Confusion over Ice Dub and Angelina clarified

There is a lot of confusion over Ice Dub and finding it in the wild. Years ago I wrote a piece on Meadowbrook Glitter’s Angelina fibers, and how they’ve since become Ice Dub. Since that time I have answered a lot of confused questions about the Angelina product and whether it is or isn’t what we know as Ice Dub.

I thought I might reiterate what it is you’re looking for and describe what it is you might purchase when looking for it … and how fraught with peril your purchase might be … and how best to fix it … which is a lot for a single post, but advanced fly tying simply ain’t for sissies.

What we are dealing with …

Meadowbrook Glitter makes many types of Angelina fibers. There are “straight”, “soft crimp”, “hot fix”, and several other flavors for which I don’t have a bonafide description or label. I will call them “small denier”, and “long straight.” All of these fibers are made from a thin polyester sheet sliced into tiny thin strips.

“Soft Crimp” Angelina is what we know as Ice Dub. It is a thin curly film soft to the touch and dubs onto thread fairly well. Soft Crimp Angelina has 15 denier wide fiber, whose filament is about two inches long, and is the only Angelina flavor that is Ice Dub.

“Straight” “Angelina is a similar width fiber to the soft crimp, but is NOT curly, is several inches longer than the crimped, and while it can be dubbed onto thread, is a little stiffer and less easy to dub than Soft Crimp. Straight Angelina is available in all the same colors as Soft Crimp, but Ice Dub has even more colors than Angelina, so Ice Dub has many custom colors unique to their product. Meadowbrook Glitter makes both the Soft Crimp and Straight fiber in about 27 colors, and Ice Dub has considerably more than that.

“Hot Fix” Angelina is a heat fusible fiber identical in appearance to straight Angelina, only the application of heat will make the fiber fuse into a mesh sheet or “bug wing” of iridescence. Simply drape fibers onto a clean surface in any pattern, lay a piece of paper over them, then pass a warm iron over the paper, Instant insect wings.

Why it’s a problem …

Angelina fibers were originally made for the glitter business, chopped into tiny fragments so folks could toss them in the air while inebriated. Angelina fibers are now sold to the millinery and yarn business, and that industry uses most of these fibers interchangeably, so they don’t care about the differences as much. Angelina fibers are woven into spun yarns to add flash and sparkle, and only the heat fusible fibers are of concern to the yarn crowd, as they don’t want their garments melting accidentally.

A fly tier intent on buying “Ice Dub” by the ounce can search for Soft Crimp Angelina on the Internet, and will likely get a mix of Angelina fibers, much of it the wrong stuff. The yarn or spinning vendor lists their Angelina fibers incorrectly, or without knowing which are what, and you wind up buying packages of the “straight” fiber Angelina rather than the Soft Crimp. The yarn vendor doesn’t seem to care about straight versus crimped, and you get a confusing mix of incorrect products when ordering online.

This is the source of the confusion, vendors selling straight fibers when you’re looking for soft crimp, and the product you get is close … but not exact.

As a test I ordered from five different yarn stores and recieved all three types under the “soft crimp” label. That means “caveat emptor” … and I cannot fix this for you.

The Good News being that while the straight and hot fix fibers are only slightly harder to dub, they are still very usable in fly tying and your money will not be wasted.

There are two kinds of fly tiers, those that go the extra mile, and those that buy packaged crap

While I can’t fix this issue of vendor mislabeling, I can teach you how to make Lemonade from Lemons, with the aid of a little knowledge and Science …

Think Taco Bell and it’s products served by high school kids. Any new product they debut will make use of existing Taco Bell products and processes, rather than something completely new. They’ll slap beans onto a taco shell, add a soft flour taco cover and call the Artery Hardening result a “Chalupa” … They already had the soft flour taco, beans, and crispy shell, on other products, as well as the process to cook and wrap them in greasy waxed paper …

The same is likely true of Meadowbrook Glitter, all their fibers stem from the same thin polyester sheets, so there has to be some simple process to convert straight to crimped, as everything but the shape is the same. The “hot fix” flavor suggests temperature modification may be the answer.

Enter Science.

Polyester has a melt point of 220 degrees fahrenheit, at that temperature solid polyester will turn into a liquid. At temperatures less than 220F, polyester will shrink, twist, and curl, changing both its form and texture.

Hot water from the tap is about 100F. All we need do is figure out what temperature will turn straight Angelina into something more resembling Soft Crimp. In addition, the heat fusible form of Angelina is an obvious special case, as it’s likely something has been added to its base polyester to melt slightly with warm iron use.

Doctor Frankenstein I presume …

Dyeing polyester is a lot of fun, and being no stranger to the process as well as owning several pounds of soft crimp Angelina, I figured I could add to my available colors of Ice Dub at the same time I deduced what the heat properties were on the baseline Angelina product.

Case 1: Heat fusible Angelina. Heat fusible Angelina begins to lose its straightness at around 130F to 140F. Hot tap water is about 100F, so this is only slightly hotter than tap water. At these temperatures the width of each fiber and its straightness are both comprimised, and the result is essentially a better form of Ice Dub, with a thinner filament size.

Case 2: Standard Angelina (straight). The straight Angelina fibers that are NOT heat fusible have a higher deformation temperature, around 155F to 165F. At these temperatures the same deformation of fiber width and straightness occur, making standard straight Angelina into more of an Ice Dub flavor.

Note: If you wish to do this on your own, you need to have a good thermometer and remove the Angelina from the water bath frequently to check the fibers for the start of the malformation process. I initially removed the material after one minute of exposure to an increase of 10 degrees fahrenheit. In this manner I could determine a roughly ten degree window where the material began to change shape. Leaving the material in the bath longer, or increasing the temperature more can increase the amount of shrinkage and deformation of the Angelina fiber. So you need to assume you will destroy some learning how to shape/dye this material.

Hell, you destroy materials simply dyeing them the wrong color, and as I can buy a quarter ounce of Angelina for the price of one teensy pack of Ice Dub, we’ll have plenty of mistakes and unsusable mats, and we’ll make plenty of things you’ll want to make again.

Reproduce the Range of Outcomes

You know what Ice Dub looks and feels like. You’ve got a package of Angelina so you know its characteristics, now pinch off a dab and toss it in a pot of hot water equipped with a liquid or candy thermometer.

Every ten degrees of temperature increase over 120F you should remove the materials and check for changes. Once you determine the curl and shrink temperature, destroy some by leaving it for too long. This will show you how much change is possible with the water temperature changes, allowing you to reproduce the effect again.

Keep in mind you might not know what the vendor sent you (he might not know either) so record the temperatures and try the process on another sample, if you bought more than one color. If you get one package curling at a lower temperature, chances are you have a hot fusible pack, so make a few bug wings to see what they look like.

Overdyeing Crystilina Aurora with Brown Jacquard dye, note the dye bath temperature with a candy thermometer

The above picture shows the “default Green” color that emerges first when you dye the Angelina fiber. This is “Crystilina Aurora” color and the opalescent refractions assist in making the result look green. This is “white” Crystilina Aurora dyed with Jacquard Brown iDye. The brown is beginning to take, but more time in the dye bath will be needed to get a dark brown.

Dyeing polyester requires a different type of dye

Polyester is a synthetic fiber, so you need a synthetic dye to color it correctly. Synthetic dyes typically will not dye protein, so you can dip your hand in the dye with no ill effect, other than suffering horribly from scalding water burns.

Spilling it on formica is a different issue, as most kitchen formica is synthetic, and every dollop, slurpage, or drip may dye your kitchen floor vividly.

RIT makes a synthetic dye called “DyeMore” for use on synthetic fabrics including Polyester. The Jacquard company makes “Idye Poly” for synthetics which will also dye Polyester. As Jacquard also makes an Idye for natural fibers, make sure you order the correct product. Jacquard iDye contains a packet of gel fixative to set the color, and the RIT DyeMore requires no additional fixative to set the color permanently.

The instructions on the labels of these dyes are a bit misleading, as they are designed for pounds of cloth, not tiny fragments of polyester. Often the directions will insist the dye bath be closer to 200F than the 120-160F range I described. Ignore the directions and test the process using a pinch or two of the Angelina material, testing shrinkage, curling, and color, before committing your entire purchase to the dye pot. THe physics are undeniable, as dumping several pounds of wet cloth into the pot is going to lower the temperature 20-30 degrees, whereas your little packet of Angelina will not have that cooling affect, and the small pinch of material will probably liquify into an unusable gum.

I tested both RIT DyeMore and the Jacquard IDye Poly and had great results with both. One of the unique things about polyester is that the initial color picked up by the Angelina is always a Peacock Green, even if you’re dyeing something Tan. I’m sure there’s an explanation for this phenomenon, simply leave the material in the pot longer and the proper dye color will eventually show.

I always yank some out of the pot if the initial green color is particularly fetching, leaving the remainder to acquire the actual color of the dye. This gives me two colors for the price of one.

Angelina has several white colors suitable for dyeing, each with a different iridescent or opalescent highlight. My favorite is Soft Crimp Angelina in the “Crystilina Aurora” color. This highlight is like shattered abalone shell and contains more colors than the other highlights, hence my favorite.

Angelina Fibers, exposed to different water temperatures

The above image shows the deformation of the straight Angelina fibers when exposed to hot water. The original sample is in the center, and the 155 Degree was a several minute exposure to 155F hot water. Likewise for the 135F specimen at right. You will have to watch carefully to get the right amount of change in your straight or hot fix Angelina, and as water temperature can differ at altitude you will probably require several attempts before you get what you like. Experiment with small pinches of the material before submerging your entire stash. Remember that Ice Dub has a shorter filament length than the Soft Crimp Angelina, so depending on what the vendor sold you there may be small differences still. Based on the above sample and temperatures, it appears this is “straight” Angelina, not the heat fusible or soft crimp versions.

As most of you are new to dyeing understand that you’ll need to approach this systematically. Your results will vary from mine due to simple things like size of pot, amount of water, amount of dye used, so don’t expect perfection on the first try. In my trials I used a full container of the dye, either Jacquard or RIT, mixed with about 4 inches of water in a large stew pot. The large pot allows the attachment of the candy thermometer without getting in the way of stirring the mix.

To make it easy on yourself, heat the liquid to the desired temperature and turn off the burner. This will allow you to soak materials for several minutes without scorching or destroying them suddenly. Once you’re certain of the time and temperature exposures you can get bolder in your efforts.

The above shows the results of testing both dyes and fibers. RIT DyeMore Sandstone, Gunmetal, Jacquard Green, Silver Gray, and Brown. Several of the greens shown are me pulling some out before the actual color takes over. Almost all the synthetic dyes yield a green on the initial dip with the color showing up only after some minutes in the bath. The Gunmetal color took nearly 15 minutes to show correctly, and I had to reheat the dye bath a couple times to ensure it remained near the desired temperature range.

With products as delicate as Angelina it is really easy to destroy them in the dye bath, so turn the heat off where possible to ensure you do not scorch the product or weaken it structurally.

In Summary, Angelina fibers are sold by many vendors without regard to whether they are soft crimp, straight, or heat fusible, and its possible to recieve any of these flavors when ordering the Soft Crimp flavor online, just as I did. Angelina will curl and shrink under heat, so if the “Soft Crimp Angelina” shows up and is the straight or heat fusible version, you can make it into a better version of itself with a dye pot and the appropriate dyes – or simply hot water.

