responsible way for me to do it. Maybe in a couple of years I'll be ready to step up my game.
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Till I bought my first vise I used an old Herter's #9 and a Thompson model A. I had tied bucktail jigs for my Uncle and friends since I was a kid. It wasn't until I was out of the military that I got interested in fly fishing and decided to learn how to tie flies (trust me it's way different then jigs). When I took my fly tying class I was lucky in that the guy who owned the shop had us tie on all the different vises so we could tell what we really liked. I ended up buying a Dyna-King Kingfisher.
A vise is pretty personal - what one person likes is not what another will like. I know folks who have gone out an bought $300+ vises without trying them and then hated them because they were'nt comfortable while they were tying on them. Definately takes the enjoyment out of tying.
Welcome to the madness!!!
I agree with fatman. Tied on vises like Thompson B , orvis simplicity and others for years. Vises basically hold a hook. I have seen guys use a pair of vise grips tie jigs and even one guy held the hook in one hand and tie with the other. Years ago most mid priced vises had good quality materials in the jaws. Not always the case today. Some vises use less then the best materials to build them. Company like thompson and griffin have been around for years. Depending on what you expect out of your tool will determine if you will be happy or not. Only factor I personal like is a lever to tighten the hook in jaw. I am sure could be happy with it for years to come.
unless your tying tiny flies i would go with something strong and easy to operate that wont open accidently at the worst time.the griffins have a pretty good rating. i buy the best cheapest things i can.cheap doesn,t mean bad ,just may be a bit fancy or have features and add ons i dont need and will never use.
Thanks guys. I have no doubts I'll try different vises over the years unfortunately at this time I don't have access to different ones to try them out. I should be able to post my first jigs in a couple of weeks.
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Just go to a Bass Pro one something like that if you don't have a fly type shop near you. It will help a lot just to put hands on some!Quote:
Originally Posted by Fishaholic_Jim
Skip
The nearest BPS is 2 hours away Skip and right now the fly shops nearest are all shut down for the winter. I do plan on checking different ones out when the season opens them back up and/or next time I'm in Springfield and can get over to BPS. For right now the one getting ordered will do me and it's not coming out of my pocket thanks to my horse trading skills.
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I came from fly tying.
Tying jigs is so simple. But I have found fly vises are not as good for jigs. Size wise.
I tye bucktails for walleye and smallmouth. And also crappie jigs.
I have been trying to find a well priced rotating jig for tying my jigs and I am still in search of it.
I thought that I had chimed in on this but can't find my post. I have a Griffin Mongoose. It rated #2 on a vise review here on the board. I bought it as it came with all of the attachments where the others you had to purchase separate. I have put it to use for over a year now and I still think its great. I paid less than 150 for it. I am by no means a great tier as most of the folks on here but I am learning as fast as I can. I started on a BASS PRO shop kit made the jigs that came in the kit and hooked. Then last year caught my first fish on a jig I tied. Well as they say it was all over then.
Had one for years, tied saltwater flies, freshwater bugs for gills, and jigs for crappie. Love mine!!!!
Really I can only speak of the vises I have tied on and a=out of the 4 brands I have tied using only one was more in the way and that was the cheapest one which was the Danvise. Part of my issue is so much of it is plastic, but more so the rook for hands around the jaw was not something I liked much. Next was the Renzetti Salt Water Traveler and it's so light weight and plenty of room around the jaw for fingers, a very good vise! Next is my Nor-Vise which I tie one for several reasons. I actually bought it for reasons that don't matter now as I don't tie dubbing the same way any longer, lol! However with my terrible shoulders and carpal tunnel the wrapping can get to be a bit much, plus I can cut down time a little. Size you can actually spin the jaws on the Nor-Vise that makes for a lot of wraps I can take by spinning the jaw with my thumb and finger! It did take a little getting use to the straight inline jaw and they do make a jaw for the vise to look more like a normal set up, but it makes for spinning a lot more weight and not inline so that I don't use even though I have that jaw for doing tails. I just got use to the normal one it comes with with my own tweeting the counter weight and such, that I like it fine. I also like the post it comes with in place of the bobbin holder that comes with most.
Then the Peak I took on because lots of guys getting into tying and I wanted to offer a very good vise and since it was the best vise under $150 at the time and life time guarantee, it just seems to make good since to me so I took them on to sell and had one my self for a while to see so I could tell people more. I only tied on it for a little while though as I wanted to get back to my Nor-Vise. I have another Nor-Vise that has not been used yet and still have my Renzetti, but sold the Peak I had for that little while.
As for which one I would recommend, it depends on the tyer and what they want to tie, plus their pocket book. Then I still say put your hands on a lot of them if you can!
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