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.
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.