Expensive bobbins and other engineering marvels distract your dollars from where they’re really needed

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Only two items are used at every step of the fly, and rather than spending precious dollars on tools that are simply more expensive because they can be, spend your money where it really counts, by upgrading your scissors or your vise.

The fly tier’s vise and one or more pairs of quality scissors will always justify their cost simply because they are constantly in use, their quality levels increase dramatically with the dollars spent, and their capabilities increase with the increased outlay, as blades and tips become finer and sharper, or jaws become capable of a wider range of hooks, can rotate, and can attain the same nosebleed price levels as lesser tools, so you don’t feel left out.

Fly tying vises being too expensive to own more than one or two of them, thereby making me blanch at the thought of buying several for review, but scissors are enjoying a renaissance in both price and quality, and a canny fly tier intent on upgrading his tool suite should learn where the good scissors grow, and how to determine what he really needs in light of this vast unexplored continent of expensive cutlery.

Scissors, and the Vastness of Options

All the best scissors grow in the medical and dental professions, and what’s available from fly shops are the cheapest quality scissors, mostly made in India or Pakistan. Both regular and dental surgery have created thousands of different types of specialized scissors that you cannot imagine exist, until you are curious enough to visit an online medical supply house, and dive into all the names, sizes, and shapes.

The myriad of choices, shapes, cutting edges, and materials are likely to be a bit daunting to your untrained eye, but I include enough information to help you limit your focus to a few important qualities and the types of tips, frames, and edges available to make your choice and your dollars go further.

Tips

Tungsten Carbide inserts are obvious to the naked eye. Don't assume cheap scissors are tungsten unless you can see the inserts

For the fly tier the sharp fine tip is the most desirable element in a scissor. Medical scissors can have a tip fine enough to trim a single fiber from the inside of the eye of a hook, but that degree of metalurgy comes with a high price, both in dollars and in the education of the fly tier that spent the $600 necessary to own those scissors.

Medical scissors also come with blunt tips, rounded tips, curved, straight, and one rounded tip and one fine tip, but for most fly tying uses the dual fine tip is preferred. Fly tiers may lust after other types of scissors, once they learn of their existence, like Wire Cutting scissors would be superb for cutting heavy feather stems, wire, and bead chain. Medical supply houses often describe these as “heavy pattern” scissors, or heavier frames designed for increased force, and most come with one serrated and one straight edge designed specifically for cutting stainless steel wire.

Stainless steel wire is the preferred standard in dentistry and medical surgery due to its strength and possesses the highest intrinsic hygiene value, requiring less disinfecting chemicals to provide a sterile surface. Stainless steel wire would destroy most fly tying scissors very quickly, so the extra “beefiness” in frame of a heavy pattern scissor is welcome.

For most tiers the question of which tip will reduce itself to straight or semi-curved. Fly tying scissors are typically straight points, but scissors designed for fine work are often available in both straight and semi-curved. The curvature allows the cutting points and fingers of the user to not block the view of the area being worked on, giving greater visibility for precision cutting. Most tiers learn with straight points, many prefer the semi-curved once introduced to them solely due to the increased visibility garnered at the point of the cut.

Edges

The “Supercut” blade (typically with black handles) are superfine serrated blades. These serrations are much finer than anything available to fly tiers and will positively grab and hold anything ensuring no slippage during the cut. Tiers are familiar with hair or fibers slipping along the blade as it closes and we compensate without realizing it, often trimming two or three times to get a single even cut. Supercut scissors prevent any hair from slipping and you will get straight and even cuts on fibrous materials every time.

Tungsten Inserts are small insets of Tungsten Carbide imbedded in the leading edge of each blade. Tungsten is among the hardest of steel, so it makes a superior cutting edge. It is also the most brittle of steel, so you can destroy the points simply by dropping them onto a concrete floor. If you are not careful and cut toward the hook shank perhaps catching the tips on the hook shank, you can remove both tips in the blink of an eye, destroying the scissor in the process. Tungsten Carbide scissor usage requires the tier to relearn how to use scissors, and how to protect the points properly.

Most medical scissors are simply stainless steel which is a softer cutting edge and less prone to damage. Many medical scissors have “German Stainless” stamped or stenciled on them, which refers to the type of steel used versus the steel (or scissor) originating in Germany. Metalurgy analysis suggests sulpher and phosphorus are added to traditional stainless to make this variant, it is considered a “soft” steel.

Ceramic bladed scissors are a ceramic coating added to stainless or tungsten inserts to make the edges harder, sharper, and last longer than stainless or tungsten normally would. Ceramic coating also reduces glare on the scissor, and makes it resist corrosion better. Ceramic coated scissors are incredibly expensive, lusted after by every fly tier that handles a pair, and should be considered only if you have a friend whose a surgeon, a rich uncle, or win the lottery. Ceramic OR (operating room) grade scissors typically range between $250 to $600, depending on size and type.

… and yes, the gold coating on their handles is real gold.

What a Hammy Handed Meathead needs to know before buying the Good Stuff

Semicurved tips on operating room scissors. These are the tungsten carbide OR grade

Medical scissors are available in four grades. There’s the disposable scissors from Pakistan and India that are $10 or less, and make up most of the offering from fly tying shops, and are available by the squillions on Ebay at much cheaper prices. A decade ago these were really poor quality, but the sample purchases made recently suggest vast improvement on both fit and tolerances.

As these scissors are less than ten bucks each, you can order a sample pair to check the points and quality of blade construction before ordering more. These are great scissors for equipping a club fly tying class – or used as loaners for same. These scissors mimic the fancy scissors by using gold colored handles, and stencil “German Stainless” on the frame, hoping you’ll think the scissor is made in Germany.

Often these scissors are labelled with the term “TC” for Tungsten Carbide, but none of the samples that I bought had tungsten carbide inserts in the blades (see the below picture), so this is simply a sales tactic hoping to dupe the unwary.

There is the high quality disposable from both US and German vendors, and are usually in the $17 to $25 range. These scissors are typically better than our fly tying scissors, have fine points, are made in the US or Germany, and are typically only made of stainless steel.

The third grade of scissor is the “supercut” and tungsten carbide scissors. These scissors can range from about $75 to $250, and are better than anything offered by fly tying vendors. The above picture (at left) shows the fit of the blades on a pair of semicurved Tungsten IRIS scissors. Note that daylight cannot be seen between the two blades from their tips all the way to the screw fastener. This is the hallmark of the best scissors as they only cut where the upper and lower blades meet. Daylight means little or no cutting ability on that segment of the scissor.

The ultimate grade is the ceramic coated scissor, and is largely out of the tier’s budget. Paying $300 to $600 for a pair of scissors that you are certain to destroy should they be your first set of quality scissors, is for trust fund babies who can afford thousand dollar fly rods, and $200 nippers. I recommend learning to use tungsten carbide scissors first before moving higher on the food chain, and prior to ceramic coated you should have destroyed at least one pair of tungsten scissors learning how to use them properly.

These scissors (tungsten and ceramic) should be approached warily, as the fly tier needs to learn how to use scissors of this quality, given that flesh and ligaments can be soft in the comparison to some of the things you may be cutting with your inexpensive fly tying scissors.

Learning how “soft” steel can be

Stainless is considered a “soft” steel, and using a quality scissor improperly will show you how soft stainless can be.The screw joining the frame and blades is a much harder steel than the stainless of the scissor, so the more pressure applied to the legs of the scissor to make the cut, the more the screw will deform the soft stainless housing that surrounds it. Over time this screw hole deformity becomes “slop” in the meshing of the blades, and the legs of the scissor will show increased play in all directions. Eventually the scissor will be destroyed, or the screw can deform the screwhole to the point where the scissor no longer functions as such.

Test your existing fly tying scissors for damage in the same fashion. Simply grip each fingerhole and move the legs in opposite directions vertically. The distance the legs move away from one another in the vertical plane shows how much deformity or slop is present in the screw hole.

Your first set of really excellent scissors will be your ritual sacrifice, you will destroy them learning what you can and cannot do. Destroying good scissors should take years if you don’t do anything stupid, so be mindful of their use and assume you will destroy them via time-honored trial and error.

Rule 1: Heavy cutting needs to be done with heavy duty scissors . I have a “heavy pattern” scissor with standard stainless blades that I use to cut wires, monofilaments. stems of peacock and other thick flight feathers, and bead chain. These heavier scissors have lasted about 30 years of commercial tying with no obvious damage, due to my choosing the proper tool for this job. I may succumb to a set of inexpensive wire cutting scissors just to try them in a similar role.

Rule 2: Stop cutting toward the hook shank with tungsten carbide scissors, learn to cut “away” from the hook shank instead. Closing the tips on a hook shank will remove those fine points you paid so much for – so learn how to minimize risk. Use Needle Scabbards on your best scissors to protect them when not in use.

Rule 3: Fine pointed medical scissors are designed to cut flesh, skin and soft organ tissue. They are not used to cut heavy tendon and bone. This learning curve is identical to a surgeon-in-training, you have to learn which tool is best suited for what type of cut. Use your heavy scissors to cut leather for mouse tails, brass or stainless wire, or anything else rigid or thick.

Of the thousands of medical scissors, what should I be looking for?

I have linked to numerous different medical supply houses in this article so you can see the hundreds of types of scissors available. There are also plenty of explanations for the basic types of medical scissors and their uses available on the Internet.

A fly tier who is ready to make the leap from fly shop to doctor’s office should focus on these attributes.

IRIS Scissor : Iris scissors have small, fine tips and sharp blades. They were originally designed for ophthalmic procedures but are now used in a wide range of applications like delicate tissue dissection, cutting fine sutures, or removing delicate ocular tissues. Note the medical uses all mention delicate or fine, pay attention. IRIS scissors are best suited for the fine work needed on flies. Stick with this style in your initial foray, and get more emboldened once you’re used to the types and styles.

If you want to look at a new type of scissor, order the seven dollar version of it from a medical supply or EBay. Test the heft, length, blade, and cut, using the inexpensive version. If warranted, you can buy a better grade of the scissor once you’re comfortable with its attributes, capabilities, and shape.

Length: 4.5″. Scissors come in many sizes, for fly tying … stick with the 4.0 – 4.5″ lengths, depending on your hand size. I prefer the 4.5″ length, it’s typically the standard length for most fly tying scissors sold in fly shops as well. (4.5″ is 11.4 centimeters, Germany is on the metric system. and many supply houses list their metric size.)

Large fingerhole. Scissors are available in different fingerhole types, ribbon and standard. Medical scissors are designed for male fingers so all should have large enough fingerholes, but given a choice, opt for more room.

Fly tying scissors all have straight tips, medical scissors offer semicurved, slanted, straight, and scissors whose blades are tilted 45 degrees. Start with straight points and work your way up to the semi-curved once you’re more comfortable. Semi-curved scissors are designed to remove scissor and fingers from the same plane as the cut being made – meaning you have increased visibility of the work area so you have better control over the single hair you’re removing from the eye of the hook. I prefer semi-curved, but I use both styles.

There are many high quality makers of medical scissors and most reside in the US or Germany. I cannot vouch for all, but if you are concerned and wish to make a large dollar purchase, I recommend the Miltex brand, Miltex being a German made scissor. I have also purchased numerous Hu-Friedy scissors, and I can recommend those as well.

