OK, OK, I'll take the mystery out of my tying thread. I show it to everyone that visits my studio and people at shows, so it's no secret.
Many years ago, I obtained some non-descript clothes-line material. It consisted of a clear outer shell and a fiber core of white, shiny, probably gel-spun fibers. I didn't pay it much heed until I used some of the outer shell for hook-point protectors on giant marlin flies. I stripped about a foot of the shell for the protectors, so I had a foot of the core to inspect closely. It was not unlike the synthetic cores you'd find in the center of the flex-braid body materials in the store- the kind tiers chop up and use for wings-posts and spinner wings. I'd checked those fibers in the past to use as tying thread and they just had no strength on an individual strand basis, so were useless as tying thread for #32's (Mustads). And since I've been tying 32's for the last 20 years, I was always searching hi & low for strong ultra-fine thread. The nearest I had come up with so far was a few strands off a spool of Roman Benechi thread that he had given me at a show. You couldn't cut this stuff with your sharpest scissors if you didn't have tension on it. But one fiber was just too weak to tie with, as it didn't have the strength to even suspend my midge bobbin. And creating a thread using 3 or 4 strands was hard, as they were difficult to work out of the main thread, as they weren't linear but for short distances, and then they needed to be waxed and spun. But this clothesline core was a different story. I frayed the end of the 12" piece and picked out one fiber, which was almost ivisible, and I was easily able to pull it from the main core, which was great- it was linear construction. The single fiber was hard to handle, since it didn't drop with gravity. It would just float in space and then actually rise. And if I let go it would float away. Wow, this stuff was THIN! If I looked away for a half sec., I couldn't spot it again until the light reflected off of it just right. And it wasn't all crinkled up, like other super-strands. Now, was it strong? That was the real test. I took the 12" long strand and wound it onto one of my little wooden midge thread-spools just for this task (Jeff, the one I showed you). I put it in my midge tying bobbin and wrapped a few turns on a small hook in the jaws. It held, and suspended the bobbin. Now could I tie with enough tension to wrap down materials and actually feed off of the spool? One turn- snap. Oh Ohhh. Back off on the bobbin arm tension. Snap again. Back off some more. One turn, two turns- snap. Back off some more. Oops, too much- bobbin just free-wheeled right off the thread. Re-spool, tighten a minute tad. It holds. Wrap a few turns, good, hang, OK. Wrap some more turns with a little tension applied to the bobbin- it held. OK, tie some materials down. It works, by Buggs!!! So I stripped a 3-foot section and separated single fibers onto spools and had untra-fine tying thread for size 32's. It takes about two inches of it to tie a #32 royal coachman, so that first batch lasted a long time. It's so fine, I've never encountered thread build-up. The fiber is white and semi-opaque, so I sometimes color it black so I can see the wraps better on the hook. Can't use head cement then, because it takes the black dye and runs it up into the fly materials, creating a black midge effect. So I usually fiish up the head un-dyed, put a tad of head-cement on, let dry, then dye black. I had a hundred hooks that I bought from Marv Nolte years ago (plus a few from before). I had about 20 left when Deb & I cut that deal in NJ a few weeks ago. So I've tied quite a few #32's over the years- lots of times in shows (individually and in flytying theaters). Quite a few were lost when they were accidentally dropped- even on hard floors. People are amazed at the miniature materials I use to tie #32's, then they're really amazed when I take my glasses off to tie them- naked eye- no magnification. It's a blast! But I have an advantage- these tiny fingers of mine- makes it easy. LOL I've never been able to find this brand of clothes-line again. But 3' of the core- probably a thousand strands (I ain't countin' them)- would be a lifetime supply of '50/0' thread for lots and lots of production #32 Mustad tiers. LOL Dr. Demento (how I earned the name ^ ) P.S. Along with the Mustad #32's, I also have some VMC size (real) #30's, 32's, 34's, and 36's. They are fine-wire hooks (violin wire), not forged, with a long shank and spade eye, & no barb ( a micro-barb would be nice). They are nowhere near as strong as the Mustad forged 32, but who's fishing them, anyway??? ----- Original Message ----- From: "Paul Marriner" > Hans, > Not to be disputive, but I thought you didn't know the material about > which Don was speaking? > Paul > > Hans Weilenmann wrote: > > > A single strand? If so, you're a much better man than I Charlie Brown. I > > > hate to say it but I'll remain a sceptic till seeing it with my own > > > eyes. > > Paul, > > > > I too have tied with the single srand, though when I have to crank > > down harder, resort to 2-3 strands... > > Hans >
