Stonfo Tying Vice.....thoughts ?

[brokentippet]

In the market for a new vice and I've been looking at them just not sure.

[Gil]

I have a norvice and had a peak prior to that. The norvice is ok but perhaps not worth the money I spent. The peak on the other had as a first vice was a solid investment.

[SilverDoctor]

I assume you are talking about the Stonfo Kaiman Vice. Newer on the market than some of the other brands. Looks interesting and solid but I would really tie on one before I made a decision. It looks like a take off of the Regal, which has been around for years and it's easy to get parts or accessories if needed. Tied on a Regal for many years till someone "borrowed" the base after a fly tying demo, found it a comfy vice to tie on. That is part of what you have to look at. Tying comfort for your size of hands and style of tying. Lots of good brands out there on the market, I think part of it is what kind of use you think you will get out of it and what budget you have. How often you want to tie, an occasional hobbyist, frequent tier or commercial volumes and what you want to tie. Tiny dries or big streamers. All are factors and important to things to think about. There is no law that says you can't buy several brands. I have owned and tie on quite a few since the eary 60's. We're at a time when there is a great variety of product out there.

 

You can spend a lot of money on them so a bunch of research is always good. But something I have seen is that there is no one vice that is the best for everyone. A brand that one person loves will be another person's hell. So take some time looking at a variety of them. Talk to a bunch of tiers and see what they use and get out to your local tying club and chat with tiers. I know this isn't an answer to your question but just an opinion.

[brokentippet]

Thanks for the insight silverdoctor

[tika]

I am currently tying on a Stonfo Kaiman Vice installed it on my Norvise deck. I was an early adopter of the Norvise system and after a decade or so my biggest issue is jaw deformation. The high carbon steel in the Kaiman jaw is what sold me. I know...I know it's not a Regal , but with a little tweaking/tuning it performs pretty good. So, Regal like action, good steel, on a hobo budget. IMHO