I have used Miltex scissors for at least 40 years and have never had a bad pair. I have destroyed a couple pair, but this was the normal process of learning about the scissors and their limitations. That first sacrificial pair paid for itself many times over as I did not repeat the same mistakes with others I have purchased.

… and Lastly.

If you’re contemplating a purchase please recheck the scissors length, and tip type before buying online. You may even want to call them if the photographs are grainy or too small. It is easy to mix a round tip for a fine tip or a blunt scissor, if you’re not playing close attention.

Some states require the purchaser of the medical scissor to be a doctor, and in those states a license or license number must be produced at the time of sale. Don’t buy from the supply houses that are limited by this requirement. All the eBay scissors and 90 percent of the remaining supply houses do not have a license requirement, so simply shop a different state.

As only the largest of cities host stores selling these items, ask your dentist or dental surgeon to look at his tools. Most dentists are boring conversationists, due to all their conversations being one sided, you being hampered by a mouthful of stainless steel and someone else’s fingers, so have him show you some of the scissors he has at his practice, or … tell you about the merits of the different vendors he’s used .. or where he purchases his tools.

… and when the SOB isn’t looking you can pocket a handful of the Good Stuff ….

From Beginner to Better: Whip Finishes

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The “Beginner to Better” posts relay small tips used by experienced or commercial tyers to improve speed, quality, or simply enumerate some of the physics behind our tying that beginners are unaware of until much later in their skill progression. Most tend to be overlooked in the Youtube narrations, as even video footage cannot convey physics or the rationale behind the inclusion or omission of a step.

Big Unwieldy heads caused by a dependance on beaded flies

The dominance of beaded flies is hamstringing a lot of new fly tiers, as the presence of a bead eliminates the portion of the fly that would have been the tie off points for the last few materials, and the formation of a slender, graceful head.

Beads mask the finesse of the fly’s finish, and turn it into a thread lump – often as tall or taller than the bead itself. Tiers no longer plan the fly’s finish, they simply lump everything in one spot along with seventy five turns of thread. Gone is the learned thread discipline, keeping turns to the minimum, and with its departure are the “feathered” tie off points that spread the fly finish and thread over a larger area, rather than simply focusing everything in the gap behind the bead.

Instead of ample room and a gentle slope, whip finishes are crammed on top of the seventy turns already present, and the knot can tighten poorly, prove unstable, or the thread can snap due to a poor draw. We’ll cover each eventuality below.

Whip Finish Physics

Whip finishes are a thread running the length of the knot, covered by multiple turns of more thread, that when tightened, cover that tag end when the thread is cut. Of vital importance, is to only make those turns of thread in one direction, down the hook towards the eye. In this manner the thread is covered by the subsequent turns and the knot draws cleanly and tightens properly.

Should you make a sloppy knot, where the first three turns move towards the eye, and the subsequent three turns move away from the eye, the underlying thread will have an “S” curve in it and the knot will tighten less well. If you are using excessive thread, eight or nine turns in your whip finish, and you spray those all over, up and down the fly, the knot will have multiple “S” turns in the underlying thread, and will likely not draw tight at all – or the thread will snap when you attempt to tighten the knot.

Rule 1: Learn to tie whip finishes with the same number of turns of thread.

Rule 2: Whip finishes must start at the top of the head and move in one direction only, towards the eye of the hook. On a beaded fly, the knot starts at the point furthest from the bead and moves towards the bead with each subsequent turn.

Typically I use a four turn whip finish on everything. If the head is large and exposed, like a big saltwater fly, I might take a few more turns, but will adhere to the “each turn closer to the eye” requirement.

Thread Physics

Thread also influences the whip finish in a variety of ways. Fine threads, 6/0 and smaller, are weak and more susceptible to thread ailments. Besides the hammy handed fly tier, the biggest ailments for thread are age and spin.

Age:

Nylon threads age well if kept in the proper conditions, and age really poorly if you don’t keep them properly. The nemisis of nylon is sunlight, so if you are in the habit of putting your extra thread spool onto a dowel on your tool caddy, which along with your tying desk, is near the window … you can expect your fine threads to die a rapid and horrible death.

Nylon threads must be kept in a drawer or opaque container. They will last forever under those conditions. I have several hundred spools of 6/0 that are nearly forty years old, and show no signs of deterioration due to my keeping them out of sunlight and excessive heat.

Spin:

If you spin your bobbin excessively you will turn your single strand of nylon thread into a round thread. As your bobbin hangs under the fly while tying it will spin in different directions due to your striking it with your hands or the materials you’re manipulating. If your bobbin spins excessively in one direction (without being allowed to spin opposite) you could have a slightly weaker thread due to the constriction of the thread induced by the spin.

Should you immediately spray nine turns of a whip finish all over the head of your fly, the weakness will show due to the increased resistance of multiple “S” turns trapped in the knot, and the weakened thread can snap when tightened.

Letting the bobbin “rest” just prior to the whip finish, will allow it spin to equilibrium, removing the tightness of weave due to your spinning the tool for some purpose, like a dubbed loop or brush.

The above ZugBug illustrates the overly large head where the thread head actually protrudes onto the bead. While the fly is fine proportionally, and will fish wonderfully, the combination of tungsten beads (and whether this is a slotted or countersunk bead), will have the fly bouncing along the bottom making contact with the rocks and timbers that make up the creek bed.

If the bead rides slightly offcenter, which can happen with slotted beads, the fly may be bouncing merrily down the creek upside down, and the thread being “taller” than the bead … the knot will be making contact with all the boulders, and not the bead. Heavily weighted flies take lots of abuse and the overly large whip finish area will be a liability due to the damage that area will recieve.

Rule 3: Beaded flies are fine, when tying them ensure your whip finish is smaller than the bead, so the bead absorbs all the instream impacts and not the knot area.

Cheaper more Flexible Needle Scabbards

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As a follow up to the post on using Needle Scabbards to protect bobbins, I’ll introduce a new source as well as a cheaper price, and additional capabilities ..

Ebay turned out to have a stretchable silicon “needle cover”, which is available in a large range of sizes, and being silicon, stretches more than the vinyl needle scabbards purchased from Amazon.

The Ebay vendor sells 100 packs for about $8, which is a third of the price of the vinyl style, and doubles the quantity as well.

I purchased the 1.57mm X 12.7mm size. and it is perfect for most bobbins – and stretches to fit over the large barrel bobbins featured in my two posts on bobbin review. 1.57mm is the internal diameter of the opening, and 12.7mm is the length of the scabbard.

Stuffing the tip of a expensive ceramic lined bobbin into a tool caddy may have repercussions at some point, and having the tip protected when not in use gives you the ability to secure the thread, as well as protecting the finish on the tip of your ceramic or chrome bobbin.

As a double bonus, you can use these to protect the tips of your Tungsten Carbide scissors. The stretchable nature of these needle scabbards are more useful than the earlier flavor, but be forewarned that these will likely deteriorate over time and exposure to sunlight. While heavy walled, sunlight is the nemisis of silicone, and some months or years hence, they will fail.

Tools of the Trade: No changes to Whip Finishers

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Fresh off my delving into bobbins, I thought I might dabble in the other mainstay tools to see if any are evolving. Most fly tying tools are in stasis, no significant changes have occurred since their introduction. Whip finishers appear to be one of these static areas, as surveying the web shows no new functionality, only a few minor tweaks to their design, and little to show for the increased costs inflicted on us by manufacturers.

Several decades after introduction, Frank Matarelli’s original tool has no real competitors despite advances in metallurgy and engineering. Reviewing the field of available options simply turned up copies of copies of Frank’s original design, and tools with new shapes and similar mechanics, suggesting little improvement is needed or possible.

Having been a victim of the ancient Herter’s Whip Finisher, and that experience scarring me forever, thrust me into a decade of “fingers only” whip finishes … until the callous on my forefinger started fraying thread mid knot … and I adopted the Matarelli Whip Finisher the moment I saw it.

Since then, very little has moved the whip finisher forward. Thread technology has moved into unbreakable, via Kevlar, and at the same time become more gossamer; Danville 6/0 giving way to Uni 8/0, yet the tool most used to finish flies has deviated little.

In reviewing what options exist, I found two “Familys” of change. The “flexible leg” group of Petitjean, Griffin, and Stonfo, and the “Extended Reach” group, led by Hareline and a host of inhouse brands, offering a larger version of the Matarelli whip finisher. The Petitjean family boasts different shapes and designs, but use the same mechanics as the Matarelli, and the Hareline Extended Reach copying the Matarelli Extended Reach, which is a larger version of their standard whip finisher. Larger isn’t so much a new feature, it’s more of a wrinkle on the original theme.

“Extended Reach” is a convenience that allows a tool-using fly tier to add a whip finish somewhere other than the eye of the fly. Some tiers prefer the whip finish knot to the half hitch, so the larger tool allows its use on other parts of the fly, as well as being able to do so on bushy flies and long shanked hooks.

In comparing the Hareline Extended Reach to my older Matarelli Extended Reach whip finisher, I found the Hareline to be about a half inch shorter (in overall length) than the Matarelli, and a poor fit to my hand. You’d think the larger tool would have a longer handle, but the Hareline only fits across half of my palm, and with the increased leverage of bigger tool and bigger fly, I found it to be a bit uncomfortable. The tool performed quite well, with only the grip and its placement in the palm an issue.

The Hareline Extended Reach whip finisher was able to place a whip finish at mid shank, at the tail, and similarly for mid and long shank hooks. The tool functioned well, spun effortlessly, and outside of the handle length would be a suitable replacement for the Matarelli I currently use. For those tying large flies and bass poppers, this is a handy addition to your tool kit.

Petitjean Whip Finisher

I had high hopes that the Petitjean would bring something to the table to justify its $35 price tag. Having reviewed the Petitjean bobbin earlier, and admiring the new capabilities its designer brought to the tool, I had hoped to see something similar in the whip finish tool.

As a whip finisher, the Petitjean performed its task well, but not flawlessly. The spring side of the tool proved quite weak and immediately bent toward the rigid side, which closed the opening in the thread and gave it less clearance when the tool is spun around the fly. A finger is needed to clear the spring side of the tool from the thread loop and draw the thread tight. The finger must push the spring side out of the thread loop so the knot can be drawn tight – and the tool “hook” can release the thread completely. In addition, the polished stainless was not slick enough to cleanly release both the Danville 6/0 and Uni 8/0 thread, and while the tool functioned, the thread seemed “sticky” and did not slide off the tool as easy as chromed stainless. I felt I had to coax it a bit to come off the hook.

The Petitjean worked well as a whip finisher, but it brought nothing new to the table and seemed to be lacking a few refinements that would have made it much better. A stiffer spring, a different finish, and the tool would simply be an excellent, albeit expensive, whip finisher.

The Griffin and Stonfo whip finishers are made similarly. I would test these to determine the spring tension before purchase as they could be affected by the same issue. (Each user will have to decide if this is a “feature” or an impedance. Different tiers may react differently)

The Matarelli features two righid arms of the tool, allowing the tool to be moved within the loop it creates to release the thread from the indented side and the knot drawn tight while the thread is captured by the hook. It doesn’t require a finger to push the spring arm out of the loop formed by the crossed threads, typically, it can simply be pushed downward to free the thread from the opposing arm, then drawn tight. Less interaction means more efficiency, and not having to remove a forefinger from your grip on the tool – to push the spring arm out of the loop, means the Matarelli model wins outright.

