andy1976 Posted March 12, 2014 Report Share Posted March 12, 2014 Found a supplier someone mentioned on here that's from china and had really good prices on ebay. Just got a 1000 from wtp but want to get other sizes in 500 count. Thanks Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadman Posted March 12, 2014 Report Share Posted March 12, 2014 Andy, I have always bought from WTP and I always loved their eyes, because they stick to my jigs. I did buy from another source, and their eyes were horrible they didn't stick at all. If you find a good supplier with good prices, please post your likes and dislikes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy1976 Posted March 13, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2014 Will do I love wtp. I have 4oz jig pics customers send me. Zero paint on the jig but the eyes are still there. These will have a clear coat over them holding them on. I do love buying American and plan on sticking with wtp once I figure out what sizes and colors work for my products. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kasilofchrisn Posted March 13, 2014 Report Share Posted March 13, 2014 i have had good luck with the eyes from Barlows. They seem to me to be as good as WTP and a bit cheaper. I did buy some eyes in bulk from an advertiser here and had to superglue them on first. Even sealing them with D2T was a pain with out superglueing them all on first as they would come off with the lighest brush strokes. I will stick with WTP or the ones from Barlows from now on. If you buy them in bulk from Barlows you save a few bucks which is nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saltwater Posted March 13, 2014 Report Share Posted March 13, 2014 Newbie here, who or what is WTP? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bass100 Posted March 13, 2014 Report Share Posted March 13, 2014 http://www.aliexpress.com/store/group/3D-Eyes-4mm/610947_251104759.html Great prices and a very consistent eye. I couldn't tell you how good they stick because that is not a factor for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadman Posted March 13, 2014 Report Share Posted March 13, 2014 WTP stands for Witch Tape Products. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edgecrusher Posted March 13, 2014 Report Share Posted March 13, 2014 I buy from lifefly as well, either aliexpress or ebay, works out very cheap. you do sometimes get a couple off centre, but I usually reserve them and use them together for a different effect. I believe it was something like 1400 eyes for $8 last time I ordered. I use them on spinnerbaits and epoxy them on - Ive expoxied any eyes I use anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy1976 Posted March 13, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2014 Life fly that's the one. Thanks everyone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smalljaw Posted March 13, 2014 Report Share Posted March 13, 2014 The eye from Barlows are WTP, the only difference is Barlows buys them in bulk and then repackages them, the same for LPO. I got a lot of eye from Boggs Baits, they are so-so but are inexpensive, I usually get them for smaller swim bait heads and they look good but again, the one think I found with inexpensive eyes, everyone I've tried, is the adhesive is poor and you go to clear coat and they eye either moves or falls off and next thing you know you got epoxy on your fingers and you've wasted 5 minutes on one lure messing with an eye that didn't stick. I will pay more for WTP 99% of the time because I don't have the eye moving or falling off problem, when you stick it on it stays on. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadman Posted March 13, 2014 Report Share Posted March 13, 2014 I have had the same problem as smalljaw. The eyes move when you apply epoxy. I don't have time to keep aligning and re-aligning eyes on a jig, and it makes no sense to me to glue on an eye so then I can apply epoxy. Way too much wasted time. JMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bass100 Posted March 13, 2014 Report Share Posted March 13, 2014 I am the opposite, I glue all my eyes on with super glue gel regardless of how good they stick. It might take 3 seconds per jig or crank to add 2 spots of super glue gel. Once you put the eye on the super glue gel that is it, no more aligning or re-aligning. I agree with smalljaw and cadman if you use epoxy to put your eyes on it is a waste. I like the fact that I don't rely on the eyes adhesive because it allows me to use any eye out there. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edgecrusher Posted March 13, 2014 Report Share Posted March 13, 2014 I should clarify I use epoxy, under the eye to stick it, not as an overcoat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kasilofchrisn Posted March 13, 2014 Report Share Posted March 13, 2014 I can't trust just a dab of superglue. I use D2T over all my eyes and they hold and don't come out. That is what me and my customers expect especially fishing in the rocks in the saltwater. Like Cadman and Smalljaw i have had the cheap eyes move all over while trying to epoxy them on and that is a pain and a time consuming hassle that I don't need. I have also had the excess superglue from glueiing make the epoxy cloudy when it comes in contact with it. Again something the fish probably don't care about but my customers might. I buy from Barlows in the quantities that give me the best price per unit. To each his own but I just cannot afford to waste the time messing with the cheap eyes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bass100 Posted March 14, 2014 Report Share Posted March 14, 2014 The super glue gel is to hold the eyes in one place so that you can use D2T over them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bass100 Posted March 14, 2014 Report Share Posted March 14, 2014 To show that I am not just saying it here are some pics of baits I have been working on for the last week. I just tank tested them today. You will notice there is no cloudiness around the eyes at all. Even if you mess up and get super glue gel on the outside of the eye it won't show up after you clear coat the lure. