The primary purpose of a fly-tying vise is to securely hold a hook. This statement provides the foundation for this article where we will examine what makes a "good" vise. Suggestions are offered regarding what to expect in a vise and what to look for when you plan to purchase a vise, whether it be your first or an upgrade. A number of popular vises covering the range from low cost to state of the art are reviewed.

Part of this article aims to be objective, but the larger portion will be subjective. Both authors have strong views on what is important in a vise, and what is not.

Many fly-tying tools are very personal choices and none more so than a vise: "one man's treasure is another man's trash." Before making a purchase, test as many vises as you can get your hands on.

As a result of financial constraints, the first consideration in selecting a vise is likely to be budget. Vises range in price from well under $50 to a whopping $600! Fortunately, there are good tools to be had within each price range.

A $30 vise may hold most hooks well enough to tie a beautiful fly, so why should anyone consider spending more than ten times that amount for a tying vise? When one recognizes that the ladies of Rogan's shop in Ireland tie beautiful, effective flies with no vise at all, spending even $30 for a tying vise is a needless expense. However, the purpose of any tool is to facilitate the performance of some task and some tools accomplish that goal better than others, whether because of superior design, better components, or better fit and finish. Thoughtful design, high-quality machining, and the employment of durable materials offer the tool user real-world benefits but come with a correspondingly higher price. Whether the higher price of a high quality tool is worth the expenditure is a question that can be answered only by the individual.

Also remember that a used vise can give you the most bang for the buck. Good vises wear well, and a used vise in good condition should provide a lifetime of good service.

New tiers face a significant quandary. Some would advise the purchase of the least expensive vise available. By doing so, the neophyte who discovers that tying isn't for him or her will not have lost much money when the vise goes to its final resting place in the garage. Others would counsel the beginner to purchase the best tool they can afford. Using a good vise will make your time at the bench far more enjoyable, and if tying is abandoned, the vise can easily be sold to recoup the majority of its cost. While both schools of thought are defensible, we are proponents of the latter. Non-commercial tying is a hobby - anything that detracts from its enjoyment should be avoided.

The second significant consideration should be the kind of flies you will be tying. For example, if your fishing is primarily on western tailwaters, you are likely to be tying on small hooks and access to such hooks will be a major consideration. If you tie for the salt or warmwater species, access becomes less important than the vise's ability to hold large hooks securely. If you primarily tie flies "in the round," a spinning vise may best suit your needs.

The third selection criterion is the determination of the features you need, and those you want, in that order.

A significant difference between the many vises on the market today is rotation. Some vises have a fixed head, while others can be rotated to give better access to the sides or bottom of the fly, or to inspect the back side of the fly prior to finishing. The latter are generally referred to as "rotary" or 360 degree vises. But turning the head of the vise will take the hook shank out of the horizontal position, and adjusting the hook may be necessary to complete the task. A "true rotary" (sometimes referred to as "on axis rotary," or "in-line rotary") positions the hook shank horizontally and on the axis of rotation of the vise. Therefore, the hook shank remains horizontal throughout rotation of the vise.

"Rotary tying" refers to the technique in which the material is held stationary, and applied to the hook shank by rotating the vise. While we (the authors) prefer tying on true rotary vises, we rarely "rotary tie." For us, the primary benefit of a true rotary is its ability to turn the fly for application of materials with the hook shank remaining in the horizontal position, and the bobbin hanging vertically in the proper position to hold the material. Further, it is often beneficial to view the fly directly from the side, for example, to accurately judge hackle length relative to hook gap. Because the hook shank is below the tier's eye level, rotating the vise about 40 degrees presents the fly to the tier's eye directly from the side without taking the shank out of the horizontal tying position. Once a tier becomes used to the features of a true rotary, the switch back to a traditional vise is a clumsy one.

Within the range of true rotaries are at least two vises which take rotary tying to its logical extreme: the Norvise, and Pamola Fly Lathe. These vises are purpose-designed and built for rotary tying, but suffer somewhat when that technique is not beneficial. On the other hand, thousands of skilled tiers would tie on nothing other than a traditional vise that leads to the most important consideration in vise selection: purchase a vise that suits you, not because it suits anyone else!

There are essentially two types of jaws used in vises today: those which employ a collet;and what we'll call lever-type, or parallel clamp.

