http://singlebarbed.com/2009/07/13/unlike-bell-bottoms-this-kind-of-tacky-is-a-good-thing/
has anybody used any of the products written about in the above article? or even heard of those waxes?
Norm,
I do use my own, beeswax and bow rosin mix. I use different proportions as necessary.
I use some homemade wax produced by a gent in the UK. It colors the silk appropriately, is somewhat tacky and is a nice tying wax. It’s a beeswax/rosin/oil combo, some of which is colored dark to give primrose silk the correct “Greenwell” color.
I also use some wax made by Jim Slattery. I’ve used the Leisenring wax he sells and it’s okay. Takes a lot of time to work it to working stiffness though. I really like the new wax he sells. Comes in small pea sized pieces, soft enough to apply to the thread without working. It’s tacky enough for touch dubbing as is.
For dubbing waxes I prefer BT’s tacky and super tacky waxes.
To answer your question, no I haven’t used any of the waxes mentioned in the article. VEE has some museum wax she uses for fly displays. I may have to give that a shot for a tying/dubbing wax. Never thought about trying it before you posted the article. Thanks for that.
REE
I use a wax done by Bill Bailey in Ft. Wayne Indiana that I like very much. It is reasonably soft to the touch, and very sticky. I like Jim Slattery’s wax too, but I’ve got some of his earlier, harder wax, that needs to be worked to be right. I like the consistency of Bill’s a little better, but they’re quite similar. I never used to use wax at all, for years. Now I’m discovering that I really like it for some things. What it will do for you is keep a tail you’ve tied in, or a wing, right there, in place, immune from thread torque etc. after the fact. Now those that Crazy Glue all the stages won’t care, but I really like it, and for the heads of full dress salmon flies, it’s a must unless you’re gluing.
Eric
Just a question? How many out there use wax consistently? I haven’t used any for over 10 years in my tying. I’m sure there are some applications I’m missing out on, but it always seemed more trouble than it was worth. I’m not knocking it’s use, I’m just curious as to how many tyers use wax regularly.
I do tie several hundred dozens every year, so I do sit at the vise regularly, in fact, almost every evening.
Just wondering…
Kelly.
I don’t use it either. I was under the impression it was a good aid for beginners.
Wet my fingers does the trick. Most threads are waxed anyway.
But then I will do dubbing loops every chance I get.
I came across 4 of the green containers of " Wonder Wax" at a garage sale & grabbed them all. I’m set for life. That’s the best wax going.
I admit, after 40 plus years at this, I’m still a beginner ;), but I use wax for a lot of applications, other than dubbing. For touch dubbing, though, the good tacky wax does make it easier. As mentioned in my post above, I use wax on almost all my tying silk to alter the color, and help hold materials in place, and provide a bit of translucency.
I just like what water does to silk:wink:
I bought some wax when I first started tying flies about five years ago. I used it a couple times right after I started tying and couldn’t see why I bothered. Haven’t used it since. The flies I tie regularly catch fish so I see no point to adding anything to the process or to the flies.
John
I bought a stick of wax when I first started to tie. Did’nt seem to help much and was a hassle, so I quit using. It found the bottom of my tying stuff and has been there since.
Beaver
This is a purely personal opinion and anyone has the right to disagree with me.
But, I think you are limiting your fly tying abilities and
opertunities severely by ignoring the uses of fly tying waxes.
I agree most modern tying threads are ready waxed
and grip the hook shank perfectly well without aditional wax, but that was not the only use for wax, and sometimes it is
necessary to use unwaxed threads.
Many of the other uses are listed above, so I shall not
list them again,
but of course I am an old fogy stuck in the past.
Hi,
As Donald has mentioned, wax is not just for assisting with dubbing (though it can help with that). For example, as mentioned by REE, Greenwell’s Glory, is originally dressed with primrose silk, well waxed to olive. The wax isn’t a clear, white wax, but is cobblers wax which is a dark brown. Baille’s Black Spider used brown silk waxed to black. The colour shift that the wax produced is not really achieved by just using olive silk or black thread. The wax also provides a certain look to the fly. In this sense, it can be used as a material, just like dubbing, or floss, or tinsel.
For some reason, to wax or not wax has become a strangely sensitive topic to some people.
- Jeff
its easy to get off track and plug the waxes that you personally use and thats OK, but has anybody used the “museum wax” or any of the other waxes mentioned in the link i provided.
Hi Normand,
Oops! I have not used the museum wax, though I do have some bees wax that I use. I’ve not often needed to use a clear wax for dubbing, so personally I tend to use waxes that do change the colour of the material. The tube of fly tyers wax that I have has lasted quite a long time as a result. But, for those who use wax a lot, it sounds very promising.
- Jeff
Norm,
No, I haven’t.
Walt
Hi,
First, I’ve not used the waxes mentioned in the article except for plain beeswax. I do use beeswax, and it is especially important when using Pearsall’s to help it stay on the hook when first casting on. I know that silk threads like Pearsall’s was waxed to alter their color on some wet flies, however, I am a firm believer that waxing silk threads used as the fly body without dubbing on it defeats the purpose of the silk to some degree. It has the natural ability to look translucent when wet, and waxing prevents the silk from getting saturated enough to do so, IMO.
When dubbing, I like a soft wax, but one not overly tacky. For years I’ve used Rainbow Wax, which is no longer available. I just started a new tube. My old tube just ran out after about 20 years. For special applications, like spinning hackle fibers in a dubbing loop, a good tacky wax helps. I guess selecting wax is a combination of both preference and selection for the job one is doing.
I recently read, in another forum, someone asking if they could use Chapstick. I imagine one could, however I’m not sure how the fish would react to it if they could smell the camphor. In the same thread someone mentioned using glue-stick. That one I’ll have to try.
Mark
From the article I have used beeswax and toilet ring wax, the ring wax very sticky. I use the Beeswax 99% of the time that I use wax. and mostly to control frayed ends or to keep something glued down.
I sat at a demonstration and watched BT’s super tacky wax being used for touch dubbing it was amazing how fast the dubbing went on.
Eric
In my tying, I use the BT’s, but generally only with the use of certain synthetics that I otherwise find tough to get a real nice/tight dub with.
I never actually apply the wax to the thread but rather touch my index finger to it. I think I picked this up from an AK Best video/article/book.