Walter & Group...
Note the attachments. One on Silk Lines by Wolfram Schott. The second on the Camp school.
Additional note on silk lines: We fished them in salt water back in the 30's and until 1946 when nylon became available and soon thereafter, plastic coated fly lines. It bacame painfully obvious that we had to carefully wash each silk line in fresh water after fishing and then string them up to dry. When we didn't the salt in the line, being hydrophilic, would draw water constantly from the atmosphere and the lines would rot.
I'd forgotten about the Zhu silk fly lines made in China and have never seen one. I checked some comments on them on a forum and noted entries stating that they were not easy to cast and had to be treated and broken in over a period of time. Inconstant (out of round) cross sectional geometry was noted. They were said to be inexpensive. Gordy
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Excellant answers to our quiz from Tony Loader :
QUIZ ON FLY LINE COATINGS AND SILK LINES
1.) One fly line basic coating material had dominated the market for the past twenty years or so. What is it ? PVC plastic.
2.) Name two other coatings recently
developed and marketed. Polyurethane, ?Wonderline? proprietary top
coat.
3.) What are the advantages of each
as claimed by the manufacturer ?
Polyurethane is claimed to be more durable, more
UV resistant, more chemical resistant and lines can be manufactured to tighter
tolerances. The extrusion process allows for the simultaneous fusing of
different materials in varying proportions thus facilitating control over such
characteristics as density compensation or sinking
tips.
?Wonderline? is claimed to be the slickest line surface, to not crack and to never need dressing.
4.) List as many coating additives as you
can and BRIEFLY state the purpose of each.
Plasticiser ? to enhance
flexibility
Microballons ? to reduce specific
gravity
Metal dust ? to increase specific
gravity
Pigment ? to adjust
colour
Hydrophobic agent ? to assist floatation
by repelling water
Slickness enhancer ? to facilitate ?shootability? by reducing
friction
5.) List three different surface textures for fly line coatings presently available. Smooth, Dimpled (?Sharkskin?), Ridged.
6.) State the advantages and
disadvantages of each. Smooth surfaced lines
are quiet, easy on hands, easy to clean and relatively inexpensive but are more
reflective and shoot less well. Floating versions float
lower.
Dimpled lines are more durable, shoot
better, diffuse reflected light, and float higher, but are noisy, abrasive on
hands, more difficult to clean and tend to throw a shower of water when
presenting from a water anchored cast.
Ridged lines shoot well, are quiet, durable (polyurethane), less reflective and float high but are more difficult to clean, arguably stiffer than equivalent PVC lines and tend to throw water like the dimpled lines.
7.) Do more supple fly lines help reduce "rod slap" when casting ? No
8.) Which has greater mass, LEAD or TUNGSTEN ? Tungsten
9.) Even though it worked very well
when used for sinking fly lines for years and was economical to use, lead is no
longer used in fly lines. Why ? It is now considered an
unacceptable pollutant.
10.) What is a "microbaloon" ? A tiny hollow glass or plastic sphere, which displaces PVC and thus reduces specific gravity when incorporated into fly line coating
11.) What is a "plasticizer" ?
A chemical which enhances the flexibility of a plastic such as
PVC
12.) Most modern fly line coatings are HYDROPHOBIC. What does this mean ? Water repellent
13.) What fly line company makes its
own core materials ? (I've read that it is the only one.)
Cortland
14.) What does the abbreviation, "COF" mean ? Co-efficient of Friction
15.) Can you name 4 companies which produce silk fly lines ? Phoenix, Terenzio, Thebault, Loukkas.
16.) List some properties of silk fly lines as compared with most modern other fly lines. Thinner, more wind resistant, more durable, higher maintenance, no memory, low stretch, softer presenting, higher floating (until the dressing floats away), more adaptable ? the same line, when dressed appropriately, can be fished floating, sinking or as a sink-tip.
17.) What company produces a line called a "SYLK" line ? Cortland
18.) Of what material is it made ? Braided nylon
19.) Do you know of a company which makes silk fly lines in the U.S.A. ? No
20.) Name three countries in which silk fly lines are made. Italy (Terenzio), France (Phoenix Classics,Thebault, Loukkas), China (Zhu).
21.) One company, offers hand made silk fly lines. Do you know it's name ? Phoenix Classics. Terenzio also.
22.) For what kind of fly fishing
would you consider using a silk line ?
Presenting tiny dries on spring
creeks.
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Answers from Mark Milkovitch. I made only one comment in his answer text on question 6 in red italics. You can compare his answers with the others :
1.) One fly
line basic coating material had dominated the market for the past twenty years
or so. What is it?
