Wax on - wax off

There was a reason for using wax and it didn’t really have anything to do with fly tying to begin with. Leather was used more or less everywhere “in the old days” and there were specific crafts connected with the use of leather, obblers and saddlers most common. Leather was sewn together and often long stitching runs were necessary. Thread were made of natural materials - often linen to sinew. Perishable materials and waxing gave them considerably better long term durability. It also protected the thread as it had to pass through all the stitching holdes from the first to last - of course making the last part of the thread more worn than the first. And finally it gave the thread better bite in the stitching holes, so if you tore a stitch, the rest would actually hold together very well. History lesson over!

When fly tying began to take on a modern form in the second half of the 19th century, natural threads were still the only ones available, so waxing was also a natural part of preserving it. It gave better grip on the materials, of particular importance before the eyed hook, where the flies were dressed to a horsehair- or gut leader. And sometimes it provided the thread with a slightly darker hue.

 I haven’t exhausted old fly tying literature and off the top of my head, the oldest reference I can think of is from Edmonds’and Lee’s book,  “Brook & River Trotting” from 1916. The dressing of a Greenwell’s Glory calls for a no. 4 well waxed yellow silk. The fact is, in most patterns the book doesn’t mention wax on the thread. The book (and others) never call for the use of varnish to secure the heads of the flies, so the was also helps the know to sit securely.

There are different for using wax. The above I would call “fly tying wax”, for the purpose of better grip, preventing thread wraps from slipping and in the case of natural threads - preservation. Which wax to use then? Well, a common bee’s wax is perfectly fine and Veniard’s sell one that I’ve used in the past. I believe it’s pure bee’s wax, but I’m not sure. You can cook your own and add a tiny bit of resin which makes it a bit more sticky, but a little does the job. You don’t want it so sticky that it snaps your thread when you run it through the lump. Now I use one my friend, Claus, makes - the one in the PoD with the salmon fly on it. Claus is going to call me, complaining that I shouldn’t flash one with an imperfect casting, but I’ll take one for the team just to let you know it’s good.

If you want proper darkening of the thread, traditional cobbler’s wax is the way to go (the black ones in the PoD - and no, it’s not, Paul - it’s wax!).

Then there’s dubbing wax, used for making dubbing easier. These can be more or less sticky and there are several brands on the market. For normal dubbing purposes, I never use it and I recommend learning a proper dubbing technique before turning to wax (a little at a time goes a long way to form a nice, dubbed body). But there’s a certain dubbing technique that produces a great looking, transparent fluffy dubbed body. It’s called touch dubbing and it does require a wax. Overton’s Wonderwax is the perfect wax for this technique. It was unavailable for many years, but it’s on the market again. The technique is simply to wax the thread and touch a small ball of dubbing on the thread repeatedly - never spinning the dubbing on the thread.

I don’t use wax all the time - far from it, actually. But when I need just a few turns to hold a material, wax both gives better grip and maintains tension on the thread, so I use to where and when I find it helpful. On dries and nymphs I never use varnish, so I always use a bit of wax before whip finishing as it helps keep the knot tight.

GSP threads, which I don’t like, seem to be the more common threads to use today. One reason I don’t like them is that they are extremely slippery, but every now and then, I’ll use one for specific reason and when I don’t, I always wax every inch I use.

Phew - this got a little out of hand and thanks if you made it to the end.

Wax on - wax off

Lars