Hook hones and sharpening.

[brownbass]

What hook hones do you use and how do you sharpen some of these tiny hooks? I have sharpened a lot of large hooks but these small ones? I am not used to them and wonder if I am getting them sharp enough.

Bill

 

[bigjim5589]

IMO, the chemically sharpened hooks don't need to be sharpened further. If it's sticky sharp out of the package, you'll likely dull it & never get it back to the original degree of sharp. [poke]

I've had a few that had bent points & been able to get them reshaped & sharp, but likely not as sharp as the rest in a pack. If it will stick in my finger nail, to me it's sharp enough. Otherwise, I set them aside & use them for other purposes, such as tails on articulated flies, after I cut off the bend & point.

For the older styles, I use a diamond git sharpening stone. Even the diamond grit finger nail boards work well. Unless the point is bent, all you need to do it touch up the point.

For the larger hooks, and I make some flies & jigs on very large hooks 5/0 up to 12/0, that are not particularly sharp from the package, I use a fine file, (Rapala has a good one but I have jewelers files too) and some various stones with different grit, plus ceramic &/or the diamond grit boards. I can get them plenty sharp enough.

 

[flytie09]

I use one of these. Lansky Blademedic 4-in-1 sharpener. 400 Bad Request

I'll use the diamond tapered rod..... and with a couple whisks I've got a nice sharp point. The other sharpening stones are handy for knife sharpening.

ft09

 

[karstopo]

I carry a tiemco ceramic hook hone with me on the water. It has a coarse and fine side. I use it most every outing. Works quickly and should work on tiny hooks as long as you can keep the hook postitioned right.

Lots of things like rocks, sand, and corrosion can mess up a hook's sharpness, a nice hone will quickly fix the issue.

 

[dennyk]

For years all I have ever used is a fine grit angled sharpening stone. If the point grabs my fingernail I'm good to go.

Denny

 

[mtboiler]

I carried a hook sharpener the first 10 years I fly fished....never used it. Most flies only last 8 to 12 fish for me. By then they are either torn up or lost.

 

[duker]

I use a cheap sharpener that I bought at a tackle shop in Smithers last year after losing my 3rd (!) sharpener in a river. It's a copy of the Dr. Slick sharpener and works fine. Fishing big flies on sink-tip lines for steelhead and salmon, I find that some hooks need sharpening every so often, especially after snagging bottom or hooking a fish or two. If the point's too far gone I'll just tie on a new fly.

Scott

 

[pnc]

I use several different stones at times. But fine points & touch ups on water are done with diamond hone made for hooks. Hone is flat on one side , round on other w/channel in center. Sharpen hooks from sides & back.
Smallest hooks I've used hone on would be size #8. Usually larger for salt. Once hooks decrease enough in size sharpening would be pointless (no pun intended). Small guage wire will penetrate the soft flesh in trout mouths easily.

....... pc

 

[fredaevans]

I use several different stones at times. But fine points & touch ups on water are done with diamond hone made for hooks. Hone is flat on one side , round on other w/channel in center. Sharpen hooks from sides & back.
Smallest hooks I've used hone on would be size #8. Usually larger for salt. Once hooks decrease enough in size sharpening would be pointless (no pun intended). Small guage wire will penetrate the soft flesh in trout mouths easily.

....... pc

Sooo Yes!

Can't remember the last time I used a 'heavy gauge' hook; the fine wire one's will usually set themselves. You just add a 'tug' after the fish has already started the process.

Ditto the hook sharpener; the other (cheap) alternative is a auto spark plug file tool.

 

[Ard]

I've had the same Dr. Slick diamond tool ever since they introduced them. I can't say when that was but it's been quite a while. They are small (about 4" X 5/16) and come with a little cord lanyard, I now keep it clipped to one of the little retractors that are on a Simms wading jacket so it's handy.

As Big Jim said, back when I still used tiny hooks the Tiemco company had sprang onto the scene and I began using them but by then the Mustad company had been the brand I'd been using for many years. The new hooks were all chemically sharpened and I don't ever recall sharpening a dry fly hook. Streamer hooks like the old Mustad 3665-A were another animal though and because a streamer often is hitting rocks as it traverses the bottom in low water these needed to be examined from time to time. Bent points on streamers were the reason I began looking for a hook hone. Before the Dr. Slick all I had was a tiny Smiths stone in my pocket if I remembered to check to be sure it was there before going. The Dr. Slick has a small guide groove on each side, course and fine, and it does a nice job. I still fish streamers with large hooks and that affordable tool is still working at least 25 years later.

I vote for the Dr. Slick Hone,

Ard

 

[gormaci]

Another vote on small Dr. Slick!

 

[Ard]

I have and use a Dr. Slick for my larger hooks if and when needed here. Tiny dry fly hooks? I don't ever recall sharpening one. I tied my own and tried to check each hook prior to dressing it. If ever I thought I ticked a backcast I would examine my point and if it felt dinged or I could see it peened over I just changed the fly.

I know that doesn't sound interesting but it worked for me for a long time.

 

[Rip Tide]

I have one like this
It actually gets a great deal of use.....as a zipper pull on my vest

 

[bocast]

I like the ceramic Tiemvo hone for trout size wet flies.

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