Whip finish V Half hitch

[Anjinsan]

Evening all, I have a question regarding the pro's and cons of using either a whip finish, verses a half hitch. Does it matter which method you use to finish a fly ? What are the main differences ?

Sean

[A. Fluker]

Depends!

[diogg]

I tend to double whip finish my flies. Rarely use varnish on flies for my own use. Whatever works for you, really.

By the nature of the knotting involved I would have thought whip finish to be generally more secure, but, as I say, whatever works for you. In a flytying sense, probably good to have the skills to do both.

Regards,

[Fishtales]

No. The whip finish looks neater but they both do the same job. I used the half hitch for years then learned how to do the whip finish by hand, I never liked the tools, and I now whip finish my flies.

[Highlander]

I have a question regarding the pro's and cons

There are no pros & cons for me. Learn to whip finish. Half hitching whilst useful in some circumstances is useless for finishing a fly. There are no cons that I can see in a whip finish.
Tight Lines

[Anjinsan]

Originally Posted by Loopy

Depends!

I got my hopes up then, thinking fantastic an answer already. But no, you had to get all zen on me.

What does it depend upon.

Sean

[woz]

Each to their own I suppose, personally though I prefer the whip finish than the half hitch. I feel it's a little more secure...

[Ron Clay]

I have been doing the whip finish by hand for almost 50 years. Half hitches are usful as a temporary tie off in between certain procedures on complicated flies, but overall, the whip finish is quicker, neater and far stronger.

Recently I have been using a Matterelli whip finish tool on smaller flies. I am most impressed with this tool which finishes the head of the fly very neatly.

[splashtestdummy]

A man like yerself can learn them both and then make a judgement, is the easy path really the easy path?

Zen enough for a Fri night?

[A. Fluker]

Originally Posted by Anjinsan

I got my hopes up then, thinking fantastic an answer already. But no, you had to get all zen on me.

What does it depend upon.

Sean

VAT was calling! Yep it depends on the fly, it depends on the amount of space you have to finish off, it depends on the size of the fly (same thing really), it depends on the pattern some like you to finish well behind the head and so a half hitch or two is the only way. And then it depends on what your own personal preferences are - some like to half hitch and some like to whip. A half hitch finish may be all that is required and will show a slimmer finish but a whip finish will be more robust as stated already. And then there is the question does one complete these tyes with a tool or no tool - depends!

I am not the best qualified to answer and no doubt more will come along.