Smaller flymphs

[ronr]

the real life, bulldog artery clamps from the medical suppliers are about $300.00 for the German made stainless....

[Trevis]

I found a lot more clamps under the word "Serrefine"

[daringduffer]

These clamps hold the hackle very firmly but are useless to me due to my shaky hands. C&F hacklepliers are a lot more useful for my needs. The tool must match your needs...

dd

[daringduffer]

I have just tied a couple of flies in size 18 with a waterhen hackle. I am even more impressed by those shown by now. They are smaller than small.
My hackle looked rather 'dead' until I educated it between the pad of my index finger and my thumbnail. That treatment made them look nice. A trick I've learnt on this forum years ago.
My flies weren't classical flymphs, just flymph style flies. Thread sparsely dubbed with some underfur. Not even silk, just dun Veevus. Hooks were Geoffrey Bucknall Barbless Specimen, similar design as Daiichi 1640.

dd

[Theroe]

This is the actual clamp that was given to me...

Dana,
Is that artery clamp serrated right to the tip? I carry a similar device on a zinger on my fishing vest to grab flies from the fly box onstream when changing flies. It holds the fly securely while I fuss with the leader, old fly, etc. getting ready for the new one.



It's very similar to yours, except mine have an angled tip. It is serrated right to the tip end, but I've never thought of using it for tying. The good news is that these are readily available and inexpensive. They are sold by Dr. Slick as the "Extra Hand Tweezers" for about $10.[\quote]

Yes, serrated to the tip. And they interlock perfectly. I looked for an identical replacement to the one I have, and I found them in a medical supply for $120 each. Who knows? It’s probably the same thing Dr. Slick is selling for $10 ........ Though I’m sort of perplexed, because adding the prefix flyfishing has the same connotation as adding medical: the price quadruples
Dana

[Mike62]

I just ordered a Dr. slick clamp from Amazon for $10. I'm anxious to give it a try on the smaller Starling feathers that give me so much trouble. If nothing else I can hang it off my vest and use it for flies; tweezers aren't a hands free operation.

[daringduffer]

I have been seriously challenged when trying to tie spiders and such due to lack of steady hands. This problem haunted me for years and I wasted a lot of good hackles. Loss of money wasn't the real issue, loss of joy when tying flies was. All of this was solved when I bought the C&F (rubber suspended) rotary hackle pliers. They grip the hackle firmly, thanks to the serrated jaws, and the rubber suspension protect the delicate fibers. The symmetrical construction of the pliers prevent them from suddenly tilting in the process of winding the hackle.

These pliers solved my problem: https://www.c-and-f.co.jp/pdt/1140007.html?c_id=62

Eventually I also bought these: https://www.c-and-f.co.jp/pdt/1140097.html?c_id=62 and switched the jaws between them to have the slimmer jaws om my original pliers. I then substituted the rubber ring grip on the biot pliers, which is fairly stiff, with the more elastic silicone version that Tiemco uses:


These tools suit me fine and I consider it money well spent, for me. People who don't need them can spend their money on other things that make them happy. I just share my experience of problem and solution.

dd

[letumgo]

Stefan - I enjoyed reading your comments about the hackle pliers and adjustments you've made.

Although this thread started out with Dana's micro flymphs, it evolved into a great reference for various hackle pliers and the available options. All valuable feedback.

[hankaye]

Howdy All;

This is where our friend Ruard would say
"There is always a solution."

hank

[daringduffer]

Howdy All;

This is where our friend Ruard would say
"There is always a solution."

hank

hank,
Our friend Ruard is probably right but, unfortunately, you don't always find it. But when you do, it makes you happy.

dd