Many new designs exist but the mechanical principals are identical to the Matarelli, the wire bends appear different, but the mechanics of the tier are the same, place tool in thread, thread held by two “arms”, rotate around hook, disengage.

The Reigning Champion of cost, appears to be the Tiemco Dual Standard Whip finisher, which features only slight changes in the Matarelli design, and identical mechanics. It does have a half hitch tool on the end of the handle, but half hitch tools are a couple bucks, and shouldn’t warrant an extra sixty bucks in cost for the whip finisher. Cost for the Tiemco is about $70.

/beginrant

Hard to fathom why we exclude so many people from the sport using cost as a weapon, then ask for their votes to protect a watershed they might be fishing … if the cost of fly rods were cheaper. We need more people in the sport, not less.

/endrant

In summary, little to report in the way of evolution of whip finishing. Tools are static and growing in price, and the expensive whip finishers are not needed by beginner nor expert, as they offer little in new capabilities.

Manufacturers would be better served adding a thread cutter to a whip finisher than a half hitch tool, as you want to marry logical steps versus simply reaching for the tool twice. Completing the knot then cutting the thread increase efficiency and speed, searching for the tool to do a half hitch, then searching again to finish the fly doesn’t necessarily save time over owning a separate half hitch tool.

For us fly tiers, find yourself a good “shop” brand, and purchase the sub-ten dollar Matarelli clone, save your money for a more worthy purchase.

Part 2: Bobbin Reviews: More Expensive options and a feature I didn’t know I needed

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In Part 1 of this post we reviewed a mix of high priced engineering marvels leavened with a few of the lower cost traditional bobbins. The hope is with the increased cost of some bobbins comes a variety of new capabilities and features, rather than simply increased cost for the same feature set found in less expensive options.

In Part 2 we’ll extend our earlier efforts onto a new crop of bobbins, some expensive, others less so, in the hope we can find evidence of bobbins evolving into something more, other than simply high priced gadgetry.

As with the first post, we’ll use the same series of simple tests for each bobbin; different threads, different flies tied – some large, some small, the ability to fit different thread spool sizes, loading the bobbin via mouth, thread management – if offered, and evaluate any unique new features on the bobbin not shared by the rest of the group.

Option 6: Dr Slick ECO Bobbin BOB4

Barrel Length: 1.75″

Overall Length: 4.5″

Cost: $7 – $10

The Dr Slick BOB4 bobbin is a simple recreation of the original Matarelli bobbin, with a dual “glass” barrel insert. There is no explanation on the maker’s website as to the “dual” designation, so I’ll assume the dual “glass” inserts imply an insert in the top and a second insert at the bottom of the barrel … versus a single insert extending through the barrel.

It is listed as a 4″ bobbin, and is 4.5″ from glass tip to bottom of thread spool when loaded.

This bobbin performed all tasks admirably, with no issues. Construction seemed solid, spool tension was adequate, and the only visceral reaction I had to the bobbin was the color of the glass insert. Both tip and bottom are black – which made the thread hole appear small and hard to find, especially if you’re loading black thread. The air flow seemed less when sucking the thread through, as if the hole were smaller than other bobbins, even though the barrel is wider than most. I was able to consistently load the bobbin via mouth, so the functionality was intact.

Thread tension, and thread management, is via “spreading the legs” of the bobbin forcibly, identical to a Matarelli bobbin, and the polished brass feet gave a consistent feel and provided smooth resistance to thread leaving the barrel.

This is a long tube bobbin. The overall barrel width is wider than most as it will not fit a 14 gauge needle scabbard, you will need to purchase a larger gauge if you employ them to protect your bobbins.

In short, this is a good quality, functional long tube bobbin, no frills or features, and is a good replacement candidate for the cost concious angler learning to tie flies and intent on possessing several more of these.

Bobbin: 4 Stars. No additional features outside of those consistent with the traditional Matarelli bobbin. A ceramic or “glass” sleeve is a common feature of today’s bobbins, so it is not considered unique for this test.

Option 7: Ekich Bobbin

Barrel Length: 1.75″

Overall Length: 4.25″

Cost: $140 – $150

New Feature: Thread Management

The Ekich bobbin has been around for a decade or so, and is likely the last word in thread management for fly tying bobbins. The marvel is the brainchild of Faruk Ekich of Canada, and his company, AutomaticBobbin.com.

This bobbin approaches thread management in a different way than spool brakes or simple tensioners, rather the focus is on both thread payout and recovery, versus simply making a spool brake to increase the tension on the spool.

The Ekich bobbin features a coiled spring that tightens as small amounts of thread are pulled from the spool, allowing this coiled energy to recover thread back onto the spool should slack appear in the thread via a user’s manipulation of the bobbin. The bobbin is precisely architected to provide about 33 grams of resistance to hold the bobbin and thread spool at the position of last use, and requires tension control of the thread via the user’s fingers on the spool, versus any mechanical tension adjustment. As the spring coils the bobbin can be moved toward the work area to recover thread back onto the spool.

This bobbin requires a little getting used to on the part of the user, and is the most expensive bobbin currently offered on the market, so you need to approach this knowing there is a bit of a learning curve, and significant costs are involved.

All fly tying bobbins have been engineered to dispense thread and the Ekich bobbin is engineered to dispense, and recover thread, which sets it apart from the rest of the pack. The small spring and its coiled energy can be used to recover thread, tighten half hitches, and plague the owner repeatedly when he forgets to release the pent up energy and cuts the thread when the fly is complete. The coiled spring immediately sucks the thread back through the barrel and you have to reload the bobbin over and over until you learn this lesson properly.

Spring energy can be dissapated simply by lifting the spool away from the spool housing with thumb and forefinger to allow the small peg on the housing to clear the thread spool, and it will immediately release all its stored energy. This peg fits inside the thread spool recesses and winds the spring as the spool is rotated dispensing thread. It has a 24″ capacity, so once 24 inches of thread has been pulled from the bobbin, tension changes markedly queing you to release the coiled spool. Note that wooden spools cannot be used on the Ekich bobbin as they lack holes in their surface that can engage this small peg. A few other spool types have minor issues, and notes can be found on the maker’s website for both workarounds and probibitions.

Bobbin function is admirable, with no issues on simple tasks. Loading thread via mouth worked well, the fit in the hand, including one handed operation of the “spool lift” to release spring tension, also worked flawlessly, the frustration associated with having the thread pulled back through the thread barrel on fly completion is completely mental … “old dude forgetfullness”, not a function of the mechanics of the bobbin.

I tested the trout model and it was NOT a long tube bobbin. The maker makes a Salmon model with a slightly longer tube (30mm versus 20mm for the trout size) that approximates the long tube style. This bobbin does not allow midge spools as they are too short to engage the rubber “O” ring, and midge spools lack the proper hollowed area to allow the spring peg to fit within them.

I tied large flies and small with the trout model and felt the 33g of precision control both a blessing and a curse. For small dry flies and nymphs the bobbin performed well until you approached the coiled spring limit of 24 inches of dispensed thread. At that juncture tension increased and it seemed prudent to release the coiled energy by lifting the bobbin up the spindel with thumb and forefinger, making the extra tension disappear and allowing additional work. This was an extra step not required of any other bobbin, and it was wasteful. The tension abruptly resets to 33g and it will seem suddenly sloppy-loose – compared to a moment ago.

As a fast moving, former commercial tyer, I am judgemental over wasted energy and unecessary steps, and I did not care for the required spring-coil adjustments. This is not something insurmountable, this is part of the “getting used” to this particular bobbin and its unique foibles.

On large flies and heavy threads, 33g was much too loose. Tying a big saltwater fly requires constant tension and pressure given how the amount of mats and their control can often be unruly. Resetting the bobbin tension to 33G under these conditions was a pain, something I did not like. The now relaxed tension was much too loose for the large fly and materials I was adding, and I immediately had to clamp down on the thread spool to avoid unwanted thread payout – especially as there are no warnings when you’re about to hit the 24″ dispensed thread boundary.

I did not find any information suggesting the Salmon size bobbin had a different tension value, so I have to assume it’s set for the same 33G as the trout model. This is great for 18/0 midge thread, but doesn’t work as well for Size “A” and a fistful of bucktail.

This bobbin might be well suited for specific types of fly, as I tested with the trout size and felt it worked best with small flies. The cost of the thread management is prohibitive in my mind, so I was not prepared to immediately purchase the larger Salmon model to see if it was better suited for the larger flies.

In summary, a good bobbin with unique features that require the user to adjust their tying style – instead of simply use. Bobbin: 3 stars, as the tension felt too weak to tie large flies, and the constant release of pent up energy was a wasteful step, that I often forgot. New Feature: Thread Management: 3 Stars. The thread management worked well dispensing and recovering thread, but the tension was constantly needing assistance from my fingers, even when my fingers were busy releasing coiled energy from the spring. The cost of this bobbin will make it prohibitive to own six or seven of them, so specific uses may make this bobbin more attractive to own compared to general fly tying. This is not a bobbin for a well heeled beginner to own, rather it’s a unique use bobbin for an experienced tier with specific demands. Good bobbin, excellent construction, with foibles … and a nosebleed price for thread management.

Option 8: Hareline Double Ceramic Premium Bobbin

Barrel Length: 1.75″

Overall Length: 4.5″

Cost: $11 -$15

The Hareline Double Ceramic fits a midge spool right out of the box, so I’ll assume that will loosen over time if using standard size spools. This is another Matarelli bobbin replacement, with only the ceramic insert to offer new functionality over the aging Matarelli standard.

This bobbin has the largest tube diameter of all those tested, and coupled with the traditional flaired ceramic cap will not fit a traditional 14 gauge needle scabbard cover. The inside diameter of the barrel is also larger than all others tested, so it should work quite well dispensing thin yarn or floss in addition to thread.

Not surprisingly, this is really easy to thread and the easiest bobbin to load with simple suction, given how much oxygen can be pulled through the barrel.

The ceramic material lining the barrel is the “roughest” tested – imparting a noticeable “grating: feel to the thread as the bobbin rotated around the hook shank. While disconcerting, as I’m used to silky smooth ceramic and stainless barrels, this did not actually grate on the thread, it felt that way. Occasionally I would hear an audible sound when winding, suggesting it wasn’t just my imagination as to the “rough” surface. Note that I use quotes when describing “rough”, the barrel is not rough nor did it sever thread or wear it in the slightest, it simply felt like it was destroying the thread, and didn’t actually harm it at all. Of all the bobbins tested this was the only ceramic that had this feel.

Bobbin: 4 Stars. No new features, a solid Matarelli replacement in a long tube design, that due to the barrel inside diameter should be considered for dispensing more than thread. This would be excellent for fine yarns and floss.

Option 9: SMHAEN Bobbin

Barrel Length: 2″

Overall Length: 4.25″

Cost: $65 – $85

New Feature: Thread Tensioning

The bobbin comes in two flavors; the red version of the SMHAEN is standard length and the blue is their midge version. Due to the constraints inherent in the design there is little ability to fit differing spools sizes due to the legs of the bobbin being joined by the tension adjusting arm. Not surprisingly it would not fit a midge spool in the standard model.

