For years I have been using the automatic bobbin after a recommendation from Ronn Lucas on a post. Since that time I have been thinking about buying the vise. An opportunity came along some months back and I traded my DK Barracuda for a Nor-Vice with one of the members here on the bb. I have been very pleased with it. It is rock solid and should last a lifetime. My dubbing has greatly improved and so has my tying speed. It has a bit of a learning curve.
Trout don't speak Latin.
Nor-Vice rules!
my tying table, anyway. Best Fishing Buddy bought it from Norm at a show as a present for my last significant birthday. my tying improved a whole lot; the dubbing is a whole lot easier and faster, and palmering, ribbing and all those other round-the-hook applications are just plain more fun. it's really neat to zip the thread underbody down a #4 10X hook! just twist the the cylindrical rotating mechanism and let it whirl away.
yep, it's hard to take on a trip if you're flying, although there is a nifty travel case with base available. my latest purchase is a used Renzetti to go into the flying/tying bag.
auto bobbins: there is another choice from another sponsor on this board--Farouk Ekich's really swell universal bobbin. i can't tie without it! just swap out the thread spool when you change colors or types of thread.
fly fishing and baseball share a totally deceptive simplicity; that's why they can both be lifelong pursuits.
I like mine and Norm is pretty good about replacing incidentals or adjusting the vice as you require. The auto-bobbin is what I love the most though. I'm sending my vice in soon to get it upgraded to the adjustable. I don't see why the vice is hard to travel with either.... I bought the travel case and it fits nicely into it and I just keep it on the travel base at all times anyways.
I even inquired about a parachute post and voila... he makes one that fits right onto the vice now...
I borrowed one for a bit longer than Joe, and had the same experience. Needs too much real estate to tie with, does not travel well, and pretty much requires those goofy (to me) automatic bobbins that I also never really liked. I know quite a few folks who have them but almost never tie on them. I also know a few who love them. I personally think they are best for certain types of flies, but not as versatile as more mainstream vises. YMMV.Originally Posted by Joe Valencic
Got a nor-vise for my tying table vise, ended up selling my renzetti and my regal.
5 years later still love it, and there is no one that backs their vise like Norm. Have you ever called Regal and had "Mr. Regal" answer.
JC, I can't even imagine chipping a jaw on these, had a few chips in my regal though.
Versatile - nothing else ties 28 - 9/0 (yes I have) without changing the jaws. Nothing else spins, dubs, wraps tinsel or feathers, switches to a tube fly and back to a salmon fly vise like this one. I'm sure glad it's not as versatile as the "more standard" vises.
There is a learning curve with the bobbin etc., however once you get the norvise paradigm you won't go back.
Maybe tying in hand is easier to travel with but not by much.
Something we got from Norm that made traveling with VEE's Nor-Vise easier are the clamps that allow the vise and bobbin post to be clamped to just about any table edge. Her whole travel kit packs down smaller than mine and she's very happy with it.
The Nor-Bobbins are one of my favorite tools. Once you get used to the clutch system pulling your thread back, it really speeds tying on just about any vise.
Fishing the Great Beyond
To be fair,,, I figured the breakage was caused by jerks who tried to mount big hooks in the jaws.
I have a friend who owns a fly shop and had to put the vises in his glass display case because of damage by people using the vises improperly when he could not be there to educate them about the nuances of each vise. Now he takes them out individually, explains how they work, and them lets the prospect tie on them while watching them (Kindergarten). Problems disappeared. Go figure.. No more shark hooks in midge jaws.
Joe
Joe Valencic
Life Member FFF
Rod Builder in Chains
Norm is one of the nicest guys I ever dealt with! I would do it again for sure. He gave me so much stuff I couldn't believe it and told me he wanted me tying on his vise and I have not regretted it one bit.
I have the vise, Fine Point Conversion, Clamps for both the vise and post, also a tray or what ever you call what you can tie on other than a table, having a senior moment here. The auto bobbin is good, but can make you mad as heck when you let the thread go back in when you don't want it to, but I don't use it near as much as I could. I use regular bobbins for the most part especially when tying jigs. Flies I almost always use the auto bobbin then.
He didn't know me from Adam except that he could look at my web site and I did send him some crappie jigs.
Skip
Norvise
I got my Norvise when I was really new to flytying. So most of my basic skills were developed while using a Norvise. After a couple of years, I had the opportunity to use a Peak and a Resetti (sp). I couldn't believe how much easier tying was on my Norvise. I believe if anyone will give it an honest shot, they will be more than pleased with their purchase. I use the regular jars for size 10-8 flies such as Stones, etc. The spinning function puts down thread and dubbing very, very quickly. Since I enjoy tying the smaller flies most I use the smaller jaws for them. There is no need to use the speed wrapping functions on them and the jaws are perfect for the smaller sizes.
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