Thread and Wire
Thread and Wire
Selection of Thread, Floss, and Wire can be a personal choice. Thread can be based on Silk, Nylon, or Polyester materials. Each has their own merits. Most thread, today, is polyester. It is easy to handle and has a good breaking strength. Many threads are rated by diameter such as 3/0, 6/0, 8/0 etc. This gives you a relative sense of thread diameter but can be misleading in comparisons to other threads. The aught system came originally from classifying surgical silk threads starting with a zero as a baseline and adding zeros for smaller diameters. In 1990, Uni-thread introduced their line of thread and turned the industry standard upside down since their 6/0 was about twice the diameter of Danville’s 6/0 and was much stronger. When Wapsi introduced their UTC thread, they used the industry standard of denier which measures the weight of the thread. Generally the higher denier, the higher the breaking strength of any given type of thread material. Considering denier, the Uni-thread 6/0 was twice as heavy as the Danville 6/0 thread and this is why it was much stronger. Comparing threads of a simliar denier does not give you a true comparison of the thread characteristics, however. Uni-thread and Veevus are both made of Polyester while Danville and UTC is made of Nylon. Polyester is a little bit stronger and Nylon will have some stretching ability. The thread companies use a binder strand to keep the fibers together as a thread. The number of turns of the binder strand around the fibers affects how the thread can lat flat on the hook shank. Danville has more turns of binder strands than UTC, therefore, UTC tends to lay flatter on the shank. Uni-thread has a higher number of binder strand turns so that the thread tends to have a round shape and can also “bite” into materials with a rougher texture. Veevus came on the market in recent years with a polyester thread that has the properties of laying flat like Danville and UTC but has a breaking strength that is double of Uni Thread in the same aught size. Thread construction plays a major role in the character of this thread. Martin Joergenson spent a lot of time comparing threads, take a look at his chart: https://globalflyfisher.com/tie-better/fly-tying-thread-table | |||
DanvilleOne of the oldest and most recognized thread companies. All of their thread is nylon except the Rayon Floss. Nylon has exceptional dyeing abilities, thus a wide range of colors. It is also stronger and more abrasion resistant than silk. Nylon also tends to be stiffer and smoother than Polyester. Rayon has similar characteristics to silk and is used mainly for floss as a man-made substitute. | |||
Monocord 3/0Monocord 3/0 is available in 19 colors, waxed in 100 yard spools, unwaxed in 50 or 100 yard spools. Good for flies larger than size #12. Used for flaring small amounts of hair such as hoppers. Denier is 116 with a breaking strength of 26oz. Colors: dark-brown (073), charcoal (135), green (062), pale-yellow (004), olive (060), coffee (429), Silver (036), worm green (070), fl.-green (504), black (100), white (001), red (056) , yellow (008), gray (031), orange (007), Burnt Orange (012), tan (041) , brown (047), blue (082) | |||
Flymaster 6/0 | |||
Flymaster 6/0 has 25 colors available, waxed or unwaxed, 200 yard or 50 yard spools. A flat fine thread with low bulk, good for small flies of size #10-22. Probably the most widely used thread in the world. Denier is 79 with a breaking strength of 16 oz. | |||
Colors: peacock-green (901), charcoal (135), dark-brown (073), purple (092), pale-yellow (004), brown (047), light-olive (061), fl.-red (501), fl.-yellow (502), fl.-orange (503), fl.-green (504), fire-orange (505), fl.-blue (507), fl.-pink (508), black (100), white (001), red (056), yellow (008), coffee (429), olive (060), gray (031), orange (007), cream (002), wine (052), tan (041) | |||
Flat Waxed Nylon | |||
Flat Waxed Nylon comes in 15 colors available, waxed, 100 yard 1 spools. A very strong thread for larger flies. Flat waxed thread is continuous filament nylon. A good choice on patterns that call for large heads, particularly streamers and large steelhead flies. The thread covers a lot of area on a single turn and lays very flat. You can also spin the thread and use it for spinning hair. Danville Flat Waxed Thread is the heaviest of the monocords. 210 Denier with a 0.051 mm diameter and a breaking strength of 1,305 grams. | |||
Colors: Black (100), White (1), Yellow (8), Gray (31), Brown (47), Red (56), Olive (60), Fl. Red (501), Fl. Yellow Chartreuse (502), Fl. Orange (504) , Fl. Fire Orange (505), Fl. White (506), Fl. Blue (507) , Fl. Shrimp Pink (508) | |||
Flat Rayon Floss | |||
