What vise to buy

kmudgn

Steelhead
Like everything else, everyone has their own preferences. What is best vise? Good question without a real answer.

My 2 cents is to go to your local fly shop and "test drive" a few vises. Pick the one that you like. Personally, I tied for about a hundred years on a Thompson A, then switch to an HMH standard for the next 100 years. I now tie on a Renzetti, but the offset took some getting used to (at least for me as an old fart). I did pick the Presentation model over the Traveler as I found the Traveler pedestal too light for my wrapping. I made the decision after trying both and many others at my local shop
 

mcswny

Legend
Forum Supporter
I did pick the Presentation model over the Traveler as I found the Traveler pedestal too light for my wrapping. I made the decision after trying both and many others at my local shop
This is a good distinction between the two renzettis
 

iveofione

Life of the Party
Forum Supporter
This has nothing to do with the OP's original question but since it is vise related I'll ramble on.

Decades ago I bought a pre-rotary Regal and tied on it for years. With rotary becoming more popular I realized that I could use something that could show me the bottom of the flies for legs, beard hackle, etc. At a show I saw Norm tying on his Norvise and thought it was pretty cool. Getting the blueprints from the patent office gave me all the information to build one and working in a multi-million dollar machine shop was the opportunity. I sourced high speed aerospace grade bearings through the engineering department, CNC'd all the holes, anodized the rotary portions and made the jaws and adjusters out of hardened stainless. It was a fun project and a delight to see it come together and work so well. However, I wasn't doing the kind of tying the Norvise was designed for and started to look elsewhere. About that time one of my buddies visited me on the tundra and brought one of the latest and greatest high end vises with all kinds of shine and bling to justify the huge price tag.

I tried tying on it and thought it was excessively complex for the simple task of holding an almost weightless hook but worst of all was the bling. I need a lot of bright light to tie and the bright light on all of those carefully machined surfaces was a distraction along with being very uncomfortable. After over 40 years of prototype machine shop work I am not as easily seduced by shiny surfaces as the average guy and thought cosmetics were a large part of the asking price.

Where was matte black when I needed it? It was in the Danvise, a relatively inexpensive vise made out of reinforced carbon filled plastic, all black including the jaws. When I got it I thought it would probably break at the tightening lever but in over 15 years of use it is still in perfect shape and the original jaws are still in great shape. It came with a really cheesy clamp system to attach it to a bench or table that I immediately discarded and mounted it in a heavy base of 1'' thick naval brass-the same base I used on the Norvise. Nowadays I can afford any vise I want but I love the modest Danvise and for the 150 or so flies I tie a year it is just perfect. And it doesn't blind me!

Be careful what you spend your money on. A guy that ties hundreds of dozens of flies a year needs the best vise he can find but a hobbyist that ties comparatively few can probably tie for the rest of his life on a $100 vise and never wear it out.
 

SteelHeadDave

Broskioner
Forum Supporter
I am also looking for a new vise. I’ve been tying on a cheapo non-rotary Regal knockoff ever since I started tying roughly 10 years ago. It’s life is quickly coming to an end but it’s served me well and I’ve never used anything else.

My question for anyone who was used to tying on a traditional non-rotary vise and then switched to a rotary is:

- Do you find it’s more cumbersome to tie larger, say Clouser minnows with the rotary vises since the arm is more inline with the jaws?

That is my only hesitation with getting an in-line style vise as I’m so used to having lots of room behind the jaws to lay out tail or wing material in larger saltwater and bass flies.
 

Zak

Legend
Forum Supporter
I am also looking for a new vise. I’ve been tying on a cheapo non-rotary Regal knockoff ever since I started tying roughly 10 years ago. It’s life is quickly coming to an end but it’s served me well and I’ve never used anything else.

My question for anyone who was used to tying on a traditional non-rotary vise and then switched to a rotary is:

- Do you find it’s more cumbersome to tie larger, say Clouser minnows with the rotary vises since the arm is more inline with the jaws?

That is my only hesitation with getting an in-line style vise as I’m so used to having lots of room behind the jaws to lay out tail or wing material in larger saltwater and bass flies.
I don't find it cumbersome. The vise kind of supports long material behind the hook.
IMG_20200703_192752.jpg
 

FinLuver

Native Oregonian…1846
HMH…middle of the road model that tilts/rotates…get others jaws as needed. I have all jaws, except for tying tubes.

Happy Clam Here…!!😁
 

clarkman

average member
Forum Supporter
HMH…middle of the road model that tilts/rotates…get others jaws as needed. I have all jaws, except for tying tubes.

Happy Clam Here…!!😁
same here. Although, I only use the big game jaws.
 

Brute

Legend
Forum Supporter
I have a Renzetti traveler (my first and only vice) which I like a lot…however, when cranking down on larger streamers, it could use a little more weight. I’m going to put it into my travel bag to take with me on multi day trips, and will be ordering a Presentation 4000 soon…
 

Nick Clayton

Fishing Is Neat
Forum Supporter
Not to discourage anyone from buying another vise, because I love vises and have bought them all at one point or another, but a light base is easily remedied.

