Information On Threads

[rookie]

There have been several posts recently concerning theads. I thought I would post this separately although I did refer to it on another post. It is most informative and well worth the time it takes to read it.

Thread - Volume 6, Week 33 Fly Angler's OnLine"

[Normand]

your second link is exactly like the first link


heres a good chart on thread

http://www.flyfisherman.com/ftb/ssthread/index2.html

and an excellent article from chris helm in his online catalog. scroll down til u find it

http://www.whitetailflytieing.com/PDF/2007v1.8.pdf

[rookie]

Thanks Normand. I will edit. I must have just pasted the whole thing.

[flyfshr]

Fly tying is a mixed up mess without any useful standards and thread is a classic example!

0 rating - x/0 thread is whatever a particular manufacturer chooses to call x/0. (correct me if I'm wrong here) This is useful for comparing threads of the same type from a particular manufacturer but little else.

denier - gram weight of 9000 meters of material. Is that metric grams? This is useful for comparing threads of the same material but isn't comparing the denier of two different threads like nylon with polyester essentially comparing apples to oranges?

Why can't we have useful standards? Chris Helm's chart lists breaking strength and diameter for fly tying threads! If thread manufacturers listed their thread by breaking strength and diameter (like fishing line manufacturers do) we would have some useful information that would allow us to actually compare different fly tying threads. I will not live to see the day.

[nb_ken]

So now that we're all educated on the various aspects of thread, what kind do you all use?

I'd been using Uni for about 10 years, mainly because that's pretty much all my shop sells and just because it's what I'd always used.

Last summer I came across an article on thread (forget where) and they reviewed some other brands. That's when I found out that Uni is a bonded polyester with a fairly round profile. They also mentioned that nylon is a little stretchier than polyester and can be untwisted to lay flatter. Figured, darn, I gotta find some of this stuff.

Easier said than done. I'm in the Pacific NW and it seems like Uni has the market cornered up here. So, I went online and found some Danville Flymaster 6/0 (79d).

Seems like I'd tried Danville a million years ago and found it to be way too waxy for my taste. That's why I started using Uni. But this new (at least to me) Flymaster stuff ... holy moly. If I twist it one way it lays out as flat as a ribbon. Twist it the other way, I get a round profile for buildups. And that little bit of stretch just cinches things up a little tighter than my poly thread.

In short, I'm sold. Now if I can only find a local supplier.

The one thing I don't like is the color selection. I like Uni's better. For example, I tie and fish a lot of BWOs, and Danville's olive (at least the one I got) is more of a brown than a green. But, that fly shows very little bare thread, so it's not a deal breaker.

I'd also like to try some Ultra Thread. It's a nylon thread like the Danville. Again, not easy to find. I'd hate to pay shipping for 2 spools ordered online, and I'm reluctant to buy a dozen spools until I find out if I like it (although I lucked out with the Danville.)

What kind of thread do you folks use, mostly? What do you like about your brand? Anything you don't like?

P.S. I tie mostly trout flies, and other than the odd bugger, mostly size 8 and smaller. (Think stimulator to trico.)

[Hans Weilenmann]

Flyfshr,

If thread manufacturers listed their thread by breaking strength and diameter (like fishing line manufacturers do) we would have some useful information that would allow us to actually compare different fly tying threads.

Measuring diameter of monofilament is easy. Measuring diameter of braided line a little trickier, but still very do-able.

Measuring the diameter of multi-strand twisted tying thread is dark magic, and of questionable use, unless first the number of twists per unit length is agreed across manufacturers.

Cheers,
Hans W

[Hans Weilenmann]

NB-Ken,

What kind of thread do you folks use, mostly? What do you like about your brand? Anything you don't like?

Most of my tying is done with Benecchi 12/0. Strong for its size, consistent and reliable. Reasonable number of colors. Twists, flattens and splits easily. Spools color-coded for thread size (6/0, 8/0, 10/0, 12/0)

Anything I don't like? No, pretty all-round thread.

Improvements? Well, it would be nice if Benecchi were to duplicate the range of Danville Flymaster colors.

Cheers,
Hans W

[Bamboozle]

What kind of thread do you folks use, mostly? What do you like about your brand?

I was lucky enough to fall in love with Gudebrod and get a lifetime supply in all sizes and colors just before they stopped making it.

I love it because it is STRONG for its denier/size, lays flat or twists as needed and can be easily split. It has a good amount of wax that doesn't dry and flake off like other threads and comes on a nifty spool with the thread size embossed on it and a place to put the thread to keep it from unraveling.

If that isn't enough to love the color range is fantastic and the 10/0 @ 45 denier is the best midge thread I ever used.

I guess if I ever run out of Gudebrod which is EXTREMELY unlikely I would switch to Danville because to me having the ability to flatten the thread is very important.

