[Beauly]

What are you in-hand tying gurus using for thread these days. I figured that the usual UniThread wasn't going to work so I got some Pearsall's Gossamer thread but it still seems to snap easily when trying to get a good tight wing cinch down. Where am I going wrong? Is there a heavier Pearsalls thread I should be buying? Different brand? Any help greatly appreciated. I really suck at this in hand thing but gotta keep practicing.

Tim

 

[s fontinalis]

I use pearsalls gossamer silk. I believe Jin uses Veevus, though i'm not sure what diameter.
I've not tried uni, but if i was gonna, it would be the 6/0 size.
I have tried also with 12/0 veevus and 6/0 Danville flymaster, just because it was thinner with a comparable breaking strain to 6/0 danville, but ultimately i went back to gossamer.
As for gossamer, you just need to find the breaking point. Often I will snap gossamer when tying in hand and that is where good cobblers wax comes in useful ... do you have any?

 

[aaronostoj]

I've found the wax is more important than the thread for tying in hand. I like a heavy 140 denier ultra thread for everything these days in hand or not. It's got enough strength to really cinch things down and lays fairly flat, holds a lot of wax, and makes me think about how many wraps I'm taking, especially on small salmon fly heads. I've found gossamer silk ok, but it's a little weaker than I like.

Hope that helps.

Aaron

 

[chukarhun99]

I mainly use white or natural Danville 6/0 and wax that bugger up with some of Aaron's wax. Use the heavy 140 denier ultra thread if for tying in the gut loop. I break thread a lot so wax and judicious use of a half hitch at each material finish helps me out. Oh and having a wet cloth rag for getting the wax off of your fingers is handy. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

John

 

[Beauly]

Thanks guys. I've got the wax (courtesy of Aaron) and will stick with the gossamer and persevere.

Tim

 

[GR8LAKES FLYER]

I bounce back and forth between UTC Ultra Thread in 70 denier and Uni-thread 8/0 , with my preference being the UTC . I like the thinner thread , I find it bites into the materials better .
Wax is your friend
I never tried Aaron's recipe , but have some really old Pearsall' Bee's Blend I picked up at a flyshop over 25yrs ago . I like the fact that it's not too tacky to hold . It goes on dry , then just rub the waxed thread between my fingers and it gets like glue when I need it to .


Mike

 

[whiskeyjin]

Mostly this days I'm start using Veevus thread(12/0) and finished Uni thread(6/0) ..using a lot of thread wax too !!





Jin

 

[kova1385]

I use gossamer and lots of wax. Sometimes use gossamer "naples" silk (thicker for rod wrapping) when i have a big wing.

Sometimes gossamer breaks spontaneously for me but i just deal with it. When you are tying on your wing moisten the butt ends of it and dont bring the thread all the way around the shank when you tighten. Only bring it around the far side and pull down and a little torwards you, then theres less friction on the thread as opposed to bringing the thread all the way around and pulling up. On mixers i help compress the fibers with my fingernail. Also theres many other methods of winging which are not as likely to break the thread if you scroll through old books online, all explained in hand.

I found uni too stiff so if i let go on accident it would unravel quickly with wax even. The veevus 10/0 thread is very nice to tie in hand with.

 

[GR8LAKES FLYER]

I found uni too stiff so if i let go on accident it would unravel quickly with wax even. The veevus 10/0 thread is very nice to tie in hand with.

I should try the 10/0 Veevus .
I was given a spool of 12/0 to try in a horrible pea green colour .... I couldn't get past the colour :hihi:
I do find the Uni a little stiff . I started out tying in hand with it and always half-hitched after each step , so I did not know the difference . I then tried UTC and find that it is much nicer to work with , very soft and supple , but still very strong for it's diameter .


Mike

 

[fshnazn]

Good input from the in-hand guys. I use that Gossamer stuff with AO wax and like Eunan said, it's just knowing the breaking strength. Aaron told me once that that is what they used back in the day and so I dove right down into that rabbit hole:hihi: I do like the way it grabs the wax, but I cant remember how the other threads hold on to the wax so take my comparison with a grain of salt.

Cheers and wish you well, Tim.

 

[failtospey]

This goes completely against the grain, I use white 75 d GSP. Hate it if you want, but I also use it tying with a bobbin. In fact the only thing I use standard 6/0 thread for is when tying in dumbbell eyes, and to lay down a base course to secure fully gutted flies.

 

[BJay]

I like GSP 70or75 denier. Hard to beat. Very strong.
Bjay