Steve Abel, best known for high-end reels,
introduced the Abel vise a few years back. After
hearing a vise was imminent, I was keenly
interested. But once it was there and I had a
chance to play with it. I admit to feeling
somewhat disappointed.
As one can expect from Abel, the vise is
both well machined and high priced. But it is
also boring. Looking at it and tying on it one
cannot help but contemplate that a bit more
originality and more personality injected into
the design would have resulted in a much more
interesting product than what is basically a
hybrid between a Renzetti Presentation 4000
and a Renzetti Master. It even is priced
half-way between the two.
Fashioned from nicely machined and finished
brass, copper and stainless components, it
follows a classic true rotary design. The
parallel clamp jaws, fashioned of hardened
stainless steel and hold a wide range of hook
sizes very securely, although access to very
small hooks is somewhat restricted. It utilizes
a rubber O-ring to keep the jaws aligned and
to act as a spring, opening the tips when
pressure is released. An O-ring? Am I the only
one who thinks a ten cent O-ring has no place in
this capacity on a $565 product?
The Abel Supreme features what is termed a Center
Line Gauge to facilitate exact placement of the hook
shank in the axis of rotation - a groove along the top
of the horizontal portion of the vise arm . Place any
small and thin straight-edged object (ruler, business
card) in the groove and align the hook shank with the
bottom of the straightedge.
The name sounds impressive, the operation a simple
one, and the effect as advertized. But if a tier
requires exact axis alignment, they may have to
compromise access to the hook. Because the jaws
themselves are fixed in location and angle, a hook may
be forced to sit much lower or further back in the jaws
than might be desired.
The exact centering of the shank on the axis of
rotation is a requirment for spinning vise designs,
such as the Nor-vise. For hand cranked true-rotary vises
the advantage on exact versus almost-exact alignment is
of very little consequence. Proper seating of the hook
with a view to good access in mind is a much more
relevant issue in terms of practical tying.
The remainder of the vise is finely machined and
finished. The bronze pedestal base is solid and heavy,
and the machined out dish is a convenient feature for
storing hooks and small items.
