sam vimes
Well-known member
The reality is we both don’t know and are guessing. I think your wrong and I recon if the small size were available with eyes then people would switch over to them as they have for larger hooks as its more convenient and easier to tie. As for the supply I think its not there because its more difficult to make a good eye in very tiny sizes.
In addition the eye on a hook smaller than say 20 would be so tiny I doubt it would make any discernable difference to results over a spade. We are talking fractions of a millimeter here.
You wrote in some detail in an earlier post how people are over worrying about the line being cut through by a spade end yet you then warn people about the potential to cut off on an eye closure.
I’d say the risk is there for both, make either of them badly and they will all cut you off. If anything I’d say the potential for a bad spade is even worse as there is more exposed thin edge to potentially cut you off. The reality is with good well made hooks its not an issue for either.
When you get to an 18 or below then I imagine people will be burying the entire hook into say a caster so eye, spade, knot and whatever else is not on view anyway.
I can’t comment on your knot / crinkly lines as that’s down to how you tie your knots. The knots I use the most are Palomar and Knotless and I have very little issue with either of them albeit its fair to say I am probably using thicker lines than you most of the time.
Ok so now I have a question….The thing that intrigues me here is that if Spades really do offer this better presentation then why don’t people use them for larger hooks and baits as well ? Surely if people are that hung up on the microscopic difference that an eye on a Size 22 would make over a spade then you would think they would be equally anal about using a spade in the bigger sizes too.
There appears to be this magic threshold of around hook size 16/14 when suddenly the spade lovers ditch their principles!
It's astounding just how much you know about stuff you don't use and usually claim to know nothing about. I'll file spade end hooks, alongside centrepins, under stuff Philip doesn't use but miraculously knows all about.