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bass100 Posted March 14, 2014 Report Share Posted March 14, 2014 I have to say that there are alot of ways to add your eyes this is just how I choose to do it. They only way that matters is how you choose to do it. I have over 100,000 eyes between 3 different suppliers and they don't all stick very well. Because I do it this way I can make any suppliers eyes work for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kasilofchrisn Posted March 14, 2014 Report Share Posted March 14, 2014 bass100 I couldn't agree more! Use what works for you! I just find it much simpler,easier and less hassle to buy eyes that I can stick on and epoxy over that actually stick to the bait. When I am working on an order for say 100 jigs every little step makes a difference in total time and effort involved. I had tried just epoxying over the cheap eyes and had some slip off during drying and get stuck in the wrong spot. Now I have a few of those dud jigs I use myself but I wouldn't sell them that way. I tried supergluing some on and while it worked it was messier and it took up more of my time especially putting big eyes on my big (20oz+) jigs. Any superglue(I didn't try the gel version) that got out from under the eye did cloud my D2T. Just my personal observation. In my Honest Opinion using the better eyes offsets the cost and hassle of glueing on the cheaper eyes. By the way nice looking baits! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bass100 Posted March 14, 2014 Report Share Posted March 14, 2014 Thanks Kasilotchrisn. I just use the cheap super glue gel from the dollar store. I just don't want people to think they have to buy expensive eyes to have good looking baits. As far as the 100 and 200 piece orders go you are correct, it is simpler, easier, and less of a hassle to just stick on your eyes. A 100 jig order will take about an extra 25 min to glue the eyes on and you can cut that time in half if you hustle. If you got your eyes in bulk from Barlows then you paid about .07 per eye and that comes out to $14 for 200 eyes. I paid .01 per eye which comes out to $2 for 200 eyes. I can do 400 eyes from one tube of super glue gel that I get from the dollar store for $1 per 2 tubes. I saved $11 by doing 25 min of extra work. In other words both ways of doing eyes works. One way you save money and one way you save time. All of this being said I won't lie, I hate glueing eyes on but I like saving money. For those that have some of the cheap eyes and are going to glue them on don't squirt the super glue gel from the tube to the bait. Squirt some gel onto a piece of paper and use a toothpick to put the gel onto the bait. This is much faster and you have control over how much gel you put on the bait. You don't have to put glue on one bait and then put the eyes, you put the glue on about 20 baits at a time and then put the eyes on. The gel gives you plenty of time to do that. Once you get faster you can put glue on about 50 baits before you have to start putting the eyes on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Prager Posted March 14, 2014 Report Share Posted March 14, 2014 I use a dab of the Locktite gel before i put the eyes on and I only use the hard eyes. Even with the super glue, I have problems with the soft 3D eyes. Half the time they fall off before I even epoxy them. They run like .03 each Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bass100 Posted March 14, 2014 Report Share Posted March 14, 2014 Thanks for the post Richard. I would have never guessed there was a difference between the hard and soft. I only have hard so I would have never known that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bass100 Posted March 15, 2014 Report Share Posted March 15, 2014 (edited) Ok here is the scoop guys. I had a buddy come over this morning with some soft 3D eyes and we did some testing. We used a 1 inch pvc pipe to glue the eyes on. The one inch offered enough roundness so that we could try to get them to slide. All the eyes we used were 6mm. We airbrushed 1/4 black circles onto the pipe so we could see how much they slid. We started with 3 brands of regular super glue: dollar store brand, loctite professional, and gorilla glue. Unfortunately they all slid. I am assuming it is because you have no control over the amount of glue you can put on. The gorilla glue was the worst. I will also note that all the eyes had the infamous white haze on them, some worse than others but it was not noticeable after epoxying unless you touched the eye. When we epoxied we could clearly see a finger print on one of the eyes that had been touched with the white haze. We used two brands of super glue gel: dollar store brand and loctite professional gel. I put the eyes on the way I normally do it, with a toothpick. On the hard and soft eyes, none of them slid. We then put the eyes on by putting glue on straight from the tube. We did three eyes each of the hard and soft. The all slid a little except 1 soft one. We decided the problem isn't the eyes but the amount of glue being put on. Super glue gel takes a minute to set up so if you use to much it will slid until it dries. There was no white hazing on the eyes from the gel. We then epoxied all the eyes onto the pvc pipe with D2T and we had no cloudiness with any of the glues. We then did 2 eyes each with the loctite gel and loctite regular super glue and then epoxied over them before they were dry. That is when I got to experience the sliding around that was talked about and yes that sucks. They all had a little bit of cloudiness. We only gave the epoxy 45 minutes of cure time before we called it quits. I know this is lengthy but I had to know why everyone wasn't getting the same results. Edited March 15, 2014 by bass100 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy1976 Posted March 15, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2014 bass100 I couldn't agree more! Use what works for you! I just find it much simpler,easier and less hassle to buy eyes that I can stick on and epoxy over that actually stick to the bait. When I am working on an order for say 100 jigs every little step makes a difference in total time and effort involved. I had tried just epoxying over the cheap eyes and had some slip off during drying and get stuck in the wrong spot. Now I have a few of those dud jigs I use myself but I wouldn't sell them that way. I tried supergluing some on and while it worked it was messier and it took up more of my time especially putting big eyes on my big (20oz+) jigs. Any superglue(I didn't try the gel version) that got out from under the eye did cloud my D2T. Just my personal observation. In my Honest Opinion using the better eyes offsets the cost and hassle of glueing on the cheaper eyes. By the way nice looking baits! Your right I just wanted to get a bunch of different sizes and colors without having to get 1000 each. Wtp prices really are pretty good. Got a quote for $55 for 1000 1/2". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy1976 Posted March 15, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2014 Also was told you can go direct to there website and get smaller quantities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smalljaw Posted March 16, 2014 Report Share Posted March 16, 2014 Your right I just wanted to get a bunch of different sizes and colors without having to get 1000 each. Wtp prices really are pretty good. Got a quote for $55 for 1000 1/2". Where did you get the quote of 1000 WTP for $55 ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