I purchased the standard version hoping it was closer to the long tube I was looking for, and like many of the other makers, the SMHAEN standard version is midway between a Matarelli standard and a Matarelli Long Tube bobbin.

The new feature available is thread tensioning adjustment, likely the largest range of adjustment currently offered in bobbins. The Matarelli relies on pressure from the bobbin legs, the Stonfo and Petitjean offer small adjustments via a tensioning slider, and the SMHAEN gives you a true thread brake, allowing you to lock the spool into an unusable configuration for light threads.

Upward movement on the tension adjustment (clockwise) tightens the thread, and downward movement of the knob loosens the thread. As the tensioner knob is available while gripping the bobbin you can adjust thread tension on the fly, in an intuitive and hand-friendly manner.

The SMHAEN has a prohibition on using Kevlar thread in the bobbin, so please note that its use may invalidate any warranty.

Bobbin operation was silky smooth. Thread can be sucked through the barrel and the bobbin loads easily via mouth. It has the thinnest ceramic insert of any of the bobbins tested and fits a 14 gauge needle scabbard perfectly. This fine tip is worth protecting with a needle scabbard as its thinness could be considered downright “sharp” if the ceramic chipped or cracked. I’m unwilling to test the ceramic inserts strength given smashing an $80 bobbin strictly for science is not my cup of tea.

Because of the design of the bobbin, its feet move the least of all the bobbins tested, and any variation in spool sizes may be an issue. This same tensioning arm configuration also means that changing spools takes three times longer than any other bobbin, as the adjustment knob has to be loosened to the point where the old spool can be removed, the new spool inserted, and then retensioned to the desired setting. This is a manual and cumbersome process compared to other bobbins, so frequent thread changes are undesirable.

This is a solid bobbin, pricey, but effortless to use outside of the spool changing issue. The ceramic barrel may be fragile due to the thinness of its walls, but this issue may require extended use and more opportunity for mishap, like dropping a pedastal base onto the bobbin while its resting on the table.

Bobbin 4 Stars. New Feature: 4 Stars if thread changes are infrequent, 3 Stars if you change thread spools often.

Option 10: Tiemco Adjustable Barrel Double Arm Bobbin

Barrel Length: 1.5″

Overall Length: 3.75″ to 4.5″

Cost: $34 – $85

New Feature: Adjustable Barrel Length

My compliments to the designer as they were able to devise functionality never seen in a bobbin that I didn’t know I needed …

That’s saying something.

The double feet on the bobbin did not move the needle for me, in fact I found them a liability in an unlikely manner. When threading a traditional bobbin you have to negotiate the thread past the two feet and into the barrel. With a double foot bobbin, you have FOUR wires in the way, and threading is a bit more of an issue. Four wires provides a bit more resistance to the thread spool, but I can’t say it was noticeable when using the bobbin.

The aparture for the barrel is quite small, as is the ceramic tube itself. It was easy to load the bobbin via mouth, but the four feet (four wires in the way) and small opening had me looking for reading glasses to assist the threading process.

What was a major change was the adjustable barrel, and how I no longer cared whether I had a midge, standard, or long tube flavor, as all those bobbins were available within this single chassis.

WInner, Winner, Chicken Dinner…

The bobbin barrel adjustment is identical to mounting a bit into a power drill. Tighten or loosen the cap, adjust the barrel to the length desired, then retighten the barrel housing to fix the barrel at that length. This adjustment can be made with the bobbin hanging from the fly as well as on the workbench. This functionality is immediately useful and can be used on nearly every fly tied. Adjusting the bobbin barrel length to your favorite setting, and tie with abandon on big, small, complex, or dainty.

The ceramic barrel, barrel housing, and chassis can be disassembled into three pieces. The barrel itself is 1.5″ long, so you can adjust the bobbin length about an inch comfortably. There is a minimum amount of ceramic barrel that must remain in the barrel housing to ensure a good fit and initial experimentation suggests it’s about half an inch of barrel that must stay in the tube to engage the mechanism properly.This gives you an inch of barrel to move in either direction.

Barrel fully extended the bobbin is about 4.5 inches long, with barrel retracted, the bobbin is about 3.75 inches long.

The ceramic barrel has a small diameter and as the barrel is extended, is at increased risk for a potential impact break. Tying at a show and dropping it into a backpack might expose it to a pedastal base impact as you add a vise, and while the ceramic barrel is a cinch to replace, I don’t see the vendor selling replacement barrels. This might mean the ceramic will never break, or it may mean you might have to learn to retract the barrel before storage in your tool caddy or backpack. The ceramic barrel is too small for a 14 gauge needle scabbard, but retracted, the housing accepts that size perfectly. I want to protect ceramic where possible, so this is becoming increasingly non-trivial.

For some reason Amazon is selling these at half price from a vendor in Japan. I bought mine for $34 thinking it was retail, and find all the shops in the United States are selling it for $80. Three different barrels are available on the bobbin, fine, standard, and heavy duty, but I only see the standard weight barrel available via fly shops.

I am going to purchase a couple more while Amazon has them at the lower price, just to ensure I have several.

Bobbin: 4 Stars. New Feature: 4 Stars. Really nice bobbin, well made and easy to use. New features operate intuitively, making it easy to assimilate them into your tying on the first fly. Really expensive bobbin so jump on the Amazon price while they still have a few. I hope this barrel technology will be used by other manufacturers versus making multiple bobbin lengths. Vendor needs to sell additional barrels so you can swap or replace your barrel.

Bobbin Summary

Over the course of these two posts we’ve seen only four areas of change in bobbins. Thread Management, Thread Tensioning, adjustable barrels, and the addition of a dubbed loop capability, everything else is the same feature set as the original Matarelli bobbin, with a few material changes to the bobbin chassis, like ceramic barrels. While some of the bobbins showed merit, some were easy to use, some required relearning a thing or two, and some were downright silly, several of the technologies hold promise.

As there are more than a single type of fly tyer, and many types of flies, different functionality may appeal to some versus others. Thread management is low on my list, thread tensioning a bit higher, but outside of the moveable barrel on the Tiemco, none of these are about to topple the low cost Matarelli type bobbins from their well earned throne.

Engineering marvels, all … and beastly expensive in light of what you get.

Hopefully you found a few questions answered without having to purchase all these costly bobbins. As always, I paid retail for all of the bobbins in both articles, with an emphasis on all bobbins boasting of new functionality (and nosebleed cost). In my mind, only the Tiemco offered a mature technology to me immediately, with the Petitjean … a glimpse of future function.

For the beginning fly tier, stick with the inexpensive bobbins for the moment. Changes to bobbin technology are in their infancy and the large dollar outlay is not warranted at the moment. As with fly rods, fly reels, and everything else in our sport, wait until your skills outclass your equipment before you plunk down the big dollars for bobbins (or anything else in our sport).

Disclaimer: As always I have paid full retail for all the bobbins reviewed above. This ensures cost is factored into the features reviewed, and my righteous indignation crops up appropriately at the precise moment needed.

Needle Scabbards, protecting your bobbins on the cheap

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The Griffin bobbin I reviewed offered a small cap over the bobbin barrel as an enhancement, a thread holder. The cap ensured the thread remained loaded in the bobbin after use and the bobbin could be stored with thread at the ready.

I discounted the Griffin enhancement notion, mainly because the caps were small, they only gave you one, and it would be lost within the week. The idea has considerable merit however, only you need a 100 pack of caps to secure your existing bobbins, especially as most aren’t made by Griffin, and all the older models and odd sizes you’ve accumulated need caps as well.

Stuffing a bobbin tip into a tool caddy can put dust and/or feather debris into the barrel – which winds up in your mouth when you suck thread through. Yuck, Ptuii ..

The same type of tip used by the Griffin Bobbin is used on a variety of items from glue bottles to air compressor nozzles, but finding the correct term to purchase them proved elusive. These small rubber caps are called “needle scabbards” and can be purchased on the Internet in everything from 50 packs to several pound boxes.

As these are linked to needles, they are sized by gauge. The standard Matarelli Bobbin barrel is 14 gauge, so for most bobbins that’s the appropriate size of needle scabbard to purchase. As gauge number increases the inner diameter DECREASES, so larger sizes for saltwater bobbins would be 13, 12, or 10.

Amazon sells the 14 Gauge caps only, with a 50 pack costing about $11 dollars. JensenGlobal.com sells the other sizes on their website, but the postage costs are fearsome ($30), despite their being in New York.

I have covered all my old bobbin tips with these as the idea is a winner. The rubberized caps protect against dings or burrs inflicted on the bobbin tips when in storage, and allow me to load my working bobbins with thread and not have to worry about rethreading after I snag the thread on my bench when reaching for them. As many of the new “fancy” bobbins are ceramic barreled, these will be a great protective element – as well as a thread holder.

The folks at Griffin would be advised to sell these in quantity, as their “one per package” is a mite laughable, given our penchant for having it disappear into the trash when we rid our table of accumulated feather dander.

Petitjean Bobbin follow-on post

After surveying much of the candidate field, my instincts suggest that the Petitjean bobbin is the only bobbin offering capabilities and functionality that have never fit within a bobbin’s pervue. As such, its unfamiliararity and unique foibles require a deeper look at the bobbin, to assess whether its promise is realized already or it’s a prototype of something that can only be realized later with additional refinement.

Let’s Get Price Out of the Way

The 800 pound gorilla in bobbin assessment is price. There are plenty of inexpensive “house” bobbins offered by vendors that cost less than five dollars and are copies of copies of the Matarelli bobbin. These bobbins work flawlessly, and as such, should be the default option for most tiers interested in problem free functionality at reasonable cost.

Beginning tiers should not look at anything but “tried and true” until their skills surpass their starter gear. Ditto for the commercial tier, who is focused on speed and wants his tying gear to function flawlessly without his having to fiddle with foibles or shortcomings.

Seventy-five dollars for a bobbin is excessive. Regardless of the alloy used, the engineering marvels it contains, and factoring in its innate ability to ward off vampires and disable hungry zombies, it’s hard under any circumstances to justify this kind of cost.

If cost is king, you don’t want this bobbin.

What capabilities would be worth a $75 bobbin?

I found myself asking this very question many times over. I had come to the conclusion that the only way to justify the hideous expense would be in counting the tools no longer needed, or counting the minutes saved due to the tool’s assistance.

In looking at my tying bench and the costs of the many tools present, the only options that come to mind are vise, scissors and hair stacker. If my bobbin could replace any of those tools it would likely pay for itself.

Unfortunately, these options aren’t in any of the bobbins sold, so any real feature increase in a bobbin is likely to be minor, replacing only the inexpensive tools like threader cleaners, dubbed loop tools, and their ilk.

Hence, the Petitjean Bobbin.

All the things I found out since the last article on the topic

As I dug deeper into the bobbin’s use I had to create new tests to determine where the foibles existed, and whether some of my initial premises were correct.

Grip Does Not Matter

How I gripped the bobbin and which side I rested my thumb on was the first issue I found my comments to be incorrect.

I find holding the bobbin with my thumb on the tensioner keeps the thread contained within the wire guide. If I was left-handed, or wrapped the bobbin counterclockwise, my instinct now is that I would hold the bobbin 180 degrees differently.

