Tying Thread Survey

[Jason]

A gentleman from Fly Tyer magazine emailed me and asked for some opinions for an article he's writing. Any suggestions would be great.

Here's his question:
Should the current system of labeling fly-tying thread, 3/0, 6/0, 8/0, etc., be replaced with a more accurate description, such as denier (weight of the thread)? In other words, should there be an industry standard? At present, one company's 8/0 can be the same as another's 6/0. Does this pose problems for you folks when tying from patterns in books or magazines? Do you wish thread size was identical regardless of brand? Or is it not a problem? After all, there's no standard for hooks, and we all manage to tie good flies anyway.

[Mike]

Why mess with what works? I think that most people learn to tie with what they like regardless of what some specific pattern might call for. Using denier (or weight or tex for that matter) is fine, but it still doesn't account for the strength, durability or bulkiness of the thread necessarily. Gudebrod 10/0 is finer, but stronger in my opinion, than anything Uni Thread makes other than 3/0. Same for Ultra Thread. Denier is just a weight measurement... I don't know that it's a measurement that would ever make a real difference to a tyer in the end. I also don't think that it would end up "standardizing" what you got from different manufacturers necessarily. All thread isn't created equal -- regardless of weight.

[nightfish]

I agree with Mike. However, if the system were to be changed, I think using the thread diameter(mm) would be the easiest to interperet to determine thread bulk once wrapped.

But I still won't switch to Gudebrod. G&G all the way.

[JayMorr]

I agree with Mike. However, if the system were to be changed, I think using the thread diameter(mm) would be the easiest to interperet to determine thread bulk once wrapped.

But I still won't switch to Gudebrod. G&G all the way.


I think the idea of Diameter(mm) would be nice. I am not sure how well it would go over with most. The system thats in place now seems to be working and I can just see all the complaints from people when its changed.

JayMorr

[Drake]

I think it would be nice to have the diameter and the denier on the spool (i.e. Tippet). Though the diameter is more important and there should be a standard across the board.

[jdubya]

A gentleman from Fly Tyer magazine emailed me and asked for some opinions for an article he's writing. Any suggestions would be great.

Here's his question:
Should the current system of labeling fly-tying thread, 3/0, 6/0, 8/0, etc., be replaced with a more accurate description, such as denier (weight of the thread)?.
My first answer was just "no" but my message was rejected as too short.

NO

[Ed Gallop]

I did a little writing on threads at: http://www.flytyingworld.com/thread.htm

I think a universal idenfication of thread thickness and strength would be nice. It would be nice to have a standard on anything that would minimize confusion, especially for beginners.

The Borger color system was one that I would have loved to see catch on for that reason. A color would not only be by name but by a universal number so we could precisely what the color is. However... A company bought the copyright and decided to stuff it out of sight. I don't understand why they did that. Can't remember who bought it but think it was a popular publisher (Abernaki maybe?). Ed.


A gentleman from Fly Tyer magazine emailed me and asked for some opinions for an article he's writing. Any suggestions would be great.

Here's his question:
Should the current system of labeling fly-tying thread, 3/0, 6/0, 8/0, etc., be replaced with a more accurate description, such as denier (weight of the thread)? In other words, should there be an industry standard? At present, one company's 8/0 can be the same as another's 6/0. Does this pose problems for you folks when tying from patterns in books or magazines? Do you wish thread size was identical regardless of brand? Or is it not a problem? After all, there's no standard for hooks, and we all manage to tie good flies anyway.