How to make fish hooks with your own hands?

The most important component of all fishing gear is the hook. Most fishermen prefer to make fishing hooks themselves in cases where the fisherman himself does not have one or does not have the opportunity and time to buy it.

The quality of these homemade hooks is sometimes not inferior to factory products. The material for their manufacture is often any available material: pins, bicycle spokes, hairpins, a ring from a set of keys and even nails. And the manufacturing process itself does not take much time.

Heat treatment of steel

The main material in the production of fishing hooks is steel. To perform heat treatment, steel must be heated and then quickly cooled in water or oil. This process is called "hardening". During this treatment, the properties of the steel will change.

Raw steel before heat treatment is easily subjected to various deformations (can be sawed, forged), but after treatment it acquires sufficient hardness, but remains brittle. Given this circumstance, it must be treated with abrasive materials.

The brittleness of steel after hardening will help reduce its tempering. This process is based on a method of heating already hardened steel to low temperatures with further cooling in oil or in the open air. The result of this procedure will be that the steel regains its original properties, that is, it will again become damp.

And lastly, annealing of tempered steel involves heating it to a temperature slightly lower than it was during quenching and cooling in air. As a result of this procedure, the steel will regain its original properties, that is, it will again become raw.

The time difference between these procedures cannot be more than 24 hours. The temperature used when tempering steel is always different (from 150 to 500 °C) and depends on the type of product produced from it.

When making hooks with your own hands, the material used can be sewing needles of any size or spring wire.

When carrying out heat treatment of hooks made independently, the following rules should be taken into account:

When quenched using water at room temperature, the hardness of the steel is greater than when using oil.
When the temperature of the steel reaches 330 °C, it will be viscous and suitable for making only a soft hook. To make a hard hook, hardening should be done in water, and for tempering, use a much lower temperature.

Heat treatment of steel is always carried out in a muffle furnace using a thermometer. But it is clear that there are no such stoves in homes and heat treatment can be carried out using a gas stove. Sewing needles are placed on a flat piece of steel and heated over a stove flame.

It is easy to determine its temperature by the heating color of the blank:

dark brown color - temperature from 530 to 580 ° C;
red-brown color - heating to 650 °C;
cherry - up to 720 °C;
crimson - heating to 770 °C;
bright red - up to 870 °C;
red - up to 900 °C;
orange - up to 1050 °C;
dark yellow - heating to 1150 °C;
yellow-white - up to 1300 °C;
white - heating to above 1350 °C.

It is impossible to anneal the spring like a needle due to the fact that it has a different design. It is annealed using a solution of salts: sodium chloride, sodium fluoride, aluminum fluoride, sodium chloride, calcium fluoride, sodium carbonate, etc.

When the material used to make the hooks is ready, you can begin making them. After the hook is ready, it should also be hardened.

Self-production

Making a fishing hook yourself is quite difficult. Especially if you have no experience in metalworking. First, prepare high-quality materials. You will need carbon and alloy grades or ready-made steel wire.

Until you harden it, you can make a hook using pliers. You have the right to choose the form yourself, but consider what kind of fish you plan to catch, bait and bait. If you cannot buy wire, you can use materials you have at home. These could be sewing needles.

Afterwards you can start making rings and blades. The process is simple and easy. To make a spatula, you need to hit it with a hammer several times. And for the ring you need to press the wire tightly, and also immediately remove all the burrs.

Before forming a ring, practice using paper scrapers.

When the hook has its shape, you can begin heat treatment. First you need to harden it. The hardening method depends on the type of metal. If you suddenly cool a material after heating it, it will increase the hardness of the metal.

To reduce brittleness, temper or anneal. To begin with, the hook is heated to lower temperatures, and then the hook is slowly cooled in oil or air.

This way you can create hooks not only for catching peaceful fish, but also for predators. In the second case, take a stronger wire.

Main types of offset printers

A hook that has a Z-shape with a bend in the fore-end at the top is called offset. This hook was first used in the USA at the beginning of the 20th century. Since then, it has been continuously improved for use in combination with other equipment. What motivates anglers when using an offset hook in fishing?

The big advantage of using them is:

The hook allows you to use it for catching fish in dense thickets.
It allows you to reliably attach any bait, while preventing it from slipping off the hook. This is convenient when fishing with heavy weights over long distances.
Its shape allows it to easily penetrate the side of the prey's mouth.
Allows you to firmly hold prey when fishing.

Offset hooks are divided into two types:

Worm-shaped.
Coolheads.

These two types are very different from each other. Their differences lie in the dissimilarity of the design and the type of bait used.

Large-faced offset baits are used to attach massive silicone baits. Moreover, the size of the hook itself is selected so that there is a reserve so that during the bite the bait does not slide down and at the same time the sting is exposed.

If a fisherman uses silicone worms as bait, and they have a thin body, then it will be rational to use worm offsets.

Manufacturing of miniature offset hooks

Unfortunately, specialized stores very rarely have miniature offset printers for sale, and if they do, their quality is often low.

During fishing in the summer, when the temperature is high, it is not possible to catch fish in reservoirs with a spinning rod. In such heat, she prefers to hide in dense thickets of aquatic vegetation or in places with flooded snags. It is in such places that you can hope for a good catch. For such fishing, miniature offset hooks are very useful.

Fishermen make these hooks from ordinary steel fishing hooks with a long shank. If the steel from which the hook is made is overheated, then the hook may break when bent. To avoid this problem, it is recommended to first hold it over the fire (for example, over a blowtorch or burner), but only the part that should be bent is held.