It doesn’t matter which side of the bobbin is towards you – or whether your thumb is positioned in a certain way, holding either side of the bobbin works equally well. I tested this premise by gripping the bobbin randomly while it spun under the vise jaws. I found no additional issues with the thread coming out of the tip guide regardless of my hand position.

So how was the thread coming loose?

It was the advancement of the thread up or down the shank, and the speed with which I did so that cause the thread to come out of the tip guide. When I advanced the thread quickly down the shank the bobbin tip would be ahead of the thread, sometimes at an really small angle, it would scrub the rim and find the small aparture of the tip and come out. If I wrapped more methodically down the shank (instead of going from eye to bend in three turns) the bobbin acted normally no matter how I held it. It’s a mix of speed and angle that can cause the thread to come out.

The Plane of the bobbin may influence this behavior

If the bobbin is held parallel to the hook shank and the thread is advanced down the shank quickly, the thread may find the aperture of the tip guide and come out. If the plane of the bobbin changes the same law applies, but it may not be as obvious. The point is to ensure the angle of thread (between point of attachment on the shank and tip of the bobbin) is not too small, implying the tip of your bobbin is far in front of the point of attachment, where you took your last wrap. Remember the thread “scrubs” its way around the tip of the bobbin as the bobbin rotates around your hook shank, too acute an angle and the thread finds the opening and is released.

I tied several dozen parachute flies to test the bobbin’s attitude in relation to the tying area. In the first test the bobbin was held with the tip down and parallel to the parachute wing, wraps were applied to the wing post. In the second test, the bobbin was held with the tip pointing toward the parachute wing, and the bobbin was wrapped around the wing. Both tests were successful, and the thread did not come out of the guide.

It appears that only the acute angle issue, coupled with speed, causes the thread to find the aperture, instead of the attitude of the bobbin in relation to the work surface. The plane of the bobbin can influence the behavior, but the cause appears to be the same … acuteness of angle in the new plane combined with a meat headed fly tier intent on completing the fly quickly.

By now I’d tied about six dozen flies with the bobbin and most of the issues were moot. I’ve not used the thread tensioner while tying the trout flies as setting the tensioner once is all that’s necessary for similar sized flies using the same thread. Replacing the thread and changing the hook size to saltwater had me change the thread tension, but again only once.

Summary: This is a bobbin that functions well in the hands of an experienced tier. It is not without flaw, as the thread can pop out of the tip guide when you get forgetful and move the thread either up or down the shank quickly.

The dubbed loop tool is useful when tying nymphs, less so when tying dry flies, and I tied more dubbed loop flies than normal as it was so convenient to do so with this bobbin. The thread tension function tends to be “set it and forget it” if tying similar sized flies with the same size thread. This tension adjustment was the best I’ve tried so far – not a complete brake on the spool, but noticably increasing the tension.

The cost makes this a luxury item. This is not for the average tier who will eventually own a dozen of these bobbins. While the Matarelli bobbins copies are plentiful and cheap, most tiers will choose to own a dozen of them instead.

Rating: 3 Stars. The cost of the bobbin is prohibitive, and the thread can come out occasionally even when you’re used to the bobbin, New Functionality: 4 Stars. Good thread adjustment, dubbing loop tool works well, once you’re used to it.

In this day and age of the $700 fly tying vise, and the $1000 fly rod, the $75 dollar bobbin is in lockstep with what we’ve done to the sport. I can’t say I agree with where we’re heading, but I’m not surprised at any of this.

Personal Note: I really like the bobbin, but it does not justify my owning a dozen of them. This bobbin appears to be the only real advancement of the bobbin as a fly tying tool, but it’s cost is staggering in light of what you get. I can’t think of a capability that when added to a bobbin would make it worth a hundred bucks, but I have to applaud Mssr. Petitjean for his efforts and his vision.

Part 1 of 2: Bobbin Reviews: Lots of Options, Plenty of Price Points, and a Glimpse of the Future

I’m thinking of adding to my supply of long tube bobbins and realize that in the decades since the Matarelli era, dozens of vendors have moved into this space and replacement candidates abound. Many are simply low cost copies of copies, but there are numerous high dollar bobbins boasting of functionality beyond thread management.

What’s a curious fellow to do? ,,,

I found a few reviews of bobbins, but remain skeptical of the traditional angling press and magazines. Most reviews simply anoint the items as “dipped in Awesomeness” – whose author is more interested in not offending his supplier of freebies, than ensuring the rest of us get an honest appraisal. Few write about features or shortcomings, and none list any form of testing or criteria used. Like the Stock Market, fly fishing culture never lists a security as “sell” … only weaker shades of “buy.”

My quest started as a search for a good “long tube” bobbin, as they seem to be the most comfortable for me to use. They keep my fingers away from the work area and provide an unobstructed view of the works surface destined to recieve my next material or wrap. Wading through the long list of new candidates offered on web sites suggested that actual details of bobbins are rare. Trying to figure out which were “longer” than others was near impossible, given how little details were available.

First, most of the bobbins fail to mention how long they are … so you can’t tell if you’re looking at a “long tube” bobbin or a “standard” length. As standard lengths vary from vendor to vendor, the average fly fishing retailer does an abysmal job of getting information to their online users, relying on a picture and text supplied by the manufacturer, which simple restates, “trust me it’s awesome.” Most bobbin listings have no length described whatsoever, and others list the barrel length, but not the overall length, and as there is no “standard” other than the original Matarelli sizes, confusion runs rampant.

Example 1: $20 Bobbin. Loon Ergonomic Bobbin :An ergonomic and high-performing update to the indispensable tying tool. The powder coated ergonomic handle rests perfectly between the thumb and fingers, while the spring steel spool holder allows for easy adjustment in tension by changing the pressure applied by the feet. The tube is made of double radius polished tungsten – better than ceramic! It’s also designed with versatility in mind: the high gauge works well when tying small flies, and the tube is long enough to tackle large patterns as well. This bobbin will not work with a standard bobbin threader it need the extra long bobbin threader from Loon. [No information of bobbin or barrel length.]

Example 2: $114 Bobbin. TMC Magnetic Adjustable Bobbin: This precision-made bobbin has it all, including a fully adjustable ceramic tube and a unique magnetic tensioning device with a low startup inertia which puts an end to breaking even the finest thread. The length of the super-durable, friction-free ceramic thread tube is adjustable for different size and style flies and the versatile bobbin adapts to different width thread spools, helping to make the tying process smooth and effortless. It’s even got a built-in keeper for the tag end of your thread to keep it from falling back through the tube during storage. [No information of bobbin or barrel length]

Example 3: $37-$49 Bobbin. Tiemco Ceramic Bobbin. The durable TMC flanged bobbin tube is polished to perfection, which eliminates all friction, and simplifies tying and threading. [No information of bobbin or barrel length]

Example 4: $35 Bobbin. FlyRite Ceramic Bobbin. Standard size ceramic bobbin with tension control, allowing to adjust for different diameters and strengths of thread. [No information of bobbin or barrel length]

Example 5: $75 Bobbin, The SMHAEN bobbin is a super functional, micro adjustable-tension fly tying tool featuring a unique design and highest quality workmanship. Its tension system allows you to adjust tension with only one finger, while still working on your fly. Thanks to the perfectly designed ergonomic frame shape, you don’t even feel the internal tension system in your hand. A funnel at lower end of tube allows easy threading. The ceramic tube and the well balanced bobbin holder give you perfect thread control. Fits a range of spool sizes. [No information of bobbin or barrel length]

From the examples above you can see the problem. A fly tier with a length requirement (long tube versus regular) cannot even find out if the bobbin he’s interested in …. is either. There is no “standard” length for bobbins as the word is used to quantify different qualities, not just length, so quoting anything as standard is meaningless.

The lack of information on fly shop web sites suggested that i was about to embark on a search akin to finding vernille yarn, where I hope for the best, trust in the photograph, exhaust all due diligence, then order one and check its size and capabilities before ordering more.

The volume of new offerings suggest there are now two types of bobbins. The first being expensive bobbins that boast new features and capabilities, and the second being inexpensive copies of the traditional wire-handled Matarelli bobbin – with “inexpensive” being a relative term, as they might be two or three times what other makers charge for the same product.

I choose to investigate a few of each to test the waters. The end game was a good “long tube” bobbin that I could recommend to others, should I encounter some capability in these more expensive engineering marvels, I might be tempted to spend more … than my wire-framed baseline.

As regards testing criteria, it had to be functionality that was available with the original Matarelli bobbin to be allowed as a criteria. New bobbins might offer features not present on the Matarelli, but as different features are offered by different manufacturers, the basic criteria would have to be common to all :

Testing Criteria for Bobbin Evaluation

No impediments to threading the bobbin via mouth. Sucking the thread through the barrel to achieve a proper load.
Would it accept “sewing” machine spools, or is it limited to only standard sized thread spools. This would be a feature, not a requirement.
Was the barrel length equivalent to a Matarelli “Long Tube” bobbin, or was it best described as a “standard” length bobbin. “Standard” length being roughly equivalent to a traditional Matarelli bobbin.
Smoothness of thread payout. Bobbin feet are made from plastics, metal, composites, and can be cone, round, lozenge, or pill shaped. Thread spools sold in fly shops are all plastic. Does the bobbin feet (shape and material) payout thread smoothly when pulled, or does the material or shape provide an uneven tension when thread is needed.
If a new feature is offered by the bobbin, that was not available on the traditional Matarelli, does it work? Is the feature useful, or simply “really cool.”

For the purposes of this article, please note the following:

The Barrel Length is the distance between the tip of the bobbin and the bottom of the thread tube, where the thread is inserted to load the bobbin.

The Overall Length is the distance between the tip of the bobbin and the bottom of the thread spool when a standard sized thread spool has been inserted into the bobbin.

New Features are capabilities of the bobbin that did not exist in the Matarelli family of fly tying tools; Midge, Regular, and Long Tube bobbins.

Testing Methodology. Each bobbin tied three dozen flies; Caddis Poobah – size 10, Clouser Minnow – size 2/0, and Pale Morning Dun Parachute – size 16.

Option 1: Stonfo Bobtec 1 Bobbin

Barrel Length: 1.75″

Overall Length: 4.25″

Cost: $32.95

New Feature: Thread Tensioner

The Stonfo Bobtec 1 was a pleasant surprise. It isn’t a “long tube” bobbin, rather it is slightly longer than a Matarelli Standard (about 0.25″ longer), and shorter than a Matarelli Long Tube bobbin, so it’s precisely between the two. It was a perfect fit for my hand size, did not require any adjustment on my part, and I was tying flies instantly.

I liked the Stonfo enormously, but knew it was neither a long tube bobbin, nor would it feel as good to someone with a different hand size. So my initial reaction warranted additional study.

I was able to suck thread through the barrel per normal thread load. The thread tensioner added a little more tension to the spool, but not enough to make it a true tension adjustment. Perhaps it would be useful in adjusting between 6/0 and 8/0 trout thread, but it was not enough tension to make a difference on Size A thread and a 2/0 striper fly. The thread tensioner was not useful to me as it did not have the ability to bear down on the spool, markedly increasing tension.

I did not like the bobbin legs bending easily, and staying bent. I doubt they are using spring steel versus a cheaper less resilient flavor. Prolonged use of the bobbin should have an eye for determining if a leg needs adjustment, given they can move and stay that way.

