Hook Sharpener

[SNOWMAN CUSTOM BAITS]

I need a new hook sharpener I used to have one shaped like a chainsaw file with a grove in one side made out of diamond dust , but I lost it and can't find another . I googeled hook sharpener but didn't find anything I liked . I lost the fish of lifetime yesterday because a dull hook ! These are store bought baits with very cheap hooks that you can't change and I don't think I can make . So I turn to the experts for help .

[BobP]

I've always bought EZE-Lap diamond dust sharpeners. They work very well and last a long time, don't cost an arm and a leg.

[bassrecord]

Amen to EZE-lap. Plus amen to NOT losing a fish of a lifetime. I get bummed to losing ANY size fish due to any type hook failure.

El Cheapo hooks present lots of challenges; sharpness, strength, strop-ability, rust and the list goes on and on. Since the store bought lure hook is not replaceable, as a suggestion, how about testing sharpness at home?

Try pulling your lure's hook points through various materials (leather, plastic, etc.). See how the sharpest one and see how one with best strop-ability perform. Remember how easily the sharpest penetrated your test material.

Take your test material to the store and test various lure hooks of the lure pattern until you find the sharpest. You might have to try different lots and try lures at different stores. Buy and stock up with lures with the sharpest points. Then you can leave the store with the sharpest lure hooks and all you have to do, is use the EZE-lap to touch the point up and keep it sharp. Then when you hit the lake, in your mind you know that you have the sharpest hook available. IF or WHEN you lose another big fish to hook dullness it's time to make the lure yourself.

BTW since non stainless steel hooks rust, after re-sharpening my hooks at home with the EZE-lap, I use a quality gun bluing to keep them sharp and ready to go for the next fishing trip.

A Big Bass or any other fish of a lifetime is too precious to lose.

Good luck.

John

[SNOWMAN CUSTOM BAITS]

That's the one I had , EZE LAP . I couldn't remember the name . I did a google search when I first started useing these baits and couldn't find one like this , but I knew you guys would come through .

[SNOWMAN CUSTOM BAITS]

Bassrecord I check the hooks before I buy the baits . They are in blister packs so you can't open them up , but you can look and see the point on some baits are dull and some have the chrome plating balled up on the point . The hooks are not stainless they are chrome plated steel , and when I sharpen them they do rust . I had not thought about the gun bluing that's a good idea . I do some gun smithing on the side so I have some bluing thanks for the tip .

[LimpNoodle]

http://www.seaisletackle.com/browse.cfm/4,4067.html

Been using that one for a couple of months. It works great.

[BobP]

I use Gamakatsu round bends and Mustad KVD short shanks. Honestly, I'm not gonna touch up the trebles on every crankbait and if it's a Gamakatsu, I rarely if ever need to. If a bait comes with poor trebles, I change them right out of the package. It's more than just the sharpness. You can make a poor hook razor sharp with a diamond hone but the point may quickly dull or bend over and fail to penetrate, or the hook may bend out because it's poorly tempered. I just want to eliminate as many of those little "Gotchas" as possible.

[bassrecord]

So Snowman you can only do a "visual" test at the store. But even if in a blister pack, at home, or in the parking lot, you can test sharpness and if super dull take all the bad ones back? So it sounds like your lure vendor has a hook supplier with a chrome plating process problem. And unless you have a big volume of hook point re-filing work the EZE LAP + bluing should work.

I use vastly different hooks than you or BobP and have to visually test each hook, sharpen each hook, non-destructively test hooks for sharpness, destructively test hooks for strength, and blue each hook for durability. Since most all my lures are hook-embedded and not hook replaceable, with the EZE Lap, I have to be especially vigilant against over-sharpening all points and micro-barb strength reduction. Agreeing with BobP, I also want to eliminate all gotchas, big or little, when targeting fish that fall in three categories; "Big" fish, "Lunker" size fish, and "Fish of a Lifetime."

Good luck.

John

[SNOWMAN CUSTOM BAITS]

I use Gamakatsu round bends and Mustad KVD short shanks. Honestly, I'm not gonna touch up the trebles on every crankbait and if it's a Gamakatsu, I rarely if ever need to. If a bait comes with poor trebles, I change them right out of the package. It's more than just the sharpness. You can make a poor hook razor sharp with a diamond hone but the point may quickly dull or bend over and fail to penetrate, or the hook may bend out because it's poorly tempered. I just want to eliminate as many of those little "Gotchas" as possible.

yes bob those are the same trebles I use . I agree I use as quality a product as I can afford and try to eliminate problems before they happen . I want the only weekness in my fishing to be me.

