Originally Posted by chewydog
But at least no jail time.
But at least no jail time.
nam
As Byron said ...good point.
UJ said" I do not believe having a Law, a J VIce, a Xuron would make be a better fly tyer that the vise I am using. "
I think there is a vise out there that if one were to learn how to use it... it would indeed make one a better tyer. If you don't agree just watch Norm tie on his Nor Vise.
Having said that ,I don't have one and do not want to go through the learning curve at this stage of my life but it would be worth the $$$ ...too me...if I wanted to.
That is exactly where I am at. Well almost. For me the goal is to become faster. I'm considered fairly fast now, but faster would be an advantage. I've reached a point where getting just a couple of seconds faster takes many months of tying. The discussion I'm having with myself is will a Nor Vice significantly increase my speed, and is it worth the learning curve?
Making this decision isn't easy. I can do some of the math but there are a lot of unknowns. How much faster will it make me? How long will the learning curve be? Will it end up an expensive white elephant? As my day job could be ending soon, I may become more reliant on tying income. Its one thing to produce more but can I sell them?
That is a very different perspective on the cost of a vice.
Cheers,
A.
Alan,
Good question and here's a not-so-good 3 part answer. 1)Depends on what type of fly you are tying.
2)One time at a show I was asked to participate in a 'speed' tying contest. There were a dozen or so participants. We sat at the same table with our personal tools and these materials were placed in front of us. We were to tye a simple Soft Hackle. This was the recipe: Hook - size 12 wet fly; Body - 6/0 thread; Thorax - peacock herl; Hackle - (we were given a hen neck) tyed as a collar. That was it. No prep time and we were instructed to tye as many as we could in 1 hour. Tying commenced immediately and ended in exactly 1 hour. 3)I will tell you that everyone had their own vise but I am unable to recall the various vises used. I am of the opinion that whatever the vise anyone used, it had no effect on the number of flies anyone tyed!
The outcome of the contest: I tyed 46 flies and I finished 2nd to the winner of the contest. I can tell you that all the flies tyed were donated to Casting For Recovery and that my flies would have been saleable. I can also say that I didn't drop any hooks, break a thread, go to the bathroom or do anything that would slow down my tying. I will also say that the winning tyer was a 17 year old who was an excellent tyer and who, a few years later, got in some trouble having to do with bird skins and a museum in England. I will let you and others guess at the number of flies he tyed to win this contest. I'll post the number later.
Anyway, back to your question. I believe I've partially answered it but I'll add something. The vise that is most easy and simple for you to use and is the most comfortable (for you) will be the fastest (for you). That is not to say that we would choose the same vise.
Allan
Allan
I completely agree with that as far as tying on a standard vice goes. But the Nor Vice is a different tying system. Thats why I'm considering the change. Having seen various videos it does look as though it could offer a significant increase in speed.
Cheers,
A.
AlanB,
You are correct.
I had one in the late 90's. It does take a LOT of getting used to though. As you say, a fairly big learning curve.
Okay, I'll ask this question: Aside from its use for streamer flies: bodies, palmer hackle and ribs, would you identify what types of flies could be tyed faster with this particular vise?
Allan, As most of my paying flies are Atlantic Salmon flies (including a lot of tubes) those are the things I'm looking at. You are right, my other bread and butter fly, the Ammonite Nymph, wouldn't be any quicker. I'd continue to do them on my current vice.
It can take ages. to put the floss body and rib on a 2 1/2" tube. That really could make a difference. I have seen a motorised tube fly vice. That is an interesting concept. Another thing to consider.
Cheers,
A.
Hi All,
I'm in the same camp as DG and a few others. I am a slow tier, and tie on an old Thompson A. A more expensive vise would not make me tie any faster, and my Thompson does an adequate job of holding the hook. At one time I thought I wanted an HMH, but am to the point that buying one would probably give me a guilt trip, because I don't need one....my Thompson A is all the vise I need.
For what it's worth, I bought it on Ebay, probably for a bit more than $20 with shipping.
Regards,
Gandolf
My Thompson did fine for me till I broke the jaws, then I got a Traveler, and it did fine for a long time till I started trying to buy a vise to improve my tying. That didn't really work, as the tying skill is in the brain and fingers, not the vise. I do think the Nor-vise would be great for big flies where you do a lot of wrapping, but I'm sure those skilled in its use can tie small flies faster on it too.
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