Reviving A Flawed Implement

Last winter, I purchased a pair of curved cuticle scissors sight unseen.  I expected them to be of the same dimensions and quality as my primary scissors of the same make and model.  These were to be my replacement pair when my primary pair wears out.

Well, I was disappointed.  The blades are a little wider and one of the points was blunt.  I put the scissors away and bought another pair made by a different manufacturer.  A couple of days ago, I was cleaning out my scissors drawer when I spotted them.  Several thoughts later, I grabbed a triangular file and took action.

Took an approach similar to sharpening lawn mower blades and filed down along the curve of the blade with the blunt point.  Then, I filed along both of its sides to create a pinpoint tip.  My result?  Well, the blades remain a little thick to my liking, but the points are needle fine.  It's now a wonderful pair of scissors for trimming hair and cutting thread at knots.

I used just my hands to hold the scissors and file.  Though, my bench vise could have made my effort a little easier.

Up My Sleeve: Nail Polish

So much of my web site is devoted to show and tell, that I think it's due for a little more "content".  Today, I'll mention one of my tricks for painting jig heads with nail polish.

Nail polish is one of the cheapest and easiest of paints to obtain for coloring jig heads.  Though, it's not durable and requires a clear coat to avoid chipping off.  Powder and vinyl paints are better choices for durability.  However, if you have a durable clear coat, nail polish provides some of the most interesting and artistic of colors.

I use a two-part, thirty-minute epoxy to clear coat jigs painted with nail polish.  One of the best and most readily available is Devcon 2 Ton Epoxy.

I buy nail polish when it's on sale at nearby department stores.  Often, popular makes and colors are reviewed on web blogs devoted to beauty and cosmetics.  Two that I find quite useful follow below:

• Body and Soul
• Frazzle and Aniploish

What's great about these blogs is that they describe mixing colors together to achieve some very interesting color combinations.  Frequently, they will describe how many coats of a particular polish are necessary to produce an opaque color on the human nail.  This is handy when you want solid, non-metallic colors on your jig heads.  Newer lead is shiny after all.

I hope that you find these sites interesting and useful if you paint your jig heads with nail polish.

Approaching Green Pumpkin - Paint

I feel that this jig head's paint looks very close to the popular green pumpkin color.  The photo was shot with a combination of fluorescent and incandescent lighting.

The jig head is painted with a mix of Harbor Freight's matte black and yellow powder paints in about a 1:1 ratio.  This picture doesn't do it a true justice either.

Or...maybe my mind is playing tricks on me. ;)

Ball Head Jig-N-Worm

Tied this jig-n-worm on a 1/8-ounce ball head with a #2 hook.  Its total length is about 5.0 inches.

Materials:

• Darice Craft Fur - orange
• Lion Brand Suede (#5 chenille yarn) - coffee
• Bungee cord rubber - 1/8 of an inch wide
• UTC Ultra Thread (140 denier) - dark brown
• Harbor Freight Powder Paint - brown-colored mixture

Plan to fish this one as a bottom bouncer for river smallmouth bass.

Yet Another Jig-N-Worm

Tied this one expressly for my local river.  It's intended for smallmouth bass.  Though, it measures 6 inches long.

Used a bulky #6 chenille called Rozetti Velvet.  It's good-looking material I think.  The jig head is painted a brown color that I mixed from black, yellow, and red Harbor Freight powder paints.

These are fun to tie.  Well, except for the craft fur tail that is... ;)

More Jig-N-Worms

Tied a couple more jig-n-worms this evening. The blue firetail is about 7.5 inches long and the green with black tail measures 5 inches. Used large #5 and #6 chenille yarns made by Lion Brand. Plan to fish the blue one for largemouth bass and the green one for both largemouth and smallmouth bass.

Each jig is tied on a 1/8-ounce football head with a #1 or a 1/0 hook.

Firetail Jig-N-Worm

Used thick bungee cord rubber to extend the purple chenille body. Tied in craft fur as the firetail and whip finished over the rubber. The football head is painted with nail polish to match the #5 chenille and topcoated with two-part epoxy.

Thought that this might make a good tie for the largemouth bass in my local reservoir.