[Squamishpoacher]

Stonfo Transformer.

https://www.coastsportfish.com/product/stonfo-transformer-vise/

Works out to about $425 US and like all good things the world over...great food, wonderful wine, beautiful women and fast cars, it's Italian!

 

[gt]

my HMH is going on 40-50 years of heavy use. has 2 set of jaws and i added the tube fly attachment. anything from 28s to 10/0 have not been a problem for me. it rotates but i only look at the other side of a fly i am making when i want to make sure the eyes are on correctly.

 

[David Loy]

I’m sure most of you tie more than I do, but fwiw I started with the Price which I still like (and is near new condition). I consider it my travel vise now, but haven’t had it out in years. Early 90s I bought a Renzetti 4000 for the rotary and I enjoy it just fine. This one has the screw tightener vs the lever, but it works fine for me. My vise isn’t the weak point of my tying ;-), but I have fun all the same. Doubt I’ll ever need another.

 

[Zak]

Slightly off topic, but does anyone know where to buy replacement standard jaws for a Peak Rotary vise? Peak sells them, but at a large markup to protect their retail partners. But none of the retail shops carry the standard jaws, only the midge and saltwater and jumbo jaws. Apparently, the standard jaws alone aren't even in the catalog. It's weird!

 

[john gates]

I just bought a Norvise and will have it in hand in a week or so. I suspect I will have a fairly long learning curve ahead.

I tie on a norvise and love to teach. Ask me for help

 

[Bluefisher]

Love my Peak Rotary. Made in Colorado, $150, and very solid.

 

[GaryS]

I use and love my two. J Vise and Mike Johnson ( UK).

 

[Nick Clayton]

I use and love my two. J Vise and Mike Johnson ( UK).

Never heard of Mike Johnson. Got a pic by chance? I kinda have a thing for vises. Never heard of that one

 

[GaryS]

Sure thing

 

[clarkman]

Sure thing
View attachment 219838

I think I have vise base envy....

 

[Nick Clayton]

Thanks for that. Now that I see the pic I think I've seen one before. Nice looking vise for sure

Those Stonfo jaws are legit

 

[GaryS]

Easy to get google Mike. Base alone delivered about $130US.

 

[GaryS]

I have this vise with both Stonto 1 and 2 jaws and a J vise. Stonfo are just as good as J vise but smaller.

 

[Nick Clayton]

I had a J Vise for a short spell, and perhaps it was just the one I got, I bought it used, but I wasnt super impressed with the jaws and the hook holding ability. It was a beautiful vise, and I really enjoyed all the room to the hook it provided, but wasnt really wowed and ended up getting rid of it.

It also just felt clunky to me in its rotation. Maybe clunky isn't the right word....but it was just kinda slow or something. Not sure how to explain it. Just wasnt a vise I could get super comfortable with and crank out a dozen of a pattern quickly.

The room around the hook though was second to none. I really really liked that a lot.

 

[GaryS]

Totally agree. My J vise is used by my visiting guests and students. I use my Mike Johnson which uses Stonfo jaws. It is basically a Stonfo elite but with better and hand made components, great jaws. It is the best vise I have used in 60 years of tying. I intend to sell the J vise and replace it with either another Mike Johnson or Stonfo.
I don’t crank flies out anymore. My classic streamers take 45 to 60 minutes to tie. So, you have a lot of time to stare at the vise, and I need something nice to stare at. I highly recommend Mike Johnson vises. Mike is a real nice gentleman and will do practically anything to accommodate your needs. He offers heavy stainless steel bases or the bamboo base that I prefer.

 

[Nick Clayton]

I don't crank flies out anymore. My classic streamers take 45 to 60 minutes to tie. So, you have a lot of time to stare at the vise, and I need something nice to stare at.

Sums my thoughts up pretty well. Beautiful piece of craftsmanship and if I just tied casually it would make a lot more sense. However I tie a lot of flies and in that regard it wasnt for me. I like to be as efficient as possible, especially when I'm trying to crank a dozen of a hot pattern out late at night after a day on the water in prep for the next days trip.

I tied on a Stonfo Transformer for a couple years and really really liked the standard jaws. They held any hook I threw at it up to 8/0 no problem and I felt like it was probably the smoothest cam system I've ever used.

 

[GOTY]

I cant fathom spending a ton of money on an ancient Hardy reel with zero drag, but plenty of people do.

That's because plenty of people don't need a fancy drag to fight an 8" fish, ya damn pussy.

 

[GaryS]

When I was younger and cranked out fishing fly, there was non faster than a Regal. Now, I don’t fish nor crank them out. I like cool efficient pleasing to use stuff like hand made vises and tools.

 

[Nick Clayton]

That's because plenty of people don't need a fancy drag to fight an 8" fish, ya damn pussy.

You're always on me about the Tibor Riptide I use in the salt. All I can say is YOU try to land a 16" sea run cutthroat without a drag and then we can talk.

 

[GaryS]

Boys no argument. He who has the most fun wins.