C&F, or Why the Japanese Have 27 Arms.

[marmalade]

I have three half-hitchers in my Marco Polo fly-tying kit from C&F and although this means that when I finish a fly I have to hold the whip finish tool in one nostril and not breath out for 10 minutes and balance the two-pronged widget with extra spikes on my left nipple, I do find they make me look very professional.

Does anyone know what a half-hitcher does? And the two-pronged wiggles with extra spikes? Why the spikes? Or is it just a very small version of something the Japanese used to use to keep the peasants in their place? So should I find some small British peasants?

And a 3-in-1 deer hair stacker? How many deer do they think I can stack with two arms and a willing mistress?

The instruction leaflet that comes with the Marco Polo Box might just as well be written in Japanese.

And I've also got a small plastic comb that I assumed was for stroking away the finest hairs from the testicles of my cat until my sister explained that the cat was a cat, if you see what I mean, not a tom and that's why I have a big scratch.

It is actually an excellent piece of kit, but I'm serious about the prong thing. Does it have a use?

From memory the purpose is to add an extra £18 to the price of the kit!


(Dont knock the deer stacker, its brilliant marmalade!
Widest one for deer hair, smallest one for fibres like coq de lion etc for tailing and making sedge wings)

[dabhoy]

I take it the pronged thing you are on about is the dubbing twister

[jim doyle]

The spiky thing is to fend off any one who gets to close to your backwinder!!! jim

[marmalade]

I give in - I knew it was a dubbing twister, but what do I do with it? Every time I try and twist something with it I end up wishing I'd spent the money on employing someone to tie my flies for me (including paying NI and pension contributions, given the cost of the kit).

I still don't see what the two little spikes are for, although I know they are there for a purpose because the English part of the instructions mention them. I'm not sure I understand the twister, either, because it's not heavy like the ones I've seen in youtube demos..

BING! A light just came on in my head - I have a feeling one of the half-hitchers maybe very useful in preventing HeadMess. The HeadMess is a fly I tie most of the time, even when all I wanted was a GRHE. I shall give it a go.

[clydestyle]

ive just ordered kit so i look forward giving it a go

[stevekale]

I use half hitches when spinning deer hair. Three turns around the half hitch tool and you've got a whip finish.
Handy tools in different sizes.