Essential Tools

Vice
The purpose of the vice is to hold a hook securely while you tie materials onto it. It is useful if you have a vice where the jaws can rotate, as this allows you to change the angle of the fly as you work on it. There are two types of vice - those that have a pedestal and are free-standing, and those that need to be clamped onto a table. This is entirely personal preference.

You can pay anything from a little over ten pounds for a vice, to a few hundreds of pounds. One of the most important things you pay more money for is the strength and hardness of the jaws, and their ability to hold the smaller hook sizes securely. The more expensive vices will see you through a life-time's fly tying.

However, you can buy a perfectly adequate vice for under fifteen pounds that will allow you to start tying flies. This will give you a chance to find out what you require from a vice and upgrade at a later date. As with many things in fly tying, the trick is to know when it is worth spending money, and when not.

A review of a selection of vices available here.

Bobbin holder
The bobbin holder holds the thread under tension and allows you to manipulate the thread around the hook to securely tie in materials. Bobbin holders range from just a few pounds to around fifteen. The more expensive bobbin holders have a ceramic tube through which the thread runs. This is worth paying a little more for, the ceramic prevents the thread snagging and snapping when you are half way through tying a fly!

A review of bobbin holders available here

Bobbin threader
Like a big needle threader to load the thread onto the bobbin. Get the cheapest you can or make your own.

Scissors
Worth spending money on. A pair of small, sharp fly-tying scissors are essential for cutting fur, feathers and threads. It is worth getting a second, cheaper pair for cutting synthetic material and wires and tinsels, to preserve the blades of your best. Embroidery scissors will do for a second pair.

Hackle pliers
Hackle pliers are sprung grips that hold the tip of the hackle (the feather) while you wind it onto the hook-shank. The important thing to look for is a non-slip grip so that the hackle is held securely and does not slip off while you are winding it on. There are a number of different designs of hackle pliers, and which you settle on is to some extent a matter of personal preference. You need not spend a lot of money to get an effective hackle plier. This is one of the best I have used.

Dubbing needle
The clue is in the name for this one - it is a needle that you use to pick out dubbing material in the body of a fly. You can buy them, or you can make your own with a cork and a darning needle. It is worth having two: one for picking out dubbing, and another for applying drops of varnish when tying off a fly.

Hair stacker
A hair stacker is a small container in which you can put cut hair, then tap it on the work-surface so that all all the individual hairs 'line up' and can then be cut to the same length.This bunch of hair can then be tied onto the hook and formed into a hair wing on the fly. Again it is not an expensive tool, but it is worth spending a little bit to ensure that the metal surfaces are smooth and do not snag the hairs.

Additional tools