Black Hills Flyfishers
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Home > Newsletters > January 2006 > The "X" Tippet
| The "X" Tippet |
What does the “X” on packages of tippet and leaders stand for?
First a little history on some of our first mass produced tippet material. For some time, early in the
century leaders were tied out of a silk strand that came from a caterpillar found in Spain. The
caterpillars were harvested and then processed in chemicals to toughen their silk sacks. The silk sacks
or “gut” were then removed from the caterpillar (usually two /caterpillar). This packet of silk was then
stretched out, usually reaching the length of 12”-15”. Lengths of silk longer than this were scarce and
brought a premium price.
At this point he silk strands were uneven in diameter and needed to be uniform in diameter for use in
building a leader. This evening process was accomplished by using diamonds to cut away the excess
material. The process involved using a diamond that had a round hole drilled in it. The diamond was
then polished on one side to form a cutting edge on the hole. The silk strand was soaked in a solution
to soften it and then drawn through the hole in the diamond to cut away the excess silk. This uniform
piece of “silk cat gut” (cat from caterpillar not house cat) was considered to be 1X in size because it
had been drawn through a diamond one time or 1X. It would then be drawn through a diamond with a
smaller hole to reduce the diameter even further. This piece of silk was now 2X in diameter since it had
been drawn through a diamond twice. This process would continue until a tippet the size of 5X was
reached. Most Flyfishers at the time felt this was the smallest size that was needed.
The flyfisher could now take the different sizes of silk gut and tie a tapered leader.
Today no silk but with high grade technology and polymers we have greater breaking strength and
tippet down to 12x. Just remember the higher the x # the smaller the tippet.
First a little history on some of our first mass produced tippet material. For some time, early in the
century leaders were tied out of a silk strand that came from a caterpillar found in Spain. The
caterpillars were harvested and then processed in chemicals to toughen their silk sacks. The silk sacks
or “gut” were then removed from the caterpillar (usually two /caterpillar). This packet of silk was then
stretched out, usually reaching the length of 12”-15”. Lengths of silk longer than this were scarce and
brought a premium price.
At this point he silk strands were uneven in diameter and needed to be uniform in diameter for use in
building a leader. This evening process was accomplished by using diamonds to cut away the excess
material. The process involved using a diamond that had a round hole drilled in it. The diamond was
then polished on one side to form a cutting edge on the hole. The silk strand was soaked in a solution
to soften it and then drawn through the hole in the diamond to cut away the excess silk. This uniform
piece of “silk cat gut” (cat from caterpillar not house cat) was considered to be 1X in size because it
had been drawn through a diamond one time or 1X. It would then be drawn through a diamond with a
smaller hole to reduce the diameter even further. This piece of silk was now 2X in diameter since it had
been drawn through a diamond twice. This process would continue until a tippet the size of 5X was
reached. Most Flyfishers at the time felt this was the smallest size that was needed.
The flyfisher could now take the different sizes of silk gut and tie a tapered leader.
Today no silk but with high grade technology and polymers we have greater breaking strength and
tippet down to 12x. Just remember the higher the x # the smaller the tippet.
| Orvis Tippet size chart To cast a fly well and have it behave naturally in or on the current, a fly should be matched to the appropriate tippet. This chart gives you suggestions on balancing tippet to fly size. |
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