Give the choice of the dyna king supreme or the HMH standard pro, both cost about the same, which would you choose and why? I am getting ready to jump and just want to jump in the light!
I am haunted by Waters
Hi Check out Han’s reviews in Fly Fishing Mag. The reviews are available on line and will give you a nice base of info. As far as the HMH, you might want to consider the Spartan because for all intents and purposes it is a smaller copy of the Standard, with the same features and quality, but at a lot less dough. Like you, I’m interested in seeing some of the replies from the users.
midstream,
I have little to add which I did not already state in my reviews.
The reason for thios post is that in the FAOL For Sale board there is a DK Supreme vise on offer which would appear to fit your bill perfectly:
[http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/Forum2/HTML/003283.html[/url:fe017]
Cheers,
Hans W
=== You have a friend in Low Places ===
[url=“http://www.danica.com/flytier”]http://www.danica.com/flytier](http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/Forum2/HTML/003283.html:fe017)
JC,
Of course this is only one opinion (mine), but here goes:
Does anyone ever do a real test of them? Like testing the jaws until they do chip? Then giving real useful facts if most of the features were the same.
The only way I can see that requirment being filled is to have someone tie, say, 15,000 flies on the vise. I am not sure you will find anyone able to do this in the timespan one can expect a review to be completed by. Do you?
Simple destruction tests on a set of jaws, or testing surface hardness, neither will yield much useful information in my opinion.
The main problem is the jaws. What makes the best ones (soft/hard), and who makes them?
As far as reputable makers of flytying vises goes, soft jaws have gone the way of the dinosaurs. No soft jaws out there these days. Will the jaws hold a wide range of hooks securely and without damaging them? Will there be good access to small size hooks once clamped inside the jaws? Does the vise get backed by a decent warranty covering manufacturing defects?
Those are aspects one can, and should, incorporate in a vise review, as well as covering some of the other functional aspects of the overall design. Intentional destruction tests I have excluded from my efforts sofar 
Cheers,
Hans W
=== You have a friend in Low Places ===
http://www.danica.com/flytier
I’ve tied on both of the vises you mention and I prefer the HMH. The reason being that with HMH’s Micro Jaws I have much greater access to the hook than with Dyna-Kings Midge Jaws. I also need to mention that most of my tying tends to be in the smaller sizes (#18 and smaller). If I tied larger flies I think that I’d prefer the Dyna-King.
They both will hold a hook extremely well and both are very well made so I don’t think you can really go wrong with either of them. Consider the sizes you most often tie and if possible, of course tye on both of them before purchasing.
One other nice thing about the HMH is that you can change jaws on it without any tools. This may or may not be a plus for you, again depending on the sizes of fly you’ll be tying.
Hope this helps some.
-Darryl
“If we carry purism to it’s logical conclusion, to do it right you’d have to live naked in a cave, hit your trout on the head with rocks, and eat them raw. But, so as not to violate another essential element of the fly-fishing tradition, the rocks would have to be quarried in England and cost $300 each.”
~John Gierach
Hi! Posting here for the 1st time. I bought a new HMH Standard Bench vise (identical to the "Pro) not all that long ago and am completely happy with it. Holds hooks solidly and is styled in a traditional configuration that I’m used to and comfortable with. Very nicely machined with very smooth rotary function (although not “true” rotary) and adjustable head angle. Good access to the hook from the rear and underneath, and plenty of room to comfortably rest my left hand on top as I hold materials being tied in. I also like how you just unscrew the jaw to substitute other jaws that are available as an option. All in all a very nice, heavy duty vise that I expect will outlast me.
According to the HMH website, they experienced the jaws lasting about 150,000 flies on an HMH vise that was being used by a commercial fly tying outfit. HMH stated they took care of the jaws for them at that point. Hard to beat that.
– Mike
I have had both vises and like my Dyna-King the best. I used an HMH for about 3 years and didn’t like the way you had to play with it all the time to keep the jaws square. The rings that tighten and losen were always lose to. I also had problem’s with the Jaws being to soft. Now they may have fixed this but I do not think so as the folks at the local fly shop were tying on one and went to Dyna-King vises as the jaws were just not holding the hooks well enough.
I sold my HMH and haven’t looked back. I tie for a living and if the vise dosen’t do what I want, it is “Out of here”. I have tied on my Dyna-King for about 18 years now without any problems. I tie a lot of spring creek flies in sizes down to #24.s
I have three sets of jaws for my vise and the midge jaws do well for the small stuff but I have found that I hardly ever change from my normal jaws. You just get use to using them.
