A long time ago, we used razor blades, tying scissors, Xacto knives or whatever was around the shop to cut thread tags; even nail clippers! Not to cut the final thread pull tag but the starting tags. Wasted time was not a good thing and we looked for way to make any part of wrapping rods easier.
Voila, fly tying snippers was the answer or so we thought. The greatest thing about using snippers is that you don't have to put your fingers in the loop holes to open and close the blades like scissors. And you don't have to hold both ends to use a razor. You can just pick them up and snip the thread.
After using fly tying snippers (which work very well); we found the 'Ultimate' snippers from Germany. They are: Gingher Snips!
They have surgical grade blades and stay sharp for a very long time. In fact I've been using a pair for many years and for many rods. One word of caution; if you drop them they always land points first (as all scissors are prone to do) and they are sharp enough to penetrate denin and flesh. I know this for a fact. But if you dodge the dropped snips, they will land point first on the floor and the snippers are no longer the 'Ultimate' snippers but something you can use to cut string on packages. They come with a handy blade cap for when you need to transport or store them.
This is one of the best investments any serious rod builder can make at only $19.95.