Flat Rayon Floss comes in 42 colors, 2 strand in 30 yard spools, 4 strand in 10 yard spools. This high quality floss is popular for tying salmon flies and other traditional fly patterns. It lays down flat, splits easily, and the colors are rich and vibrant. | |||
Colors: Black (100), White (1), Yellow (8), Orange (7), Burnt Orange (12), Grey (31), Tobacco Brown (47), Red 56, Worm Green (70), Light Olive (61), Olive (60), Peacock Green (901), Kelly Green (62), Insect Green (67), Copenhagen Blue (82), Cream (2), Pale Yellow (4), Charcoal (135), Silver Grey (36), Beige (41), Ginger (42), Gold (163), Coffee (429), Dark Brown (73), Wine (52), Dark Red (59), Apple Green (222), Forest Green (585), Dark Blue (92), Pink (103), Coral (105), Powder Blue (132), Soldier Blue (184), Peach (101), Hot Pink (115), Fushia (719), Navy (199), Lilac (233), Royal Blue (89), Seal Brown (79), Hunter Green (785), Lavender (333) | |||
GudebrodGudebrod sells a wide range of thread for both fly tying and rod building. Their thread is a polyester. Polyester is similar to nylon except that it is not as elastic. It also will not dye as well as nylon. It does have less stiffness and more roughness than nylon which makes it a little easier to use in fly tying and it lays down flatter. All of their threads are flat and waxed. Gudebrod’s spools are constructed with a thread retainer sleeve. Gudebrod 8/0 and 10/0 are favored by many fly tiers for very small flies and sparse bodies. | |||
Gudebrod 6/0 | |||
26 colors available, Good for flies #6-14 and for small hair flies such as hoppers. Breaking strength is 34 oz. | |||
Colors: A – Red B – Olive Green, C – Brown, D – Tan, E – Dark Olive Green, F – Black, G – White, H – Fluorescent Chartreuse, I – Mono Clear, J – Fluorescent Orange, K – Dark Yellow | |||
Gudebrod 8/0 | |||
17 colors available, Good for small flies siz #14 -20 and large flies where bulk needs to be reduced. Creates small heads. Breaking strength is 15 oz. | |||
Colors: A – Red, B – Olive Green, C – Brown, D – Tan, E – Dark Olive Green, F – Black, G – White, H – Dark Yellow | |||
Gudebrod 10/0 | |||
15 colors available, Good for very small flies under #18. Breaking strength is 9 oz. | |||
Colors: Green, Light Olive Green, Yellow, Dark yellow, Red, Rusty Brown, Tan, Light Brown, Light Gray, Gray, Dark Gray, Black, White, Smoke, Clear | |||
Uni-ThreadUni, a small Canadian company, sells the largest range of colors and types of threads. Most of the thread is polyester. They use a rosin wax which helps to prevent bobbin clogging. Uni takes pride in their labeling which is permanently adhered to the spool. | |||
Uni 3/0 | |||
17 colors available. Flat multifilament polyester. Unwaxed or waxed in 50 and 100 yard spools. Used for larger flies greater than size #12, good for covering bulky areas. Denier is 213 and Breaking Strength is 40 oz. | |||
Colors: Black, Brown, Fluo. Chartreuse, Green, Gray, Iron Gray, Dark Brown, Light Blue, Light Cahill, Olive, Orange, Pink, Red, Tan, White, Wine, Yellow. | |||
Uni 6/0 | |||
Uni 6/0 has 24 colors available. Slightly bonded polyester filaments. Unwaxed or waxed in 50 and 200 yard spools. General Purpose thread good on large dries, beadheads, and streamers needing high strength. Abrasion-resistant. Denier is 135 and Breaking Strength is 33 oz. | |||
Colors: Black, Camel, Doc. Blue, Green, Gray, Iron Gray, Dark Brown, Light Blue, Light Cahill, Olive, Olive Dun, Orange, Pink, Purple, Royal Blue, Rusty Dun, Red, Fire Orange, Rusty Brown, Tan, White, Wine, Yellow, Chartreuse, Lt. Olive. | |||
Uni 8/0 | |||
Uni 8/0 has 23 colors available. Slightly bonded polyester filaments. Unwaxed or waxed in 50 or 200 yard spools. Used for small flies size #10-22, low bulk tying. Thread lays flat and is not twisted. Texture of thread helps to secure materials. Denier is 72 and the Breaking Strength is 16 oz. | |||
Colors: Black, Camel, Fl.Orange, Green, Gray, Iron Gray, Dark Brown, Light Cahill, Olive Dun, Olive, Orange, Purple, Rusty Dun, Red, Fire Orange, Rusty Brown, Tan, White, Yellow, Pink, Fl.Chartreuse, Wine, Lt. Olive | |||
Uni Nylon Stretch | |||
Uni Nylon Stretch has 25 colors available. Uni Nylon Stretch is a nylon material that can replace floss. It is easy to wrap, stays in place, and does not fray like traditional floss. It is rather thick, stretchy material that compresses and lays flat & smooth. This product is perfect material for fly gills, bodies and accents on a variety of flies. Tired of having strands of floss separate and slide down the hook end? Uni Nylon Stretch will solve your problems. It is great for quickly building underbodies on all types of flies. | |||
