Inteteresting, but i havnt had any problems with mustad or partridge hooks, mind you, most of my hooks are from the 50s/70s ... iain
Inteteresting thread going on about persoanlly favourites on Hooks.. Always great to read why folks enjoy a certian brand...
I was really interested in the Fact that Joyce mentioned her choice of Mustad. I also enjoyed Tony mentioning that he stopped using Mustad years ago... I think for some of the newer Tyers (within the past 6 years time or so) abit of history might be helpful.....
Mustad WAS the No. #1 Flyhook company up until the early/Mid 80's... you would always find Mustad Hooks mentioned in articles & Books as the hook to use... Hell they were about all one could get...short of attempting to locate Partridge or one of the other "Hand Made" English Companies.. or Eagle Claw, which i never was able to locate in any amount. When I started up tying over 30 years ago, all I could find was Mustad...so that was what you went with....
Problem was, And I'm sure other "Long Timers" will agree with me on this one, Mustad started letting their Quality go down hill in the mid '70s... I guess they didn't bother too much trying to correct things, because I would constantly read complaints in the Various Magazines about the quality..
Finishes all wrong, points too long, Bend styles way off course, Open eyes, Brittle hooks... you name it. I think that Mustad figured..."Heck, we're about the only Manufactuer making Fly Tying Hooks, folks will just have to deal with it".... ..
Well in the mid '80s Tiemco came on the scene. I still remember the first time I used them... i thought "These are soo much better then Mustad!!!" and they were a vast improvement over the hooks one could get from Mustad at that time... And from the press i read, alot of "famous Tyers" felt the same way...Tiemco hooks were alot better then Mustad.
Sure enough, other Companies came on the scene...VMC, Dai Riki, Daiichi, etc... Speciality hooks started showing up.. it was alot of fun as you were not limited by what Mustad offered... you had variety!!!!
Well, by the early '90s Mustad began to see that they were losing alot of ground to these "Johnny-come-lately" companies..they began re-thinking their product line, their quality control. it was great to see that Mustad finally woke up & smelled the coffee.. for a number of tyers it was too late, they had left the Mustad band wagon for good..
However, for many tyers all these companies producing High quality Hooks makes it a WIN WIN situation. You can pick & choose what Brands make the right hooks for you.
I still buy some Mustad hooks. But I'll never go back to tying with only Mustad. I believe Mustad has learned from their past...but they will never rule the Fly Hook Market again... it's a new age..with many companies vying for your money (& customer Loyalty)....
Thought you all might enjoy this bit o' history.....
DEAN....
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