If you really want to try tying flies by hand, one of the less expensive old books to collect is called Fly Tying For Salmon by Eric Taverner. I picked one up off Ebay for very little. While vises were available at the time he wrote his book he still preferred tying flies by hand so the illustrations in his book show you how to hold the hook and wind the materials on. He explains it pretty well. There are other books but they're a little more pricey. Deb
-----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Chris Del Plato Sent: Sunday, July 03, 2005 10:09 AM To: [email protected] Subject: [VFB] Carrie Stevens (was: Jim Warner, Streamers) On 7/2/05, Chuck Alexander <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > How in the world could She tie those with NO vise????? Chuck Carrie's background was in the millinery trade, making feather adornments for hatbands of the day. She translated many of the same techniques to her tying - such as pre-constructing the wing assemblies. I imagine this helped to make production more efficient for her as well, working on wing assemblies only at one session and storing them up. I have done it myself, as you can see from the article. While it is not easy, it is easier than one might initially think, give that much of the aesthetics of the fly is in the wing assemby - which is traditionally done off the vise anyway. I've found my hands cramp while doing the body. I would guess this would become much easier over time, should one choose to make a habit of it. I bet Dave Brandt could probably kick my a** at it, since doing a small Wulff has to be harder, in my mind. I bet ol' Carrie had a helluva handshake. -- CD
