I do have a hard time with those that fish with high priced equipment and want to cut corners on the prices of materials & hooks for tying our flies.
Agreed 100%. The gear I prefer is high priced. I step into the water with $1k+ of gear and I'm going to save 5 cents by using cheap hooks???

Byron, nice looking hook. I sometimes prefer a short shank to achieve a larger gape in perspective. I use the TMC 921. MFC also makes a 1x short that I haven't tried yet. No answer to your question.