I recently picked up a new vise from REGAL VISE. To date, I have done most of my fly tying on probably one of the most sought after vises ever made - a LAW vise. The value of the LAW vise has sky rocketed since they stopped being manufactured. Not that they were ever really "manufactured" in the sense of the word. Each vise was hand made by a gentleman named Lawrence A. Waldren, a British precision machinist who, for a while, made a limited number of high quality tools for cane rod building and fly-tying. He also made fly reels, which I understand are quite impressive. Every vise, as well as his other products, were individually made to order by Lawrence, and each one was characterized by a very high quality level in design, construction and materials. It is without question the finest vise ever made.
If the LAW vise is so great why stop using it? I'll tell you...I do a lot of tying. I am not a commercial tier but I tie a lot. There are few flies in my boxes that have not been made by my own hands. For over 15 years the LAW vise has been the only vice I tied on. And I own quite a few high quality vises, Renzetti, Dyna-King, as well as two other REGAL vises. They have been collecting dust on a shelf waiting for my two sons to show an real interest in fly tying (I'm happy to say that the Dyna-King Barracuda has found its way up to my 13 year old's room!). As I mentioned earlier, the LAW vise is highly sought after and its no longer made. That means its value keeps increasing. In 2014 I was offered $3,800.00 for the vise at a show in New Jersey. If the guy had cash instead of a personal check I probably would have sold it right then and there. Recently the price for these vises is nearing the $5,000 which is insane. I don't know if the trend will continue but this may be something to put away or at least not wear out (though I doubt I could).
The big question was, what to replace the LAW vise with? For me the answer was easy. I own a number of high end vises that I could have brought out of retirement, but I had been longing for a particular vise for some time now. The REGAL Revolution , particularly the model with stainless steel jaws. Having owned and used REGAL vises previously, I was very familiar with their hook holding power and ease of operation. Even since purchasing the LAW vise REGAL vises have long been my vise of choice for spinning deer hair and salt water patterns where extreme hook holding power is important. I also turn to a REGAL vise when I get into a "production tying" mood and need to turn out flies quickly. The hook holding mechanism of the REGAL vises make them the fastest when it comes to setting and removing hooks.
I have been using the new Revolution model for a couple of days now and I love it! The stainless jaws are a big improvement for me over the standard jaws. I can confidently say that with this new vise on my tying desk the LAW vise can start enjoying an early retirement. Obviously a tool like the LAW vise is meant to be used and it still will be, but the REGAL is the new work horse. REGAL Engineering did a great job designing this vise and the custom anodizing really makes it an attractive tool. I'm looking forward to a lot of time spent behind it!