[SNOWMAN CUSTOM BAITS]

So Snowman you can only do a "visual" test at the store. But even if in a blister pack, at home, or in the parking lot, you can test sharpness and if super dull take all the bad ones back? So it sounds like your lure vendor has a hook supplier with a chrome plating process problem. And unless you have a big volume of hook point re-filing work the EZE LAP + bluing should work.

I use vastly different hooks than you or BobP and have to visually test each hook, sharpen each hook, non-destructively test hooks for sharpness, destructively test hooks for strength, and blue each hook for durability. Since most all my lures are hook-embedded and not hook replaceable, with the EZE Lap, I have to be especially vigilant against over-sharpening all points and micro-barb strength reduction. Agreeing with BobP, I also want to eliminate all gotchas, big or little, when targeting fish that fall in three categories; "Big" fish, "Lunker" size fish, and "Fish of a Lifetime."

Good luck.

John

If I take all the ones back with dull hooks I wouldnt have any to fish with . I only buy a few at a time and they are cheap under $5 bucks each so it's not that big of a deal . I did over sharpen the first one trying to do it with a file that's why I was looking for a nother sharpener to replace the one I lost . I caught a 8lb 12 oz largemouth earlier this year on this bait and the one I lost was in the low teens so that is a fish of a lifetime to me . Thanks to all you guys for the help .

[crankpaint]

you said you could'nt change the hooks?why not just cut them off and then replace them with new split rings and a good name brand treble hook?

[SNOWMAN CUSTOM BAITS]

It's not a crankbait its a small bait like swim jig with a fluke type trailor . The hook is made in the bait . It's a single size 1 or 1/0 hook .

[RayburnGuy]

Do you mind sharing what type of bait it is that you can't change the hooks on?

Ben

[mark poulson]

Snowman,

Sidetrack here. Sorry.

Does bluing protect the hooks from salt corrosion?

[SNOWMAN CUSTOM BAITS]

Mark I can't help you with that one I never fish salt water . I know when people hunt ducks close to saltwater with shotguns they tell you to make sure to wipe your gun down with oil when you get home so it won't rust from the salt spray . I know even a blued gun will rust if you don't keep it oiled . Sorry I can't be any more help

[BobP]

Mark, I don't think there's anything you can do to stop rust on hooks that are not treated at the factory for saltwater use. The best saltwater trebles I know are the VMC Permasteel models. Unlike most, they come very sharp from the factory. With other brands, I have to sharpen them right out of the package - which of course removes the anti-corrosion coating and makes them rust like crazy. I fish at the coast a couple of times a year. The VMC's are the only ones I don't find rusted when I get my saltwater box out to gear up for a trip to the coast.

[mark poulson]

Thanks guys. Actually, I was thinking of the salt in the plastics I make and use in freshwater. If I leave one on a bronze jig hook, it's guaranteed to rust.

I was hoping the bluing would provide some protection.

As for salt water fishing, the only protection I've found is to break everything down and flush it all with fresh water when I'm done.

[SNOWMAN CUSTOM BAITS]

Mark you might try putting some worm oil or some other cover scent or attractant on the hook before you thread the plastics on . Don't know if it will work , just a thought .

[wchilton]

Bluing is actually a type of iron oxide (rust) and does not by itself protect against corrosion. What it does do, is provide a thin layer of oxide that holds oil in place on the metal and the oil provides the rust protection. Some oils are a LOT better than others at protecting against rust. One that comes to mind is Bo-Shield. Unfortunately, the cold blue formulas are not a true bluing, but are a chemically-induced blue that is not as durable (or as good helping to prevent rust) as a "hot blue". For protection against salts, I'd go with a coating of some kind, possibly a thin layer of epoxy on a very clean hook? Either that or Seal Coat use for lure top coat (urethane, water-based) should work, but you'd want to test for compatibilty with soft plastics.

[mark poulson]

Wow! Thanks for 'splainin' it to me, Lucy! Hahaha

Seriously, I see the best thing for me to do is to take my trailers off the hooks at the end of the day. I do this with pork, and with gulp, so I should just stop being lazy, and do it with plastics, too.

It's only the bronze jig hooks, and some of the older, cheaper jigs I have, that are a problem. And my old, blue worm hooks, which I don't use anymore.

Thanks for taking the time to explain it so that even a carpenter can understand.