When I said I tie mostly size 10 and up I actually meant to say that I tie size 10 and larger flies. Most of my fishing is done for crappies, bluegills, and bass. Right now i am tying on size 10 3399 mustads and Eagle Claw L253 in 1/0. I occasionally tie down to a size 16, but the vast majority of my flies fall between in between 10 and 2/0. I think that a true rotary vise would be a great thing to have, but as much as anything i would like to be able to turn my flies to see and work on them from a different angle.
The post opened a can of worms here. You see every one has a vise that they love and use. I would say go look at the following vises:
Dyna-king Barracuda JR and Barracuda
Renzetti Traveler and the Renzetti Presentation 4000 with Cam jaws.
Regal, Not a true roatary but allows you to turn the fly around with ease
Nor Vise is good but does take a little getiing use to.
Now may I suggest that you take Normans approach with the vises and go see if stores in and out of your area has them and give them a try before you buy. Also have a budget in mind when going shopping. Now the only vise I would steer you away from would be the plastic Danvise. I know people here on this site love them, but I feel you get what you pay for. Notice though I did not reccomend the vise I use and tye on, because I feel that a vise is a personal item and that you have to buy one that fits your budget and makes you feel relaxed meaning your spending time tying the fly instead of making adjustments. Hope this helps. I do expect the Danvise lovers here to chime in and critisize. Oh Well.
I know some folks here tie a LOT of flies each year…a lot more than I ever will. I probably tie a few hundred flies a year, at most, for warmwater species. I tie mostly in sizes 10-2…and primarily just for my own use, maybe some extras to give away.
I use the Danvise, and love it. It’s been very versatile for me, as I sometimes tie in the car (clamp the vise to the steering wheel), at a table in the church where the local fly-fishing club meets, at the kitchen table, or my “tying desk” in the basement. Its very secure. Its also very affordable.
Someone mentioned the plastic was a deterrent for them, but the jaws and post are metal. If you break the plastic, you’re doing something dreadfully wrong!
Man, does noone use an HMH? I use an HMH spartan. around $160 I think, camlock, rotary, american made, wonderful vise.
I dont tie many flies, but I tie lots of sizes. It holds them all very well… It was recommended to me by a friend of mine that ties LOTS of flies. It may not be as flashy as a renzetti but it holds hooks as well and is much cheaper.
I’ll 3rd Norman’s post (and 2nd Fontinalis’s’s’s’s’s) recommendation to sit down and tie on a few. As you see from all the other posts you’ll get a ton of different suggestions. But to find the best vise for you the best way to go is to actually try a few and see what floats your boat.
I tie a lot of SW flies, so some of the things you might want to look for in a vise for tying large bass and pike flies in particular:
The main job of the vise is to hold your hooks rock solid. Does it hold the range of hooks you want to tie on with the standard jaws? If not are SW jaws available for those hooks? How expensive are they and how easy is it to change them out? How fussy is it to adjust to different sizes of hooks with the same set of jaws?
Does the design of the vise give you enough room to tie behind the shank for big flies? On some rotaries you may need or want an extension arm because of the angle of the jaws. If you add in the cost of supplemental jaws and extension arms, brass upgrades or whatever, how does the total cost compare to other vises that might be able to do it all right out of the box?
Do you have enough room to work or are you cramped in the layout?
Is the vise design stable enough for lots of thread torque (especially if you’re spinning deer hair). You might want a c-clamp or heavy base. If it’s a base model is it “tippy” and if it’s a c- clamp will it attach to where you want to put it?
Will you travel with it? If so how wide does the clamp open? How heavy/bulky is it to pack?
How much actual “true” rotary tying will you be doing?
Most rotary vises have jaws at a fixed 30 degree angle (as opposed to being able to move them up and down in an arc of 220 degrees). If you tie a lot of inverted flies like clousers this may (or may not) be a pain.
Some vises have shiny surfaces- is glare a problem? How high will it sit on your bench? Is it comfortable for tying?
Sturdiness and construction- How long do you expect to have it? Replace after 5 years or pass along to your grandkids?
In my search for a new vise i’ve tied a lot at different vises.
Dynaking, griffin, HMH, regal, renzetti, anvil and peak.
I had chosen for a peak vise. Why? Some vises were to expensive for me. My wife and children need can’t eat from a new vise. Now without joking, the peak was for me the best for the money I had to spend. great value for the money.
eventually the two vises where I would choose…were the anvil and the peak.
And I am very satisfied about the peak vise.
I started with a Danvise and liked it a lot. A couple of years ago my wife bought me a Griffin Montana Mongoose. I really like the Mongoose. I tie in sizes ranging from 6 down to 30 and the vise handles all of those hooks fine. Good luck and Best Regards…
I also recommend that you try the vise before you buy it. A few years ago I did some research and my first choice was a Renzetti Traveler. I had a friend who had one and he let me try it. It felt uncomfortable to me. It seemed like there was no room for my hands to move around. My second choice was a Peak vice. Same thing happened when I finally found a Peak to try. Then I saw the DynaKing Barracuda. That was the vise I wanted. I saved up and Hook & Hackle had a sale (they were still in Plattsburg, NY at the time). I got the vise and have been happy with it ever since. The Traveler and the Peak vise are good vises…they just were not for me.
