[hooked]

Ekich bobbin

Been looking at new bobbins for a while.I really like the auto-bobbins.Norvise has them but they have to have the tread transferred.That just is not user friendly or economical IMO.The only other one I have come across is the Ekich.At 100 beans,WOW!I love the whole idea of the tread control,but that is steep.Does anybody have one that would like to give an opinion.
Is there another option that I missed.Seems like the 2 mentioned are it.

Thanks for any input

Scott

 

[wrx_canoe]

Scott,

I have a biased opinion here so take it for what it's worth. I've never tried a Norvise Bobbin.

In short I own 10 Ekich Bobbins. I never paid for one of them. I met Faruk a number of years ago as we met to discuss fishing the Coppermine River in Nunavut. He was just kick starting his business and so I did a whole business plan for him as he's just a engineering minded guy and couldn't understand how to market his product.

He showed me his early prototypes of the bobbin as well as many demonstrations of why his bobbins are superior.

Thread control and not altering the existing properties of the thread are the keys behind his bobbin. Normal bobbins and even the Norvise put extra strain on threads, especially stuff like 17/0 Uni-Trico thread. Of course the automatic part as well.

These bobbins are hand made and to this day (7 years later) I haven't a failure or signs of wear on my bobbins.

I can say he's spent literally thousands of dollars developing and patenting the bobbin and he's definitely doing it for the love of it rather than the money. The actual amortized cost is well over what he's charging...

Personally I love my Ekich bobbins. Great feel in hand and with a rotary vise the automatic feature is priceless. It readily accepts standard spools of various brands of thread. If you do a search on some other fly fishing sites some pretty well known fly tyers talk about the positive attributes of the bobbin.

The only downside I see is the price. People tend to freak out at the price but I would counter their argument by putting things in perspective. If you tie a lot a bobbin is a critical tool. In the grand scheme of fly fishing $100 is just a day or two of gas , a guides tip, or whatever. I say splurge and spend the money. You won't regret it.

Not sure if that helps. Lastly, I personally prefer the non-ceramic insert model and a tube length in-between the trout and salmon. The ceramic insert actually heats up the thread when under too much pressure. An example Faruk showed me was a 17/0 trico thread with and without ceramic insert. The former would break due to the friction.

Preston

 

[CTobias]

Does he make these in Ottawa? Or are they outsourced?

 

[wrx_canoe]

He makes everything in his house in Ottawa. He doesn't have the scale to warrant outsourcing nor would he want to worry about quality control.

He's an engineer at heart who is passionate about fly fishing. He's an amazing fly tyer as well. He hand ties horse hair flies...

If you check his website he's also making vises now as well. $2,500 each! True works of art and definitely one of a kind.

He's a fascinating gentleman. Very humble man.

Does he make these in Ottawa? Or are they outsourced?

 

[brood dude]

Could one of you find fella's throw a link up for his site please?

Thx

 

[wrx_canoe]

just google "automatic bobbin"

his site should come up first. tons of info on the site. check out the Damaseal vice! Wow.

 

[Steve Egge]

I have both the norvise and ekich bobbins ...

They both work .. easier to switch bobbins with the ekich .. with the norvise you should buy extra spoools and thread them up so if you want to swith color or size you don't have to take time to spool it up ...

I found a small o ring that fits on the ekich bobbin that make it able for me to use Benecchi 12-0 thread ... (not all bobbins are standard and fit the ekich well). The Ekich is much more expensive than norm's ... you the trade off is having to wind onto norm's bobbin (which is fairly easy)

both work well ...

steve

 

[FKrow]

I met Faruk Ekich last year at the Fly Tying show in Somerset, NJ.

He impressed me with his technical knowledge and enthusiasm to the extent that I purchased two of his bobbins (long and short stem). Expensive, yes however, they are a time saver and to me well worth the cost.

The problem of ceramic tube creating friction and heating which causes thread to fail is a non issue to me,,, I do not use 17/0 mono thread, this is the only thread that is affected.

I also have some Norvise bobbins, the thread transfer is very easy with a battery powered drill and the adapter made by Norm. These also work very well but are rather bulky in the hand. Additional spools are available and necessary for convience. Add it all together and the pricing is not that far apart.

Regards,
FK

 

[raspberry-patch]

Bobbins

My review from last year > includes links to Faruk's page to. If he is offering his visas for seal, you can be assured it is a well machined piece.

I acknowledge and do confirmed what Preston said too. He is that blend of engineer and fine craftsman, which we do see, but not to often.

http://raspberryfisher.wordpress.com/2011/07/17/ekich-bobbin-the-bentley/

 

[CTobias]

You guys aren't making it very easy for me to not buy these. Haha. This is what I get for opening up these threads and reading them and then going and looking more into the product.

I watched the video that is on youtube. One heck of a bobbin.

 

[raspberry-patch]

if there is a negative

If there is a negative, besides expensive, it does not work for all bobbins. It works well with Uni's, Danville bobbins may need attention, and I do not bother anymore with Bennechi (I did do Faruk's mod to the bobbin, did not work great). It is well made, and offers some nice support for rotary, but do not over-sell it to.

Oh yes, since it is well crafted, a standard tube without the insert is a good decision.

 

[BudCrist]

I love mine....don't know how I ever tied without it.