# Getting started in Fly Tying(again)



## gfish (Jan 14, 2009)

*Re: Fly Tying Stuff*

Renzetti traveler


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## Mooseknuckle (Oct 9, 2012)

a renzetti traveler is not exactly a "must-have basic" vise. I tied on a thompson pedestal vice for 15 years. Just upgraded to an ebay rotary vice out of Estonia (most of you know the one) for $25. If you want basic, get basic. Your bugs will be just as good.


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## Bill_Laminack (Feb 12, 2012)

I have used a Pedestal version of this for 15 years. 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/MARK-III-VISE-TRUE-ROTARY-FLY-TYING-VISE-NEW-FACTORY-MINT-FREIGHT-FREE-/150866930348?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item23205eaaac


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## Snookdaddy (Jan 5, 2008)

You just missed Ole Florida Fly Shop's 25% all fly tying materials sale... They can out fit you with everything you need.

Look for a used Peak Vise for around $100... Built to last a lifetime and full rotary.


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## Demeter (Nov 16, 2011)

The peak vise has very good online reviews. It looks like a good deal for 100$.


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## Guest (Dec 4, 2012)

How about a Tool Kit? Or Must have Tools?


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## Mooseknuckle (Oct 9, 2012)

must have tools: a bobbin and good scissors

good to have tools: a bodkin and a whip finisher


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## kylepyro (Oct 27, 2010)

A good light and comfortable chair for wherever you're going to tie. 

Check the drug store cosmetics section for scissors. You can find interesting things there. You also want several different kinds. One long pair for cutting big coarse stuff like bucktail or EP fiber and a fine point pair for those tight cuts the big pair won't make, like cleaning up a stray hair on an eyelet.

If you intend to spin any hair you might want a stacker. You can use a pen body for a packer. If you wind up with a pedestal vice you'll find yourself wishing you had a way to clamp it down. A little ingenuity will solve that problem in short order. 

Once you start down the "acquiring materials" path it can snowball out of control pretty quickly. Having a place and things to organize materials is helpful. Lots of box like widgets for that stuff. $ store can be your friend here, until your material collecting becomes a mental health issue and then plastic bins will get overwhelming. Craft/Fabric stores have organizing materials too. They will also be a place to look for deals on scissors.

"Fly tying" scissors are mostly great tools, but you do pay a bit for that fly tying cache.


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## KnotHome (Jul 21, 2009)

> Once you start down the "acquiring materials" path it can will snowball out of control pretty quickly.


Fixed


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## Guest (Dec 5, 2012)

> I have used a Pedestal version of this for 15 years.
> http://www.ebay.com/itm/MARK-III-VISE-TRUE-ROTARY-FLY-TYING-VISE-NEW-FACTORY-MINT-FREIGHT-FREE-/150866930348?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item23205eaaac

























How about the Mark 3 Rotary Vise and this Cablea's Kit and swap out the vise?

Does the Cabela's kit have the tools that would work tying Saltwater Flies? In the past I tied only Dry Flies, Nymphs, Streamers and Salmon Flies when I sent a few Summers in Alaska(Sitka), but fished a lot in Ketchikan and Juneo.

On a side not if you have never been to Alaska it needs to be on your list before you Croak! IMO, the most Beautiful place on Earth. Of course, I have only been there June, July August.  :

Thanks for the Help so far.


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## kylepyro (Oct 27, 2010)

> > Once you start down the "acquiring materials" path it can will snowball out of control pretty quickly.
> 
> 
> Fixed


Ha - too funny. I guess I was trying to allow for the concept of discipline and free will, not that I've ever exercised either of those in a well stocked shop. ;D


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## Bissell (Feb 27, 2010)

I used to have the BPS kit.. The legit BASICS but it gets the job done.. Never understood why people spend so much money on vises and other tools


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## kylepyro (Oct 27, 2010)

> I used to have the BPS kit.. The legit BASICS but it gets the job done.. Never understood why people spend so much money on vises and other tools


Its pretty simple - because I get more personal satisfaction out of them than another share of Apple stock AND its something to do when I can't get out and fish.

Be honest - if you could choose freely between an low end BPS vise and a nice Renzetti, wouldn't you prefer the Renzetti?


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## Bissell (Feb 27, 2010)

They all do the same thing...


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## Bissell (Feb 27, 2010)

This is what my buddy ties on.. All it does is hold a hook... 10$ in the vice grips and some ******* engineering, the 90$ he saved was spend towards a reel.