When fishing, the main load from its weight lies on the underframe, and a step that has a bend will not be able to straighten up.

Miniature offset hooks are perfectly combined with different baits and types of fishing.

Components of a fishing hook

All components of a classic-shaped fishing hook, each of which performs some functions in fishing conditions, are labeled in the picture.

As a matter of fact, describing every fishing hook is a thankless and impossible task. And it is simply impossible to describe all the hooks en masse.

Each batch of hooks newly created to meet the needs of fishermen has individual characteristics.

Therefore, let's at least look at what components fishing hooks are usually divided into, so as not to look like complete laymen when talking with competent fishermen. See drawing for basic hook elements.

Here you can see fishing knots for tying hooks to fishing line.

Let's look at what a fishhook with anti-corrosion coating consists of.

If you look at the drawing, you will see that the device for hooking fish is a rather complex structure that can be divided into three main components: the sting, the hook and the forend.

The tip of a fishing hook is characterized by the length, height and shape of the barb. The number of fish hatches largely depends on the shape and quality of sharpening of the sting. These parameters also determine the degree of grip of the hook.

The hook is divided into two parts - the back of the head and the forehead. The latter is given a wide variety of shapes during the manufacturing process.

The shank of a hook is characterized by the length and design of the end intended for tying a fishing hook to a fishing line.

The industry also produces special fishing hooks.

For example: the hooks shown in the picture consist of classic parts elements, but with added barbs on the shank.

Fishing devices are produced from wire of increased diameter and are popular among carp fishing enthusiasts.

Fishing hooks have increased grip and hold the bait well. Also, depending on the purpose, most hooks (especially foreign ones) are given different shapes.

How to make a tee?

The treble hook is often used by fishermen when fishing with spinning rods, when catching large fish using live bait, or when equipping spoons and wobblers with them. You can make it yourself with single hooks.

To make a tee hook with your own hands, you need to prepare the following material:

A small piece of rubber.
Thin wire.
Single hooks - 3 pcs.
Solder.

The manufacturing technology of a fishing tee is quite simple:

Make a hole in a piece of rubber with an awl or nail.
Place single hooks completely into it so that they do not dangle and sit tightly.
Copper wire is wound around the ears of the hooks, on their reverse side, which is then soldered.
After soldering is completed, carefully remove the hooks from the rubber.

The triple hook is ready and can be used for its intended purpose.

Invisibility hook

An ordinary bobby pin is suitable as an affordable material for making a hook yourself. It can be used when catching large predatory fish.

During production, you should prepare the following tools:

Pliers.
Flat cutters
File.
A block of wood.

The process of making it is very simple. You should bend both ends of the bobby pin, measure the required length of the hook, and cut off all excess. Next, the ends of the invisible are sharpened with a file. As you can see, using a minimum of time and material, a strong hook will be ready.

Do-it-yourself sharpening of fishing hooks

Many fishermen, when purchasing hooks, are faced with the fact that they have poor sharpening. Before assembling the rod, these hooks must be sharpened. Often, an abrasive stone and a needle file are used for self-sharpening. But they can only sharpen the shank of the hook itself, and they will not be able to remove burrs.

In addition, frequent use of a needle file and an abrasive stone for sharpening leads to rapid abrasion of the hook. In an attempt to avoid such problems, resourceful anglers have come up with a new procedure for sharpening hooks.

This procedure goes step by step like this:

The abrasive bars are crushed with a hammer to a powdery state.
The epoxy resin is heated and the prepared powder is gradually added to it.
When the resin begins to thicken, any hardener is added to it.
The thick mass obtained in this way is applied to a needle file.
The smeared file is rolled out on a clean and hard surface.

A needle file prepared in this way can be used to sharpen hooks after two days. In order to sharpen a hook with such a needle file efficiently and without burrs, you need to insert the file into an electric drill and hold the hook with pliers.

The following methods are also suitable for quickly sharpening them at home:

To make the hooks dull more slowly and not rust, you can dip them in a boiling solution of table salt for 5 minutes. To prepare such a solution you will need one tablespoon of salt and 50 grams of water.
While observing personal safety precautions, you can also use a 30% nitric acid solution purchased at a pharmacy to improve sharpening. This acid eats away the top layer of metal and leaves a sharp edge.
Many fishermen use diamond-coated needle files for sharpening, but only the hook tip needs to be sharpened from the inside.
Fine-grit sandpaper is also great for sharpening.

Using the experience of many fishermen, we can say with confidence that hand-made fishing hooks will not be inferior in all their qualities to purchased ones and will take a minimum of time to make. Therefore, you can safely take them and use them for fishing.

Homemade hook, making hooks for a primitive fishing rod when fishing in emergency conditions.

When choosing hooks for emergency kits or just for hiking, you should prefer forged ones with a round bend and a straight tip. They are considered the most versatile and catchable. In addition, it is necessary to take into account the quality of the hooks, because their durability and sharpness depend on this. Hooks made of good steel are distinguished by the fact that when compressed they spring back and when released they return to their original shape. Counterfeits made of mild steel remain bent. It is better to refuse them. The hook number (from 2.5 to 16) is determined by the distance in millimeters from the tip of the sting to the fore-end. Hooks number 3-8 are considered the most popular. Abroad, a different numbering is accepted, from 1 to 17. Moreover, it is done the other way around, that is, the smaller the hook, the higher its number.