I am doing an order for 8 dozen size #20 Red Pheasant tail nymph’s right now and have the regular jaws in the vise without a problem.
I just recieved and order for 6 dozen lefty’s Deceiver’s in a size 2/0 for a bunch of guy’s going Peacock Bass Fishing in South America and will not be changing the jaws to tie them LOL
Just a guess but I would have to say I am well over several hundred thousand flies that have gone through that vise and it is still going strong.
One other thing people need to remember is that every company bar none have some problems with there vises from time to time. If you ever do have a problem go to the company and get help from them first. I know that most companys will bend over backwards to help you out with there product.
My advise is to tie on both and see which one you like the best. Go to a fly tying show and ask people if you can try there vises. Most will not mind. Go to your local fly shop and put a size 4 hook in each vise and see which will hold that hook the best? Your local shop should let you tie on them to. One thing I have learned is that like woman tastes in vises very. Ron
[This message has been edited by RonMT (edited 17 February 2006).]
Ron,
You are a very satisfied user of DynaKing vises and rightly so. Ron Abbby and his team produce very fine and lasting vises, and I am sure Ron is very happy when his customers voice their positive opinion on his vises in public. Word of mouth advertizing by a pro tier carries some weight.
Your assessment of HMH vises may be a little outdated, though.
If you went to the DynaKing 18 years ago, you likely hit the HMH vise in the period when the company was owned and operated by API. Not a good time in the company’s history with sloppy workmanship and bad quality control. I can relate to some of the issues you mention.
That said, in the middle nineties HMH was taken over by the Kennebec River Company, then owned by John Bryant. John really tightend down on the quality control, bringing HMH back to the level they were at when Bill Hunter, the designer and manufacturer, first marketed the HMH vises. Presently the company is owned by John Albright, and the quality and durability of the HMH vises is a match for any out there at this time, including the DynaKing range.
Cheers,
Hans W
=== You have a friend in Low Places ===
http://www.danica.com/flytier
Hans, glad you piped in regarding the HMH, as I haven’t had any of the issues that RonMT mentioned. I’ve been quite impressed by the quality of its construction and, as far as hook holding ability, it has been absolutely solid. In fact, I was quite surprised by just how little pressure it takes on the Cam handle to solidly secure a hook. Having said all that, I’ve heard nothing but good things about Dyna-Kings, so I think the decision comes down to factors other than quality and hook-holding ability.
– Mike
I’m currently tying on both a Dyna-King Professional that I borrowed from a friend and an HMH Standard Bench that I just purchased. The HMH is a fantastic vise. I love the slim profile of the vise and the hook access is unsurpassed. The vise is both attractive and very well built, and the jaws hold a hook well. Having said all of that of the two I prefer the Dyna King. The barrell on the Dyna-King is a bit bulkier so hook access is not quite as easy, but the cam lever is nice and long and has a positive stop. I can’t really explain it, but I think if you operated both the Dyna-King and the HMH you’d like the cam on the Dyna-King much better. Because of the way the jaws are designed the HMH requires a good amount of pressure on the cam to lock the hook in place, where the dyna-king is just moving the lever down to the nice positive “thunk”. Plus, the dyna-king is just built like a tank.
I think you’d be very pleased with either vise, but if all things were equal and the prices were the same I’d go with the Dyna-King personally. That’s just my opinion though based on tying on them side by side for the past week or so. As always, your mileage may vary.
Jeremy
Hey Han’s I bought my HMH from Bill Hunter. I use to tie for his shop. It just didn’t hold a hook the way I like.
I was at Hatch Finders here in town yesterday. They tie all there flies for there small shop. Dean has a HMH that he bought 2 years ago and has had the same problems that I had. Mainly that the jaw’s are a little soft and the locking rings just do not stay locked up on it. He told me he just got tired of the hooks moving on him. He is letting his daughter use it. He went down the street and bought a Dyna-King and has been using that for a little over a year. Said he loves it.
I just never liked the way mine would not stay the way I set it up. And the one that Dean has is the same way. The locking rings just never seem to stay the way you set them. If you try and turn the vise to look at the fly from the side it is even worse. Maybe I just never learned the right way to set mine up? But I can tell you that I can set my DK up and it will never move from that setting unless I reset it. Ron
[This message has been edited by RonMT (edited 18 February 2006).]