Fly Tying Finishing Tools
Half Hitch
A half hitch tool can be purchased as an individual item, and are also found on the bottom of most bodkins. This tool allows you to finish a fly when a whip finish tool or fingers are too bulky, for instance a parachute fly like a klinkhammer has hackle fibres very close to the eye of the hook. If you were to use a whip finish, you would likely catch the fibres under the thread and ruin the fly. Size 18 or smaller hooks can also be difficult to whip finish when there is no bead, making the half hitch a valuable tool to have your fly tying arsenal.
Whip Finish Tool
The whip finish tool is an extremely efficient way to finish a fly. It creates several half hitches at once, and leaves a very tidy finish. This is ideal for beaded flies with a thread collar, as well as larger dry flies. Whip finish tools looks complicated and daunting, but there are so many YouTube tutorials out there to help you master the technique.
Fingers
Although it pays to have both half hitch and whip finish tools in your kit, using your fingers can be a more efficient method to finish your flies. You can perform both a whip finish or half hitch with just your fingers, and it ultimately saves times because you are not having to pick up and put down tools constantly.
This is particularly true for those that tie with they’re scissors on their fingers. Although not all tools are suitable for all jobs, they are all worth having in your kit. Each person usually finds a prefered way to finish their flies, but having the option to use another method will mean much more successful tying.
