Whip Finishing

[flyfishforfun]

Whip finishing may not be the most glamorous part of fly fishing, but its pretty important! I have not come across a lot of instruction on the specifics of whip finishing, so I’d like to hear your methods and preferences.

e.g…..

How do you whip finish your flies?

How many rotations are adequate?

Does the number of rotations vary if the head is wide e.g. a clouser when compared to a small dry fly?
Speaking of clousers, should they be whip finished at the narrowest or widest part of the head?

Do you need to rotate more times with light thread? For example can you get away with maybe 4 rotations with 3/0 thread but need closer to a dozen for 10/0?

Should the rotations sit directly on top of each other to lock the thread in place?

Are some types of thread like waxed thread unsuitable for whip finishing?

Thanks in advance for any feedback!

[geoffvl]

I don't know if you're using a whip finisher tool or by hand. I find it easy to do it by hand but I never tried hard to use the tool. I was taught that 4 rotations was adequate. I don't really have specific answers to your other questions but i find it more difficult to pull the thread through on smaller threads.

[flyfishforfun]

I use whip finishers, Matarelli for larger heads and tying off behind bead/cone heads and Thompson for small heads, when I occasionally do dry flies. I have never done it by hand- wouldn't know where to begin with that!

[Finn]

I, like flyfishforfun (4F?) use different whip finishers depending on the job I am doing at the time. I have also played around with hand whip finishing.

I usually use 4-5 wraps on my whip finishes. Most of my threads are pre-waxed. I am not overly fussy about the wraps all sitting over top of each other.

One thing I do regularly do is add a drop of head cement or hard as nails after the whip finish.

[Gomphus]

My copy of the bible, "The Fly Tier's Benchside Reference", says to use 4 to 6 turns. The only comment it makes is that the whip finish allows for greater precision in placing the wraps and controlling the shape of the head. In practical terms I would think that the idea is not too bulk up the head, so they should be placed beside each other. Tie Your Own Flies by Roy Patrick (I can't believe that I bought this book in 1972) shows the wraps going from the back to the front. He shows how to do this by hand very nicely in the book.

[phearless]

I agree with Roy Patrick.
Back to front, wraps beside each other.
I often use the whip to shape the head of my flies.
For type of finisher, I use my fingers most often, but I will use at times Materrelli type, especially the long or extended ones for bigger flies or where I am finishing behind a bead or thorax.
Some kind of goop is recommended for longevity of flies. A drop of some kind of cement goes a long way to keeping the whole shebang together and, in my opinion, looks good.

[professori]

Take a look at these videos: http://flyfisherman.com/ftb/jbwhip/
This should answer most of your questions.

[harley]

If you go onto the YouTube site and enter your question on search section you will find lots of information on fly tying and whip finishing. There is a lot of instruction video`s on this site on just about anything.

harley

[Flyfishin Magician]

I've only learned how to whip finish by hand. My standard (benchmark) is finish the fly with two whip finish knots - 3 rotations each. I then make variations of this depending on the fly.

[geoffvl]

I taught myself how to use the whip finishing tool. Its much easier than doing it by hand. If you don't know how to use it you should learn. Its great.