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## Swamp (Jul 12, 2010)

That set up will work.  It will also drive you nuts after a while.  Like using a hammer to drive a screw.  You might as well follow Lee Wulffs example and just not bother with a vise at all.  You can also use your bare hands to throw a fly line instead of a rod like Lefty can (well I can't but...).  If the vise grip set up is all you have or can afford go for it, better than nothing but not by much.

A cheap India made knock off of a Thompson A vise is what I learned on about 30 yrs ago.  It held hooks till I tied a few dozen flies on it and the cheap soft metal the pivot pin in the back was made of sheared, I replaced it with a roofing nail.  Then the serrations on the jaws wore out. Tying deer hair bugs became interesting to say the least when they would pop out unexpectedly.  But it was what I had and I made due.  I still have that vise for sentimental reasons, roofing nail and all.

A buddy of mine loaned me a Renzetti Traveler years down the road. Wow what a difference that made.  I stopped fighting my tools and could just focus on my skill or lack there of depending on your point of view.  My skills advanced exponentially.  Tying became fun in and of itself, not just a means to an end.

Do you need a $1000 vice? No of course not.  You should buy something that is well designed, well made, and durable regardless of price though.  There are plenty of products that can be bought new for $100-$150ish that will last a long long time if not a lifetime. 

Asking what is the best vice or what features a vice should have is like asking what is the best skiff and must have accessories one should put on it.

@Nutt.  To directly answer your question, that regal knock off should work just fine *if* it is well made.  Personally I don't like the regal type vices, but what doesn't work for me works for the multitude of regal fans out there.  If you can get to a tying and lying session somewhere I'll bet the attendees will let you "water test" their vices and tell you all about them.  

That Renzetti Traveler I mentioned is bullet proof and will be the only vise you will ever need unless you really get into it.  I have two four drawer filing cabinets and another 20+ cubic feet of shelf space full of tying materials.  I passed casual interest in tying a while back.  I could still get by with the Traveler. I currently tie on a Dyna King Barracuda.  I will never wear it out.  If the Rezetti 2000 had been out I would have bought it instead.  The the 2000 has some features on it I like that the traveler does not.  At the time the only Renzetti vice that had them was the Master.  I would not afford it back then and I probably still won't so I bought the Barracuda.  I like the Renzetti products and Andy and Lily are aces, nice people.  If I ever get another vice (just because) it will be a Renzetti, probably a 2000 series. You might drop by the shop since it is in your neck of the woods and see if they have some scratch and dents for sale.  I wouldn't be surprised if they did not since Andy is such a perfectionist though.

To anyone that wants to get into tying I suggest getting a vise (borrow one for while if you can), a bobbin, a bodkin (a stout needle in a dowel works),  a good pair of medium tipped scissors, and a cheap pair of scissors for cutting all the crap you shouldn't cut with your good scissors.  That is it, that is all you really need and there are plenty of commercial tiers that by and large use little else.  Oh and lacquer, either the small bottles in the shop for 1000% mark up or a quart at the hardware store.

As for must have materials, I suggest you buy materials for whatever fly you use the most.  Take a chartruese over white Clousers Deep Minnow, one of my go to flys. That would be two buck tails (white and chart), flash, lead eyes (or brass/tin/tungsten/bead chain), hooks, and flat waxed thread in your color choice. Enough to do 100+ flies will run about $30-40.  You will still have buck tail, flash, and thread left when you run out of hooks and eyes so the next 100 will be a little less.  When you get that down add another fly or color if you can use an already owned material so much the better.  It's all down hill from there.


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## Rediculous (May 5, 2012)

I ordered the renzetti traveler yesterday. I thought about getting something cheaper to start with, but why not get a decent vise of the rip, was my conclusion. I'm really looking forward to the traveler though, and can't wait to bust out some bugs on it.


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## kylepyro (Oct 27, 2010)

> I ordered the renzetti traveler yesterday. I thought about getting something cheaper to start with, but why not get a decent vise of the rip, was my conclusion. I'm really looking forward to the traveler though, and can't wait to bust out some bugs on it.


I'm sure you'll enjoy it. In the mean time you can just pop out to the garage and rig something up with a couple of sets of vice grip pliers. Just stick with big salt water flies, because tying those #18 pmd's is TOUGH in vice grips. ;D ;D ;D


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## tkennedy5823 (Nov 26, 2012)

I have one of those Mark III's and a Renzetti Traveler.

The Mark III is great if you are knocking out a lot of flies at once and can accomodate flies of all sizes. The squeeze feature of the jaws is fast. The spring can be overcome if you are really synching down your thread. The rotary feature is not so great either. 

The Renzetti does not have any of these issues. You get what you pay for though.


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