I don't know what flies or sizes you are tying. But, here in Co. most patterns are on the small size. A carcass of a ball point pen is not going to put the thread where you need it. Same with doing the knot by hand. I learned to whip by hand, but on size 24 etc. it was a random thread layer. The Griffin tool is a pain. The Matarelli tool rocks. Here is a video for both. I don't know why some people are scared to give links, after all, it is called the "information" highway.

http://www.midcurrent.com/articles/f...ur_whipme.aspx