Dark Watchet

[William Anderson]

nothing wrong with the head, but if you would like to hear how some others approach the subject, i'm sure there are plenty here who would be happy to share their technique. For myself, I just use a 3-4 turn whip finish and cut it kind of close. If you ask everyone here, I'm sure you'll get a different answer from almost everyone. But if it holds, that's the ticket.

again, nicely tied.

w

[GlassJet]

For what it's worth, I've taken to using a razor blade to cut off the thread after finishing the head. It seems to provide a closer job with less thread tension required.

That makes sense, or a scalpel or something. Do you use any varnish or anything?

When I tie off usually, I dip a bent needle in a bit of nail varnish and draw the loop tight through it when I tie off. But these pearsall's silks, especially the old ones I used for this, are that bit more bulky and less smooth to draw closed - more friction I guess. That, combined with the delicacy of these soft hackles means that I am wary of using the varnish - hence the more visable tag.

GlassJet.

[skunkaroo]

When I tie off usually, I dip a bent needle in a bit of nail varnish and draw the loop tight through it when I tie off. But these pearsall's silks, especially the old ones I used for this, are that bit more bulky and less smooth to draw closed - more friction I guess.

If you are concerned about slippage just use a reasonably tacky wax only on that portion of thread that will make up the head. The wax does a good job of binding the silk without the issues that sometimes accompany glues and head cement. I find that warming the wax a little bit with a lighter helps the wax and oils penetrate and later bond. After I've tightly tyed off the head, I place the sharp edge of my tying scissors at the base of the thread and with the thread under tension slowly draw the blade down until the thread parts. To date I've never had issues with the head coming apart.

Aaron

[tie2fish]

GlassJet - The issue of "to glue or not to glue" has been explored at length more than once on this forum, with the consensus of traditionalists being "not to glue." I, however, having tried both whip finishes and double half hitches with and without wax, have still experienced head
wraps coming unraveled after extended use. As a result, I now put on a coat of Griffiths Thin head cement and let it dry before I even nip off the thread. This product leaves no noticeable residue on fishing-grade flies, and I have not noticed any difference in my on-stream success rate that could be attributed to lingering odor.