In summary, the Stonfo was an excellent bobbin, Because it was ideally suited to my hand size and grip I really liked the bobbin. It performed well on both small and large flies, as well as with heavy threads. There were no thread feed issues, the thread barrel was immaculate and smooth. It will not fit the “midge” style sewing bobbin size spools, and I tested the tensioner to see if it would compress the legs enough to allow their use, but the tensioner simply isn’t strong enough to do anything than a minor tension increase. I would recommend the bobbin, but there are many bobbins cheaper than $30 that would work as well as the Stonfo.

Bobbin: 4 stars. New feature: Thread tensioner, 1 star. It tensions the thread slightly, not enough to matter.

Option 2: Kopter Revolution Bobbin

Barrel Length: 2 7/8 “

Overall Length : 5″

Cost: $80

New Feature: Thread barrel and thread barrel housing spin on bearings

This bobbin advertises that all “torque” is removed from the thread as the tier’s thread wraps are negated by the free spinning bobbin barrel and housing. Each turn of thread taken on the fly is now free of the rotational forces of our “clockwise” or “counterclockwise” wraps.

This bobbin feels “fat” in the hand, and is the second longest of the first group tested. When loaded with thread it’s a full five inches from tip to spool butt, and for some pedestal vices that may be a bit much. A tier planning on purchasing a new vise should check the distance between jaw and table, as any bobbin approaching this five inch length may have issues when free hanging under the vise. Use of a dubbing loop or similar device requiring the bobbin be some distance from the hook shank, may not allow the bobbin to “hang” freely, rather it might have to hang off the table surface to hold tension.

The bobbin spins true, but only the black colored area of the bobbin allows you to impart spin to the bobbin. All silver areas spin without moving the bobbin, so dubbed loops require a thumb and forefinger low on the bobbin, in the area of knurled knob at midpoint. I did not find this useful, rather I felt constrained by NOT being able to grab the thread barrel and spin between thumb and forefinger. I can’t say the natural “torque” I impart to the thread via wraps as having ever been bothersome, so I cannot justify all the glitzy spinning elements as being warranted.

I had difficulty sucking the thread through the bobbin with my mouth. I could do it, just not as consistently as with any other bobbin tested. I was able to get the thread into the barrel, but occasionally it seemed it stuck to the sides of the tube (via damp breath?} and never came out the other end. This bobbin comes with its own threader cleaner to aid in loading the barrel, but for me these extra tools are simply something to misplace or drop.

Operation of the bobbin was flawless and silky smooth. There were no issues with thread handling or management with the rotating barrel or the rotating grip portion on the bobbin. Once threaded, the bobbin did its job admirably, and handled both heavy thread and trout sizes very nicely.

This bobbin will not fit the smaller “midge” spools of thread, only standard sized spools.

Bobbin: 3 stars. As I did not like the feel in my hand, too bulky. Could not load thread reliably via mouth, Had to grip below the midpoint to impart “spin” to the dubbed loop. (Silver portion of the bobbin is on bearings, only the black portion of the bobbin allows you to spin it.) Probably feels good to someone with larger hands than mine. New feature: Spinning barrel and housing 0 stars. I cannot claim that the torque imparted to thread is that bad of a condition to warrant this extremely expensive fix.

Renzetti Saltwater Bobbin with Ruby Tip — Renzetti Bobbin

Option 3: Renzetti Saltwater Standard Bobbin (w/ ruby tip)

Barrel Length: 2.75″

Overall Length: 5.25″

Cost: $28 – $30

I chose the Renzetti Salt Water Bobbin as it appeared to be the “long tube” version of the Renzetti bobbin line. As the dimensions of the bobbin are not typically part of the website write up, I used photos of the bobbin to determine it was the longer style. It turns out that the Renzetti Saltwater Standard Bobbin is the longest of all the bobbins tested in this first group, coming in at 5.25″ from ruby tip to the base of the thread spool.

Like the Kopter Bobbin, this long length could pose a problem for a pedestal user, whose vise is a bit shorter than most. The longer length is fine for wrapping thread, and it’s useful when tying streamers on long shanked hooks, as you can get the thread in close to the shank for precision work, yet keeping your fingers out of your line of vision and out of the work area entirely.

The plastic / composite feet held spools of thread well and provided a clean smooth surface when paying out thread while wrapping. The flared base of the thread barrel aided loading the bobbin with thread prior to sucking it through the barrel. The bobbin boasts a larger barrel diameter already, given it’s a saltwater bobbin, but I found the flared end to be a nice touch overall.

Renzetti’s use of the term “standard” is also a bit confusing, given that most makers use standard to refer to length, and Renzetti appears to be using it to distinguish it’s LINE of bobbins, versus shape or length.

There were no new features on the bobbin other than the flared thread barrel. The “ruby tip” I’m lumping into the ceramic tube category, and for the purposes of this article, makes it a new material choice instead of a new feature.

Loading the barrel via “suck” worked fine as did the thread barrel (ruby tip) and bobbin feet. Both thread barrel and feet were quite smooth and worked effortlessly. The larger size lent itself nicely to size “A” thread and lashing a gob of bucktail to a 2/0 hook.

In summary, this is a nice bobbin for any size fly and outside of the issue with length and short pedestal based vises, would not hesitate to use it as a primary bobbin.

Bobbin 4 Stars. It is a Matarelli replacement with no additional gadgetry and feature set. A worthy replacement for a Matarelli bobbin.

Option 4: Griffin Ceramic Bass/Saltwater Bobbin

Barrel Length: 2 5/8″

Overall Length: 4 5/8″

Cost: $16.75

New Features: Flared Barrel (both ends), Thread retainer (Plastic cap on thread barrel)

Griffin was the second vendor to lump their “long tube” option in with “Saltwater” … not sure if this is a trend among manufacturers, but the longer tube doesn’t necessarily mean bigger flies, it’s mostly a hand configuration or “fingers away from the work area” issue, versus simply long tube equals big flies…

Looking at the Griffin lineup, all the other bobbins are the shorter length tube.

This is another of the traditional replacements for the Matarelli bobbin. The flared ends of the thread barrel are a nice touch. Feeding thread is assisted by the larger opening, and the flared tip of the bobbin didn’t give me anything new but it didn’t hinder anything either. I could suck thread through with minimal issue, and each thread load worked flawlessly.

Both barrel and feet fed thread smoothly with little resistance, and thread tension was liight and adjustable in the old manner, stretching the feet outward. The thread retainer, which was nothing more than a rubber cap added onto the top of the thread barrel, was a good idea but it’s likely to be misplaced immediately. I hope Griffin sells these by the dozen, as I’d like to add them to all my bobbins – and keep extras in my bench when I lose the SOB’s …

The bobbin comes with a wire threader in the package.

This is a suitable Matarelli replacement. A serviceable “no frills” bobbin, nothing new to speak of and nothing to complain about either.

Bobbin: 4 stars. New Feature: Thread Cap, 1 star, as it will be lost within the week. Four star idea to cap the bobbin tip with a simple rubber cap, but you need a couple dozen caps close by so you can replace them as they are lost or misplaced.

Option 5: The Petitjean Bobbin

Barrel Length: 1.75″

Overall Length: 4 3/8″

Cost: $75

New Features: Thread tensioner, thread loading, dubbing loop tool

This bobbin is something otherwordly, and I’m not sure how best to characterize it. I love and hate it, and understand that in order to rate it properly, I will need to spend a bit of time learning how to use it. At the moment I’m unsure if it’s a work of art, an engineering marvel, or a complete waste of time.

Let’s start at the beginning. Of the first group of bobbins tested, this is the only bobbin that brings new functionality to the tier, but will require the tier to learn how to use the tool as not all of the features and functionality are intuitive.

It may help to watch a few of the videos on Youtube featuring the designer Marc Petitjean to see how effortless the bobbin can be used by tiers practiced in its use … it will help you over the rough spots as you fumble your way through your initial encounter.

As I did.

New Feature: No thread barrel. The thread is held by a small metal clip on the bottom of the tube, and is threaded onto a small circular wire at the tip of the tube, there is no hollow barrel – rather it’s a hollowed out groove for the thread to follow when inserted into the clip and the tip guide. The wire guide at the top of the barrel has a minute opening that allows thread to be inserted into the loop, but the minute opening also dictates how the bobbin is held, as the thread can come out of the tip as easily as it is added.

Think of it as, thread moves around the barrel when you make a wrap around the hook shank, so you want to avoid the thread approaching the opening. I found it easy to understand how to avoid the thread coming out of the tip when winding around the hook shank, I’m still attempting to understand how to avoid the thread coming out when winding a parachute post – and my hand is not moving in a vertical plane. It may be as simple as keeping the bobbin parallel to the parachute wing and pointed downward, as pointing the bobbin at the wing post allows the thread to escape the tip guide. These are small adjustments in the use of the bobbin that are not intuitive, you have to puzzle out the mechanics and practice.

Example of Physics: I wind right-handed, typically wrapping clockwise around the hook shank. I find holding the bobbin with my thumb on the tensioner keeps the thread contained within the wire guide. If I was left-handed, or wrapped the bobbin counterclockwise, my instinct now is that I would hold the bobbin 180 degrees differently. This may or may not be true, I’ll have to puzzle through the actual physics when I have mastered all the basic skill with the bobbin.

New Feature: Thread Tensioner. This bobbin offers a thread tensioner operating on the same principle as the Stonfo bobbin; a sliding block that brings the bobbin feet closer together, thereby increasing tension on the thread spool. The difference between the Stonfo and the Petitjean is the Petitjean tensioner really can adjust thread tension, and the Stonfo cannot.

I was able to adjust the tension on the spool to the point where I might be able to break a light thread, 8/0 or finer. This was a welcome adjustment on the large saltwater flies I tied, as I could adjust the tension for the size “A” thread and really secure bucktail and flashabou. This thread tensioner actually works, but isn’t a complete brake on the thread spool, just offers real noticeable resistance when set to heavy thread.

New Feature: Dubbing Loop tool. The Petitjean bobbin has a small notch in the thread guide area that allows you to throw a dubbed loop, add dubbing or other material to the loop, insert the bobbin tip into the base of the loop, then pull downward to secure the loop onto the notched area. Once secured, the bobbin can be spun to make the dubbing brush.

In the video the finished dubbed loop is fed onto the shank via vise rotation, and most tiers – even those with rotating vises don’t use that functionality often. I am attempting to learn to wind the dubbed loop using the bobbin instead. This is a bit awkward, yet I see videos of other tiers that have managed it so more work is needed before I can make the transition comfortably.

What I can say is that the bobbin makes dubbed loops so easy and convenient that I find myself using them a lot more than normal because of the new functionality.

Summary: This could be the bobbin that obsoleces the Matarelli standard. The Petitjean bobbin requires effort and time to learn and I am not there yet. The feed and thread management is largely effortless and works quite well, but the cost of the bobbin and the investment to relearn how to use it is non trivial.

I want to give the bobbin four stars, but I recognize that is the masochist in me speaking. I love a good challenge, and this bobbin provides a glimpse of what the future may hold for bobbin technology with appropriate practice.