Lots of heavy aftermarket vises available that are a lot cheaper than buying a new vise, especially if the new vise offers no real feature improvements over the old one.

Check out Ce Tech bases. Hands down the most amazing base I've ever owned. I'll never tie on another vise without one of these bases.

 

Nick Clayton

Fishing Is Neat
Forum Supporter
I am also looking for a new vise. I’ve been tying on a cheapo non-rotary Regal knockoff ever since I started tying roughly 10 years ago. It’s life is quickly coming to an end but it’s served me well and I’ve never used anything else.

My question for anyone who was used to tying on a traditional non-rotary vise and then switched to a rotary is:

- Do you find it’s more cumbersome to tie larger, say Clouser minnows with the rotary vises since the arm is more inline with the jaws?

That is my only hesitation with getting an in-line style vise as I’m so used to having lots of room behind the jaws to lay out tail or wing material in larger saltwater and bass flies.


I have uses V shaped vises for the bulk of my tying life, so I don't find them cumbersome at all. In fact I find Regal style vises that are straight with the bulk of the head directly behind the jaws to be extremely uncomfortable. But this is simply because its so different than what I'm used to.

I find in particular with Clousers that having a V shaped vise provides ample room when the hook is inverted. I feel there is much less room on straight style vises. But that's just me.

Which is why I feel it's so important to get your hands on any potential new vise before purchase. The importance of personal comfort level when tying can't be over stated
 

Brute

Legend
Forum Supporter
Not to discourage anyone from buying another vise, because I love vises and have bought them all at one point or another, but a light base is easily remedied.

Lots of heavy aftermarket vises available that are a lot cheaper than buying a new vise, especially if the new vise offers no real feature improvements over the old one.

Check out Ce Tech bases. Hands down the most amazing base I've ever owned. I'll never tie on another vise without one of these bases.

Thanks for that…and my wife thanks you…
 

Takeum

Smolt
I’d be interested in a used Nor vise if anyone wants to trade or sell there’s,,,,I have a regal medallion with brass base with cutouts,,,
 

Jake Watrous

Legend
Forum Supporter
I’d be interested in a used Nor vise if anyone wants to trade or sell there’s,,,,I have a regal medallion with brass base with cutouts,,,
If you go that route, I strongly advise checking out Ekich automatic bobbins to take full advantage of what you can do on a Norvise. Norvise bobbins are fine, but you have to faff about spooling thread onto their special thread spools. Ekich bobbins just use the spools your thread comes on.

 
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Zak

Legend
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If you go that route, I strongly advise checking out Ekich automatic bobbins to take full advantage of what you can do on a Norvise. Norvise bobbins are fine, but you have to faff about spooling thread onto their special thread spools. Ekich bobbins just use the spools your thread comes on.

Only $130! Looks really nice, though! I shudder to think what their absolutely beautiful damascus steel vise costs.

 

Jake Watrous

Legend
Forum Supporter
Only $130! Looks really nice, though! I shudder to think what their absolutely beautiful damascus steel vise costs.

Yeah, I don't remember them being that much. Looks like Faruk cranked the price up 50% since I ordered mine.

They're awesome bobbins, but not that awesome. I rescind my suggestion.
 
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Nick Clayton

Fishing Is Neat
Forum Supporter
If you go that route, I strongly advise checking out Ekich automatic bobbins to take full advantage of what you can do on a Norvise. Norvise bobbins are fine, but you have to faff about spooling thread onto their special thread spools. Ekich bobbins just use the spools your thread comes on.



I just love that you said "faff about"
 
For jigs I use the Peak Jurassic vise. It's solid. I tied around 10,000 jigs for B & R tackle with it. Now it just kind of sits in the corner looking sad. I use the Renzetti Presentation for everything else.jig1.jpgjig2.jpg
 
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GAT

Dumbfounded
Forum Supporter
I'm a Dyna King Barracuda Jr. guy myself but my traveling vise is a Renzetti travel vise.

When I was writing the flyting column I used a non full rotary HMH because the jaws had a neat color. I have a lot of different vises (including the traditional Thompson A ) but really, I use the Dyna King the most for tying at home.
 
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RCF

Life of the Party
Not to discourage anyone from buying another vise, because I love vises and have bought them all at one point or another, but a light base is easily remedied.

Lots of heavy aftermarket vises available that are a lot cheaper than buying a new vise, especially if the new vise offers no real feature improvements over the old one.

Check out Ce Tech bases. Hands down the most amazing base I've ever owned. I'll never tie on another vise without one of these bases.


Having a sturdy base is a game changer for most vises. Those CE Tech bases look awesome! Over 5 lbs.! Dayum...
 
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