Colors: Aqua Blue, Beige, Black, Bright Yellow, Brown, Camel, Chartreuse, Chinese Red, Fl. Fuchsia, F. Green, Green Highlander, Fl. Hot Pink, Light Gray, Light Olive, Olive, Fl. Orange, Pumpkin Orange, Purple, Soft Pink, Red, Rusty Orange, Shrimp Pink, White, Wine, Fl. Yellow | |||
Wapsi Ultra ThreadWapsi Ultra thread is very similar to Danville’s since both are a flat nylon thread. The nylon provides for a little bit of stretch. Wapsi utilizes a denier system to categorize thread thickness. They have also provided spools which are more user friendly with a built-in thread retainer. Labels are color-coded and well marked. Comes in 18 colors and 4 sizes: Denier 70, 140, 210, and 280. Denier 70 is for small trout flies #10-22 with a breaking strength of 16 oz. Denier 140 is best for medium sized trout flies #6-14 and fine hair work with a breaking strength of 33 oz. Denier 210 is a good thread for large flies 1/0 to 8 and for most hair flies, particularly deer hair, braking strength is 50 oz. Denier 280 is for heavy hair work and attaching dumbbell eyes with a braking strength of 66 oz. | |||
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Veevus ThreadVeevus thread is a polyester thread similar to Uni-thread. It flattens better than Uni Thread due to the construction of the thread with a counterclockwise twist. What is interesting about this thread is that 6/0, 8/0, and 10/0 all have the same denier of 110. Their physical diameters range from 0.065 to 0.055. It is the only unwaxed thread on the market and can easily be twisted to a cord or untwisted to lay flat. The thread also allows split-thread dubbing and has excellent strength, generally twice the breaking strength of both Uni and Danville in the same aught sizes. Good color selection. | |||
Veevus 6/0 | |||
Veevus 6/0 has 18 colors available. Slightly bonded polyester filaments. Unwaxed in 100 meter spools. General Purpose thread good on large dries, beadheads, and streamers needing high strength for sizes 10-22. Abrasion-resistant. Denier is 110 and Breaking Strength is over 33 oz. | |||
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Veevus 8/0 | |||
Veevus 8/0 has 18 colors available. Slightly bonded polyester filaments. Unwaxed in 100 meter spools. General Purpose thread good on large dries, beadheads, and streamers needing high strength for sizes 10-22. Abrasion-resistant. Denier is 110 and Breaking Strength is over 33 oz. | |||
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Veevus 10/0 | |||
Veevus 10/0 has 25 colors available. Slightly bonded polyester filaments. Unwaxed in 100 meter spools. A flat thread with low bulk, good for small flies of size #10-22. Ideal for tying midge to small-sized flies. Abrasion-resistant. Denier is 110 and Breaking Strength is 25 oz. | |||
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Veevus 12/0 | |||
Veevus 12/0 has 19 colors available. Slightly bonded polyester filaments. Unwaxed in 100 meter spools. A flat thread with low bulk, good for small flies of size #10-22. Ideal for tying midge to small-sized flies. Abrasion-resistant. Denier is 70 and Breaking Strength is 17 oz. | |||
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Veevus 14/0 | |||
Veevus 14/0 has 20 colors available. Slightly bonded polyester filaments. Unwaxed in 100 meter spools. Good for flies of size #20 and smaller. Ideal for tying midge to small-sized flies. Abrasion-resistant. Denier is 70 and Breaking Strength is 16 oz. | |||
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Veevus 16/0 | |||
Veevus 16/0 has 21 colors available. Slightly bonded polyester filaments. Unwaxed in 100 meter spools. Good for flies of size #20 and smaller. Ideal for tying midge to small-sized flies. Abrasion-resistant. Denier is 70 and Breaking Strength is 14 oz. | |||
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Wapsi WireWapsi produces 22 colored copper wires in five thicknesses: Brassie, Large, Medium, Small, and Extra-small. Brassie is for size #12-20, Medium for size #6-12. | |||
Colors: Black, Brown, Hot Orange, Tan, Grey, Green, Golden Olive, Copper Brown, Hot White, Silver, Olive, Amber, Hot Chartreuse , Rust, Red, Ginger, Copper, Wine, Hot Gold, Hot Yellow, Hot Fl. Orange, Pink | |||
Uni Soft WireUni Soft Wire is a soft, colored copper wire that will not tarnish. Used for ribbing, bodies, and dubbing brushes. The Uni Soft Wire is a very versatile material. Used on a variety of fly patterns, from nymphs to dry flies. This wire can be used to reinforce peacock herl, pheasant tail, and other materials used for bodies, as ribbing over materials on wet flies, and for the wound copper body on the Brassie nymph. Comes in three sizes: Small (.008″), Medium (.011″), and Large (.016″) . | |||
Colors: Copper, Brown, Red, Green, Neon Olive, Royal Blue, Black, Neon Yellow, Orange, Gold, and Neon Silver |