I was shown how to hand whip finish at SowBug a few years ago.
That is all I do now.
ON bead heads I use a little zap-a-gap to hold them. Many of the others I don’t use anything on and they seem to hold.
Rick
I had all sorts of headaches with whip finishers. Watched the videos. Prayed. Chanted with voodoo queens. Then one day a wise gentleman at the Great Waters Fly Fishing show took several moments, and with incredible patience, showed me the hand method. Like Rick, I’ve never looked back. I hated those wirey conglomerations. Of course, my flies don’t last long enough to notice whether the knot finishes hold or not. JGW
I always hand whip finished but wanted to learn the Matarelli…fought it for a long time till somewhere I either read or was told…create the triangle…also let it rotate…duh
I wrap my flies ‘backwards’ from what is supposed to be the ‘norm’ for a right handed tier. Taught myself, and never thought it ‘mattered’ until I learned to whip finish by hand. Won’t work for me. I can do it IF I remember to go ‘backwards’ while tying the fly, but if I tie like I normally do, the hand whip doesn’t work for me.
I use a tool. Fast and easy. Don’t know what brand it is, but it works well for me. Half hitches work, but the tool is faster for me and the knot seems more secure. Certainly looks better, but I doubt the fish care.
Buddy
I think mine is a Thompson. I seldom have trouble with it. I have a hard time whip-finishing by hand because I am a Pro Guitarist and do a lot of finger-picking. My fingers are way too rough and callused to hand-tie.
There is another option for the ‘Whip-Finish Challenged’, that is much better than half-hitches. It is called the Zap-A-Gap knot. Simply coat the last 5" or so of thread with Zap-A-Gap (or whatever glue you are using), make many finish wraps with it and let it set. Then, clip the thread, and coat the head with Hard-As-Hull, Sally Hansen’s Hard-As-Nails, Lacquer, enamel, or some other head finish. Viola!
Is a whip-finished fly more secure than a half-hitched fly?
I don’t know. My fly is usually hanging from a tree before it has a chance to come apart.
Using a Materelli whip finisher is a piece of cake. If you’re having trouble, don’t make it more complicated than it really is. You can learn from the included directions easy enough. If you can get someone to show you, so much the better. Let me repeat, it is really easy.
[i]Is a whip-finished fly more secure than a half-hitched fly?
I don’t know. My fly is usually hanging from a tree before it has a chance to come apart.[/i]
When I was about 8 or 9 years old, I used to half-hitch flies and give them to my art teacher. After about 10 fish or so, they would fall apart. That’s when I learned to whip-finish. I am self-taught. I learned to tie from an old copy of Silk, Fur and Feathers; The Fly Dresser’s Handbook, by G. E. M. Skues. My grandmother had a copy. I don’t know what ever happened to it, but I wish I still had it.
Half-Hitches will not hold up. You need to whip-finish or Zap-A-Gap your fly head to have a properly tied fly. I prefer the time-proven method of whip-finishing. I only Zap-A-Gap flies that would be difficult to whip-finish due to the design, such as the Chernobyle Ant, etc…
I like the Matarelli Whip finisher, and used Al Campbell’s instructions right here to learn how. Being left handed reversed everything, but some concentrated thought fueled by several beers was the breakthru I needed! 
Anyway, for the amount of money involved and the fact it will last a lifetime of tying, investing in a whip finisher is an easy thing to do. In fact, once you get the hang of it you can put a real fast whip in the middle of a pattern if necessary and know you have a real good knot to help hold things together. Just my 2c.
The keyto using the most common whip finishers is---------“4”. Look at the thread. It should look like a “4” rotated 90 degrees clockwise with the leg of the “4” on the shank of the hook. Twist the handle of the finisher to wrap the thread behind the eye. Remember to maintain that “4” during rhe procedure.
NO --either one with 4 wraps is all that is needed. One can also half hitch with the open end of a ball point pen. BILL
I don’t know…But I perfer…a 5 turn whip finnish and use both the standard & Extended version’s of the Matarelli whip finnisher. For pattern’s such as the Gurgler, The extended reach is really nice to have on the bench, For getting back behind that protruding lip. I use them cause like many other’s I have a job that will never allow me to do certian things in tying, without the proper tools to assist me where fraying can occur…
Tying with floss is all done from a thread bobbin for these same reason’s…
Joe and other’s…My Dear Mother, Sells Avon for a friend…And they have this kewl emery board type thing.(Blue Plastic, Almost paddle in shape( Not canoe…The kind the teacher used to use on ya!),If you can obtain a Catalog). I think it’s actually designed for removeing/smoothing calouses on the hands/feet… Anywho, It’s double sided, One side, Prolly about 60 grit and the other 100 or there’bouts… Very handy and can be cleaned under running tap water. And used regularly It really helps guy’s like us out…
I really get rough hands this time year as I need to wear gloves all day at work.
I just picked up a Matarelli because I’m a lefty. Tied up a #16 nymph just to test it out. It is easy to use, and works well from the wrong side of the vise. :mrgreen:
As another Southpaw, let me suggest that you change your “left or right” thinking from “wrong or right” to “correct or right”… 
Ed
That is a very straightforward and useful video. I watched it twice, and tied a whip finish on my first attempt. Thanks for that link. The matarelli is a bit more money, but it sure is worth every penny IMO.
I have used a Matterelli since Frank was in knickers. I have both the regular and long reach tools. Even though I can whip by hand just as easily; I have rough fingers and that combined with 10/0 thread and size 20-32 flies make the control and smoothness of a whip finisher desirable to me.
The tool wasn’t hard to learn and I can do it in my sleep but these posts reminded me of a problem I observed when I taught my nephew how to use one. His biggest problem was trying to form the “triangle” or “4”. The reason he had the problem was because he didn’t use his index finger on the tool to keep it from rotating when he attempted to form the triangle: "use the finger to hold the tool while you grab the thread, and THEN let it go to flip over and form the “4”.
Once he figured that out and developed a little thread control he was fine.
Ditto on the above, although sitting here I can’t visualize whether I need to do that index finger thing or not. Doing the whip finish with this tool is so easy that I can’t understand why this discussion even exists. If you are having trouble with it, take the gum out of your mouth and try again, LOL. A Materelli whip finisher is a bit pricier than some of the cheap knock-offs, but it’s a lifetime investment. Mine is over 25 years old and will surely outlive me.
Many “purists” like to brag about whip finishing by hand, but most of the ones I’ve seen use a bodkin in conjunction with their fingers. I’ve you’re going to pick up another tool, it may as well be a whip finisher.