PVC
Polyvinyl Chloride
2.) Name two
other coatings recently developed and marketed. Polyurethane
& Rio?s ?Agent X?
3.) What are
the advantages of each as claimed by the
manufacturer?
Polyurethane (Airflo): durability,
resistance to cracking, resistance to the effects of UV radiation, and the
ability to withstand DEET exposure. ?Agent X? (
4.) List as
many coating additives as you can and BRIEFLY state the purpose of
each.
Density
controlling agents ? control the lines ability t float and/or
sink
U.V.
Inhibitors ? reduce the harmful effects of sun exposure on the
line
Lubricants
? to reduce friction when casting
Hydrophobic
Agents ? to enhance floatability
Stiffening/Softening
agents - ?Used to fine tune the line for the particular fishing application for
which it is being designed.? (All these from Richards? Modern Fly
Lines)
5.) List three
different surface textures for fly line coatings presently available.
Airflo?s
?Ridge, Scientific Anglers? Sharkskin, and Conventional ?smooth round?
surfaces.
6.)
State the advantages and disadvantages of each.
The
primary advantage for both Ridge and Sharkskin lines - reduced surface contact
translates to less friction between the line and guides for greater casting
distance.
Additional
Claims for Sharkskin ? ?higher floatation, easier mending,
better presentation, more stealth, less line memory, improved potential
durability, with less effort from the caster.? The primary disadvantage appears
to be initial price @ $100 and it is noisier than other lines as it passes
through the guides.
Additional Claims for Ridge ?
?The other beauty of a
fly line with tread is that it holds some water during the cast which acts as a
lubricant, further reducing friction. As you may recall from high school
physics, less friction means less drag, which means more distance to your cast
-as much as 5% according to Airflo.?
?The longitudinal ridges result
in longer casts, and increased accuracy. With the added surface area, Ridge Line
floats higher on the water. The ridges also act to channel dirt away from the
guides.?
The Ridge
line is priced @ $60 - $65 the same as smooth surface lines. I did not find any
negative reviews of the Ridge lines.
Conventional Smooth Round Surface - These lines are readily available in a tremendous variety of weights, tapers and prices. They also represent the results of extensive research and development and function well.
Al Crise and others have reported that when fishing in extremely cold weather the tendency of lines with structured surfaces to hold some water can be a disadvantage as this water freezes ! G.
7.) Do more supple fly lines help reduce "rod slap"
when casting? No,
just the opposite
8.) Which has
greater mass, LEAD or TUNGSTEN? Tungsten
is more dense than lead so for a given volume it would have more
mass.
9.) Even
though it worked very well when used for sinking fly lines for years and was
economical to use, lead is no longer used in fly lines. Why?
Toxicity
10.) What
is a "microbaloon"? A
hollow glass bead used to reduce line density and help them
float.
11.) What
is a "plasticizer"? A
chemical added to resins to impart flexibility, workability and/or
stretchability.
12.) Most
modern fly line coatings are HYDROPHOBIC. What does this mean?
They
are resistant to wetting causing the line to sit higher in the
water.
13.) What
fly line company makes its own core materials? (I've read that it is the
only one.)
14.) What
does the abbreviation, "COF" mean? Coefficient
of friction?the coefficient describes the ratio of the force of friction between two bodies and the
force pressing them together. The
frictional resistance
to the relative motion of two solid objects is usually proportional to the force
which presses the surfaces together as well as the roughness
of the surfaces; i.e. (IN ENGLISH) how easily do two objects slide past one
another given a force pushing them together.
15.) Can
you name 4 companies which produce silk fly lines?
Thebault
Lines (
Mr.
Terenzio Zandri (
Zhu
Silk Lines (
Loukkas
(France)
16.) List
some properties of silk fly lines as compared with most modern other fly lines.
They
are thinner which facilitates shooting and fishing in windy conditions. They are also better ?fit? old rods with
smaller guides. With proper care
they last indefinitely.
17.) What
company produces a line called a "SYLK" line?
18.) Of
what material is it made?
Nylon
Braid Core; PVC coating.
19.) Do
you know of a company which makes silk fly lines in the
20.) Name three
countries in which silk fly lines are made.
21.) One
company, offers hand made silk fly lines. Do you know it's name?
22.) For what kind of fly fishing
would you consider using a silk line? Typically
Trout & Salmon but they are not limited to those
applications.
Attachment:
SilkLinesbyWolframSchott.pdf
Description: Adobe PDF document
Attachment:
camp 3.2009.pdf
Description: Adobe PDF document