Is there such a thing? I have been using Uni thread in 6/0 and mainly 8/0 for my bluegill and trout flies. The 8/0 is all I use for my winged wet flies.
However, someone gave me a partial spool of Danville Flymaster 6/0 thread. I LOVE how it lays so flat! However, I would still prefer it a bit smaller for some things. Does Danville make a similar thread in 8/0? I would think that would be perfect! A flat-laying, small diameter thread. Tell me it’s so!
I use 12/0 for virtually all tying… Salmon flies, too… Only exception off the top of my head is for spinning deer hair. Building small well-shaped heads is easy…
I did see from Normand’s link that danville makes a product they call spiderweb, a 30 denier tying thread… I’m not sure what a person would use 30 denier for but that’s the smallest I saw. What would a person use 30 denier for anyway?
Fish
use spiderweb thread for the smallest of flies or when you dont want thread build up
good thread article to bookmark
http://flyfisherman.com/ftb/ssthread/index2.html
there is also an excellent article in chris helms whitetail fly tying catalog on thread
just GOOGLE “chris helm whitetail” and download a copy.
I’ve been using Gordon Griffith 14/0.
While I don’t use that supplier anymore, I do love using the fine thread and the ultra smooth fly’s I can tye with it.
Fine threads can be a challenge if one tends to be heavy handed with their tying. But with a rotary vice they are really great for building bodies and heads.
Instead of wrapping with it, you let the rotary draw it from your bobbin as you guide it into place.
I like that for building body shapes and heads. 
Spiderweb is listed as 18/0.
Danville’s 6/0 lies so flat that you hardly need anything else in most cases. I even use it for salt water and for spinning deer hair. The only real problem I have is that it doesn’t build up fast enough when you want to make a large head.
You could try some Benecchi 12/0. It lays flat, a little smaller than Flymaster and is nice to work with.
I’m surprised that no one has said this yet, but I thought that the Danville 6/0 (now labeled 70 denier I think) was pretty similar to Uni 8/0.
Have you seen this article?
http://www.flyfisherman.com/ftb/ssthread/index2.html
Now if you want ridiculously thin thread… try this stuff. It is only 20 denier. I use it for wrapping around the post on parachute flies. You can make excessive numbers of wraps with little to no buildup. But you have to have a light hand or you will break it. I think I’ve seen actual spider web with higher breaking strength.
http://www.jsflyfishing.com/cgi-bin/item/TW-030020-0000/63500/UNI-Products-Caenis-Thread.html
QK,
That 6/0 Danville you’ve been using is 70 denier. If you check the Uni 8/0 I think you’ll find it to be around 80 denier. Smaller is better in my book. The Danvilles lays so flat because it’s not a bonded thread, if you really want smaller look for threads that aren’t bonded.
I’ve been using Danville’s 6/0 for about 40 years with no complaints. I recently started using Gordon Griffith 12/0 for some tying. Really nice stuff.
REE
Wow! Thanks for the discussion, guys. I’m now educated a bit more in “the ways of the thread”. Most of my tying is done between sizes 6 and 14, so I don’t see the need to go super small on the thread! Apparently I just need to tie some more and get used to the difference between the bonded and unbonded threads.
Zac
(Oh, I bought some UTC 70 denier today for comparison’s sake. We’ll see how that turns out!)
I prefer the Danville 6/0 over anything else I have tried in that size. It really lays in nicely.
QK,
When your tying with unbonded thread (Danville or UTC) try using a split thread technique instead of a dubbing loop. Just stick a needle or bodkin into the thread and separate the strands. Put your dubbing in the split and twist the thread. Then wrap on the hook. Really a nice technique.
REE
I am going to have to try that! I am just getting to the point I can get dubbing to stick to the thread and have done a dubbing loop exactly once. That sounds like it would save time, too.
Hi Zac,
I really like Danville’s 6/0 too, but do use uni 8/0 too. The uni is twisted and uses different synthetics, so it is stronger, but it does not lay down nice and flat like the Danville’s. It does, however, come in some very desireable colors that I really like.
Like the others I use other types of thread for really small flies. I use Gordon Griffiths 14/0 for flies of #18 or #20 and smaller. Good stuff, but like you, hardly ever tie flies smaller than #16s. (I do, but not often.)
Regards,
Gandolf
REE
Denier is a measure of weight, the higher the number the heavier the thread, where 6/0, etc refers to size… So the Uni may be heavier (a higher denier), but smaller in diameter. The two systems allow reasonable insight on thread density…
art
When I was having trouble with my winged wets early on, I was pointed towards Charlie Craven’s shop. I took some of my files up there and showed them to Charlie. He looked at them and asked me what thread I was using. I replied I was using Uni 6/0. He then told me that Uni 6/0 was about the same size as 3/0 from anyone else. He then sold me a couple of spools of Uni 8/0. That helped my ties a LOT.
My point is that the Danville 6/0 is darn sure smaller than Uni 6/0. I don’t see how the size is even close to standardized in the x/0 system. The only comparison that can be made is within a manufacturer’s offerings when using this system. As a standardized system, for comparison of different manufacturer’s threads, it means absolutely nothing.
3/0, 6/0, 8/0 do not mean nothing, it is not the diameter or breaking strength or how it was constructed, if the thread filament where , spun, air entangled spun
If I remember correctly, I believe the “Ought System” was somehow related to caterpillar guts for the tapered leaders and the gut eye loop on Blind Hooks.
The only thing denier stand for and means is the weight in grams that 9000 meters of that thread weigh.
As for breaking strength, there is one source for that information on FAOL…
THREAD!, by Steven H. McGarthwaite
Hey, that’s me, I wrote that article. ~Parnelli
Great discussion & info here. I can use some good info on thread because I mostly tie crappie jigs and size is not an issue so I can get away with 210 flat waxed Danville so my heavy hand doesn’t break it too much.
However when tying flies which I like a lot, I have a hard time breaking the smaller threads, even 6/0.
So thanks for the post on this.
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