Summary: This bobbin is not for the beginner tier, and the cost is approaching nosebleed levels, so I would advise potential buyers to find one they can try first before purchasing one. I really like this bobbin, but until I work through all the adjustments needed for winding thread in different planes, I would not recommend this for the average fly tier. A few videos on Youtube are available, most rate it as “dipped in Awesomeness” per normal, but it’s likely they did so after mastering the nuances of the device.

The price tag when compared to our existing bobbins is astronomical. The Petitjean bobbin eliminates a threader cleaner, and a dubbing brush tool, which reduces the nosebleed costs slightly …with the remaining costs compensated only by the increased functionality.

Bobbin: Will rate later. New Features: 4 Stars. The first real thread tensioning I’ve encountered, the first dubbed loop functionality added to a bobbin (that really works), and the threading on clip and tip, instead of the hollow thread barrel – works as advertised – provided you hold the bobbin correctly. Holding the bobbin with thumb on the lower barrel “clip” side works flawlessly, holding the thumb on the “non clip” side allows the thread to escape the tip when wound around the hook shank.

Part 2 of 2: Bobbin Reviews: Lots of Options, Plenty of Price Points, and a Glimpse of the Future

In the next installment I will select an additional set of bobbins containing as many high dollar “engineering marvels” as possible, with a couple low cost Matarelli clones to ensure we get a good cross section. All the bobbins tested so far provided the basic functionality needed, with the only unknown being longevity, and would the different types of barrels and feet survive several decades of use and remain smooth and unscathed.

Disclaimer: All of the bobbins reviewed above were purchased by me at full retail. This ensures some small amount of integrity on my part, and gives me the ability to factor in the cost with the functionality, something I would not be able to do with gifted products.

Fly Tying Materials in the Wild: Vernille and Ultra Chenille

When “Vernille” burst on the fly tying scene it made significant inroads into our use of rayon chenille. At the time, chenille was weak – relying on a pair of twisted threads to hold fibers onto a spun core, and even the most careful handling caused the weave to lose their integrity and start to shed fibers, often resulting in a mangy or lumpy look to the fly.

In contrast, Vernille could be manhandled, wound repeatedly, and would not lose its structural integrity nor its fiber payload via hammy fingers and unravelling ends. Vernille, also called “velvet chenille” or “ultra chenille” was superior in both function and tolerance of abuse, and only the lack of colors and sizes were problems, issues that were soon rectified.

Chenille and Vernille share similar issues in that fly shops tend to only stock the “medium” size, ignoring the fact that multiple sizes exist, and never offer the product in “skein” form, a 150 yard bundle common to the fabric business, relying instead on prepackaged three yard cards to ensure you visit your fly shop frequently.

Fly tiers need to understand that yarns are like cars, not every color is available

Fabrics, and the yarns that make them, have short lifespans due to the fickle nature of fashion trends. Yarns may only have a window of one to three years before they are discontinued in favor of “the new hotness” in yarn weight and color. Seasonality also determines availability, given heavier yarns seem to be most plentiful in the Winter, and lighter yarns in Summer. Occasionally yarns can be tied to specific garment types, like socks or swimsuits, and their availability and longevity are influenced by the garment usage.

Colors have a similar issue in that yarns made for baby garments tend to be heavy on pastels and light on the vivid Steelhead colors or flourescents. Yarns destined for sweaters will have both pastel and vivid colors, and those for evening wear will even have tinsels and mylar in their weave. Fly tiers need to understand more about their yarns to better predict their availability.

This frequent obsolescence cycle ensures that fly tiers that don’t purchase a multi-year supply of colors are at risk of minor or major shortages later, when the yarn is discontinued by the manufacturer. Fly shops aren’t helping this issue, due to their insistance we buy a three yard card, instead of skeins of our favorite colors.

Trout anglers need the taupes, olives, browns, and earth colors. Steelhead fishermen desire the scarlets, purples, flourescents, and outlandish flavors, and the yarn industry determines what colors they market by garment type and usage, ensuring not every color will be available for each yarn introduced. This means that yarn colors are like cars, and for the 2024 model year they won’t market a “purple” – but it may be available in two years when they reintroduce the yarn!

I only buy skeins, never cards, so all my yarns and chenilles are purchased via fabric and yarn stores, not sold by fly shops. I’d love to give the local fly shop business, but so long as they only stock cards, I will buy yarns and chenille elsewhere.

The last article I published on where to find “Vernille” or “Ultra-Chenille” in the Wild is no longer accurate due to its age, so this is a much needed update to make it easier for you to find where Ultra Chenille sleeps at night …

Weight and Needle Size, a Fly Tier’s lesson in knitting

Understanding yarn weights is not easy, and you have to be careful that you are ordering a yarn capable of tying flies versus too big for anything other than a 6/0 hook. Knitters have elements on the yarn label that denote size and use, and this is a foriegn language to fly tiers.

We’re used to large, medium, fine, and they use terms like “fingering”, “baby”, and “worsted”. Needle size is also a measurement of yarn width, so if the label lacks English, (as many do) the needle size denotes yarn size information as well.

While not an expert, I will attempt to translate. “Fingering” and “Baby” correspond to our “fine“, “Worsted” and “Aran” correspond roughly to our “medium“, “Chunky” could be large, depending on the yarn … and anything bigger is largely unusable for fly tying. As yarn is made by both metric and standard manufacturers subtle differences in size do exist.

Armed with how to read a yarn label, we’re now ready to buy some suede chenille.

Search Engines don’t help much

Search engines don’t help much when searching for this type of chenille, as the result is dominated by fly shops and their tiny little cards. Years ago, Vernille was called “Velvet Chenille” and now the more accurate term is “Suede Chenille.” Searching for either returns numerous pages of fly shops and their carded offerings.

The trick is finding yarn manufacturers that make Suede Chenille, and exclude the fly shops selling it.

When on a manufacturer’s website you’ll be innundated with pages of yarns whose colors and qualities look useful. The quality of the photographs will determine if you can distinguish between four-ply twisted wool and suede chenille. You will also find many yarns you’d like to inspect further – but will have to purchase, have sent to you, then inspect by hand to determine if the yarn is useful or not.There is no ironclad search term that will remove the fly shop data from what you’re looking for, you simply have to search for yarn manufacturers both in the US and abroad. To shorten your search and to apply your sizing information, feel free to use my suede chenille vendor of choice, ICE Yarns, of Turkey.

ICE sells on both Ebay and direct to consumers and appears to be one of the larger yarn companies on the planet. They call their “vernille” yarn, simply “suede chenille”, and is available in 26 colors and only one size, my favorite, which is “fine“. I have found many other suede chenilles at other vendors and manufacturers, in multiple sizes, but ICE makes a superb yarn whose size allows me to double wrap my chenille bodies instead of only single wrap. In addition, this smaller size allows me to use for trout flies as well as steelhead flies, which is a additional bonus.

Note the yarn is listed as “light” and “worsted”, with a needle size of 4 metric. On our yarn chart above, it is a “3” in size. That would make a true “medium” yarn an “aran” or “4” for this company. It is a “microfiber” yarn, typically 100% Polyamide, and will look and feel the same as the yarn sold in the fly shops, only about 25% smaller width than their “medium” thickness.

The price of the ICE Suede Chenille is $1.37 per 155 yards (one skein), and is only sold in packs of 8 skeins per package, about 1000 yards of chenille for about $11 dollars. Shipping is very expensive, because it’s from Turkey, so expect to pay about $6 per pack (of eight skeins) to get it to the US. This is “rock bottom” cheap. Seventeen dollars for for a lifetime supply, equivalent to 300 of the fly shop cards (@$2.50 each) …

Get together with some of the other tiers at your casting club and work out the colors needed for an aggregate order for everyone. Most tiers will only need one skein for a lifetime supply, so find seven other tiers and split the packs evenly – reducing the cost to a couple bucks for each skein.

I’m not going to spend additional time finding vendors of the larger sizes, I will leave that up to you. I will mention a couple of candidates that I have not yet investigated, Toucan lists a “worsted” suede chenille using a larger needle size, don’t order large amounts until you have confirmed it to be the correct size. Order a single skein and verify it is what you expect, it’s the only way to ensure you are looking at the correct size and texture. Note that this yarn is about half pastel colors so if you’re looking for flourescents and similar, you’ll need to find an additional yarn,

Most of the suede chenille yarns you’ll find at Michael’s are of the “Bulky” or “Super Bulky” variety. If you are purchasing it via the Internet and unable to handle the yarn, you must confirm the needle size on the label to guarantee it’s a fit for fly tying. If the needle size is not apparent, look for the textual description of size; fingering, worsted, etc.

Lion has discontinued the “Lion Suede” yarn, but we can use it as an example to determine its suitability for fly tying… Skeins are still available on Ebay, and from those I took the illustration above. Note the needle size is more than double my “fine” example, making this yarn a really thick (bulky or superbulky) suede chenille.

As ICE is liable to make this yarn only for a short time, another tool to assist your search is the Yarnsub.com website. It allows you to enter the name of a yarn that used to be available, and it will recommend yarns like it that are currently available. This is valuable as it gives you a half dozen new leads to focus on for your search.

Entering “Lion Suede” into its search engine produces other suede chenille yarns for you to consider. Use your skill with needle size and the size chart, above, to determine if any of the options are in your size range. Note that Lion Suede is a bulky yarn, so most of the solutions are also “bulky.” Those listed as “baby” are likely what you’re looking for – as “baby” is a smaller size. Clicking on the smaller size yarn will change the search criteria to matching yarns of the smaller size, allowing recursive searches to refine what you need.

Take a trip to Michael’s or your local yarn outlet to practice your visual sizing. There are small differences between standard and metric sizing, and you need to practice reading the yarn label to connect the yarn size in your hand with the needle size listed on the label. The internet does not allow you to touch the product, so your only option if looking for something special is to learn the sizing nomenclature and committing the reserved words; Worsted, Baby, and Fingering, to memory.

On a final note, not all velvet and suede chenilles are created equally. Some of them (especially the bulky and superbulky sizes) can have a very loose weave akin to rayon chenille, so they will fall apart if not gripped carefully. It is ALWAYS preferable to order a skein of a candidate yarn and examine it in person before jumping into a larger order of every color desired. This will save you the embarrassment of overlooking the “superbulky” on the label, or the label might be entirely in Chinese characters, and no translation is possible.

Do your due diligence on each candidate, order a single skein to confirm the properties; size, texture, and construction, and only then order a lot of the yarn.

Follow Up Note:

I ordered skeins of the Toucan Fine, the Boheme Velvet, and the YarnArt Dolce Baby yarns to see if they were also suede chenilles. Each would be described as a “medium” chenille, so the sizing is correct and the labels are the same size as our traditional chenilles (note the needle size mentioned for future searches). They are not “vernille” or suede chenilles, I would classify them as either traditional rayon/polyester chenilles akin to what we normally see in stores, or they are velvet chenilles, not woven tightly enough to qualify as what we know as a “suede” chenille. The Toocan Fine is my favorite of the bunch, but being traditional chenille it will unravel if the ends are not carefully handled. The Boheme Velvet is a knitting chenille, and is partially flat, something I find unique to chenilles made for knitting. It can be spun to a round chenille easily enough, but in its native form has some flatness to it, almost like they flattened one of the four sides. Lashing it onto a hook shank and spinning the strand will return it to a “round” chenille shape and texture.

In summary, these are the correct sizes for our traditional medium chenille, these are not vernille or suede chenille as we know it.

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