[Skip48]

So now that we're all educated on the various aspects of thread, what kind do you all use?

I'd been using Uni for about 10 years, mainly because that's pretty much all my shop sells and just because it's what I'd always used.

Last summer I came across an article on thread (forget where) and they reviewed some other brands. That's when I found out that Uni is a bonded polyester with a fairly round profile. They also mentioned that nylon is a little stretchier than polyester and can be untwisted to lay flatter. Figured, darn, I gotta find some of this stuff.

Easier said than done. I'm in the Pacific NW and it seems like Uni has the market cornered up here. So, I went online and found some Danville Flymaster 6/0 (79d).

Seems like I'd tried Danville a million years ago and found it to be way too waxy for my taste. That's why I started using Uni. But this new (at least to me) Flymaster stuff ... holy moly. If I twist it one way it lays out as flat as a ribbon. Twist it the other way, I get a round profile for buildups. And that little bit of stretch just cinches things up a little tighter than my poly thread.

In short, I'm sold. Now if I can only find a local supplier.

The one thing I don't like is the color selection. I like Uni's better. For example, I tie and fish a lot of BWOs, and Danville's olive (at least the one I got) is more of a brown than a green. But, that fly shows very little bare thread, so it's not a deal breaker.

I'd also like to try some Ultra Thread. It's a nylon thread like the Danville. Again, not easy to find. I'd hate to pay shipping for 2 spools ordered online, and I'm reluctant to buy a dozen spools until I find out if I like it (although I lucked out with the Danville.)

What kind of thread do you folks use, mostly? What do you like about your brand? Anything you don't like?

P.S. I tie mostly trout flies, and other than the odd bugger, mostly size 8 and smaller. (Think stimulator to trico.)

I mostly use Danville because I buy from them anyway so it's easier to just use their thread. I do have some Ultra that I like and some Uni, but I don't think I like Uni as well as the other 2.

As far as color, I find their light Olive and their Olive is green so not sure why or what made yours have a brown tint. I have both and see no brown, but then maybe it's just me.

You can go to their web site and see color charts even if they are not as good as samples I have to look at. Click on products and then pick what you want to see.

Anyway here is the link if you don't have it... http://www.danvillechenille.com/

[nb_ken]

Just a followup on my original post. I finally got my hands on some UTC (Ultra Thread.) Here are some first thoughts.

As I mentioned before, I tied pretty much exclusively with Uni thread for some 10 years. Didn't know there was much of a difference between manufacturers, so I didn't look for alternatives. And Uni was/is fine.

Last summer I read an article reviewing different thread brands. It mentioned that Uni is a bonded polyester and as such is relatively round and rigid (or whatever the opposite of stretchy is.) Other manufactureres use nylon that can be untwisted to lay flatter and is generally more elastic than polyester.

A couple of brands they mentioned that interested me were Danville 6/0 and UTC 70d. I bought some Danville and tried it out and like it a lot (see above.)

UTC, for me, is hard to find. No place locally seems to carry it. Had to go on line. I ordered several spools and it took forever to get here (long story.) They did finally arrive the other day.

I've been restocking my supply of parachute mayflies and I was 4 flies into a dozen #16 march browns when the thread arrived. So, I'd tied 4 with Danville and then tied another 8 in the same pattern and size with UTC, so it worked out as a pretty good comparison.

I see why they call it Ultra Thread. UTC is like ultra Danville. Uni thread is round and rigid and has a good texture. Danville is flatter, stretchier and a little slicker. UTC takes the attributes of nylon to the extreme.

While you need to untwist the Danville to flatten it out, UTC comes off the spool incredibly flat. Almost floss-like. I think you'd have to work to twist it into a round.

UTC is almost rubber-band stretchy. I liked the stretchiness in the Danville. I think it helps cinch things up on the hook. With UTC, the stretch is part of the technique. If you don't work with the stretch, the stretch will work against you. Any wraps remotely loose will not hold at all. There is no margin for error in this regard.

And, the UTC is slick. It doesn't hold dubbing nearly as well as Danville or Uni. It kinda defeats the purpose of a low-profile, flat thread when you have to bunch up dubbing to make it hold. I suppose I could have added a little wax to make things stick better, but adding wax isn't a habit I've ever developed.

I've tied a couple dozen flies with the UTC now and, overall, I'd say this is a good thread. Very usable. UTC has good color selection. I love the spool. This is the same company that makes Ultra Wire. Spools have that purple disk on the outside for trapping the tag end of the thread. I like the label, too. It lists the denier, color and length. Handy information when you're trying to find a particular thread in a box full of spools.

But, for me, it probably finishes 3rd behind Danville and Uni.