How to strip down old flys to the bare hook?

[tinsoldier]

Clearing out my fly boxes of old and unused flys am thinking of stripping em down to the bare metal to reuse to save money and get more practice in tying,has anyone done it and how do i got about it the best way without losing a finger ,any help appreciated ,Johnny

[maharg]

Hook in the vice, Stanley knife in hand, start at the head.
Easy peasey

[spidersplus]

Don't forget that if you have fished with the flies, there is a good chance that the hooks will be slightly blunt and possibly a hint of rust may have set in under the dressing. (Would you ever use re-tread tyres on your car?)

New hooks are not expensive - hate to think that you might lose a fish of a lifetime on and old hook ...

Kind regards

[tinsoldier]

Nah spiderplus will only be reusing decent hooks,i have no qualms about binning rusty and bent hooks will be stripping down the flies i tied when i had 1 too many rums and jamaican woodbines and shall we say my imagination got carried away

[arkle]

When you strip them put a thin coat of varnish on the top of the shank to slow down any possible future rust caused by the blade nicking into the original coating.

[Scratch]

Now you know what to do, seek adult supervision before you do it.

[Flyfishing-UK]

like it

Originally Posted by Scratch

Now you know what to do, seek adult supervision before you do it.

[benlikestofish]

To avoid scratching or damaging the hook I have stopped using a scapel and now use a cauteriser. I start from the back and work my way across the top of the shank to the head. This takes seconds and avoids any damage to the hook.

[midlander]

Originally Posted by Albert Nuttall

Now you know what to do, seek adult supervision before you do it.

When tha's reet, tha's reet, reet?

[Jeltz]

Do not varnish the head until you are more than happy with the end result, it is easy to take them apart later if you do not like them.