Collet vises employ one-piece jaws that are machined in the open position like a pair of tweezers. The jaws are closed by either pulling or pushing them into a ring called a collet. This is generally accomplished by a lever and cam located at the rear of the vise barrel.

Most collet vises are "draw collet," meaning that the jaws are pulled into the collet. Examples include the venerable Thompsons, to the more sophisticated HMH entries. DynaKing's line utilizes a forcing-cone collet design--or "push collet" in which the jaws are pushed into a conical collet, forcing them to close. The Renzetti Presentation 3000 and the new Tiemco vises also use a push-collet design but these vises employ jaws that are forced into the collet by a screw rather than a cam lever. Because of the great force exerted on the collet, push-collet vises tend to have a substantial metal collar behind the jaws which some tiers may find reduces access to small hooks. Draw-collet designs generally have a somewhat sleeker profile.

Lever-type jaws operate rather like a wooden clothespin, requiring two-piece jaws, a fulcrum, and a mechanism to close the jaws. On certain designs, a small screw is present near the tip of the jaws to provide adjustment between hook wire diameters. Some tiers find that this screw interferes, especially when tying on small hooks. Either a thumbscrew or a cam lever is used to close the jaws by separating the "tails" of the jaws.

Regal vises utilize a spring loaded, parallel-clamp design in which the jaws are closed at rest, and must be opened to insert the hook. A potential drawback of this design is that it will not allow the tier to control the amount of pressure exerted on the hook.

Fine vises are made with all of the above mechanisms. For example, the most inexpensive vise in our roundup (Dan-vise, about $80) and one of the most expensive (Renzetti Master, $600) have basically the same lever- type jaws mechanism. There is no single "best" design, but there certainly are differences in how well the designs are executed.

As stated earlier, if nothing else, the function of a flytying vise is to hold a hook securely for the duration of the tying process.

Securely, in this context, means the hook is held such that it will not slip or move during the tying process, yet at the same time not cause any noticeable damage to hook finish or structure. Pressure on the hook well past this 'secure' point is no longer a benefit, but a liability.

Hooks come in a wide range of absolute sizes, wire diameters, and shank lengths. Generally speaking, there is relatively little pressure required to hold a small hook, and relatively more as the hook increases in size or length.

Therefore, a major challenge for vise designers is how to hold the larger hooks securely. For small hooks the designer has a different concern; how to provide optimal access to the hook once it is mounted in the jaws.

Contemporary vises face three approaches to holding larger hooks: ramp up the pressure, machine serrations into the 'faces' of the jaws, or integrate one or more hook pockets. Each of these approaches has its pros and cons.

The pressure required to hold any hook is inversely related to the amount of contact area between jaws and hook, i.e. as the surface area increases there is less pressure required to hold the hook.

The pressure required to hold a large size (or long shank) hook inside a smooth set of jaws is quite substantial. It can be done but unless the contact surface is significant the pressure required will almost certainly damage the hook finish and possibly cause structural damage to the hook.

On the pro side (for the manufacturer), smooth jaws are easier to produce. As a tier, one should treat these kinds of jaws with some trepidation if tying on large hooks is important to you.

Serrations machined into the 'faces' of the jaws. Serrations 'bite' into the hook, improving the hook- holding capability of a set of jaws. The sharper or coarser the serrations, the more efficient the 'bite'. At the same time, the serrations will cause damage to the hook finish and possibly some structural damage to the hook. Damage to hook finish is not merely an issue of aesthetics as compromise of the finish can invite corrosion.

Integrate one or more hook pockets. Integrating hook pockets is another way to reduce the amount of pressure required yet still retain a secure hold. However, hook pockets also dictate to the tier a limited set of locations where hooks can be placed.

Hook pockets can be located in just one-half of a jaws set or in both the facing sides to make up the set. They can be straight, linear indents such as those on the DynaKing jaws, or they can be curved to follow the generic shape of a hook bend, as seen on the LAW jaws.

Perhaps the best all-round design is a very finely marbled tip to securely hold small hooks and one or two hook pockets to handle the larger sizes.

Whenever possible, the final choice should always be made after hands-on testing. Once a suitable vise has been selected it will surely serve you well for many years.