What a fibers

I always wonder why fly tying materials are so pricey!? Ok, ok, ok, I can understand the price for all the genetic capes, jungle cocks and other natural materials, but why the f..k the synthetics are 10 times more expensive as it should be? Also it is well known that many fly tying products are not specially designed for this purpose, but are waste or by products from some industry! Also there is too many people involved in packaging, selling and marketing, so finally our flies also get quite pricey. What we can do here, someone may ask? Just take a chance and visit all the funny craft shops that are dedicated for women! Recently, when we came back from seatrout fishing, we discovered such a shop in the Stockholms city center!

Afro Silky fro Taj Mahal

Taj Mahal is specializing in selling wig and all other types of artificial hair. All shop just for this purpose – for us it means fly tying! It was full with different colored artificial hair, that mainly was not useful for tying, but there where also some hidden treasure! Afro Silky Kanekalon was just like Kinky fiber and similar to other well known saltwater fly tying synthetics! And the price… It was 50 times less than normally you have it in your shop. For 4 euro you can get one pack that includes at least 30 typical fly tying packages. And the length of fibers are more than enough – around 1 meter. So, it should be enough even for the creasiest ideas. So we picked up all 6 useful colors and made at home 6 equal sets.  4 euro each.  Not bad, for perfect material that is usefull for almost any pike fly. Now it has been already tested – just as good as all originals! So, if you visit Stockholm, don’t miss the chance to get to Taj Mahal – it is 500 meters from central cinema and market place, up the hill on the quiet pedestrian street.

and there is a lot..

Ready to go

Winter, winter, winter… It seems that this year winter will last long, and it means no fly fishing for a while. But, no fly fishing – yes, it means fly tying. I like to load my fly boxes with ugly and nasty patters before new season arrives and this is the best time to do it. HOW ABOUT YOU? You would like to, but for you it means table cleaning, taking out all the stuff and then putting it all iback, and so on. And all this to tie just a few flies… No, i’ll better grab a pint and reread an lovely article about fly tying before spring arrives. Honestly – I know this feeling. When i moved to my current flat i faced these issues. Even more – i have a small boy, who is extremely interested in everything, that is small and unusual. So i was planing to make a new tying bench. Above small details i was confident only about two things – first, all the materials (or major ones) and tools must be easily observable and accessible with in one touch (with out seeking for box, then bag and so on..). And other important issue was to get out of dust and child’s nasty hands – these, espesially in between 2 and 3 years can destroy everything within one minute. So my bench must have a shutter or something like that.

The dark side of every good project of coarse is money… Less means bigger shitty! So I faced two unmatchable things – price and quality. While getting almost exhausted by searching something suitable, I founded this beautiful bench, that during the previous life was serving in some small ofice somewhere in Sweden. I am not afraid of purchasing gently used things, especially if these came from country where I love to fish and are made from natural oak, but not plastic. So i picked up this affordable furniture and step by step converted it to my present fly tying bench. Now i have already tied some thousand flies during the last years and i can say – i am fully satisfied. All materials and essentials are within one touch, i can finish tying and close everything within one minute, and restart immediately. You will soon recognize in pictures that instead of huge table i have an open drawer with a small removable (white) surface in front of me where to put all materials and tools that are in use. This is really comfy, because large desk areas usually gets loaded with all possible crap, and finaly gives you nothing more that just increase of entropy. Materials and other stuff that i am using not so frequent are sleeping in a ground level of my bench safely locked under the lower shutter. Safe and secure – SS.
So – take a look at the pictures and pick up some ideas if you are on the way to create your tying corner.
See you next week,
RR

Major materials - each in separate compartment

Desk is closed

Opened position

My trash - attached with a paper clip

Sleeping bench

Lower compartment while shutter is opened - materials resting...

With inner light turned on

Renzetti port