Fascinating what a fresh look at a problem can come up with. To my mind the basic requirements for a bobbin holder are:

1) The thread must not be damaged as it rubs against the holder.

2) The spool must be held securely.

3) I must be able to adjust the tension on the spool to suit different threads.

Marc Petitjean’s TT Bobbin ticks all three boxes with ease and in typical Petitjean style does it with a twist.

First, and most obviously, there is no tube on this bobbin holder, rather the thread is dispensed through a slot in a length of stainless steel, held in that slot by two stainless wire guides.

Threading this holder means catching the thread under the lower guide, sliding it into the tip guide and that’s it – job done. No bobbin threader, no fiddling trying to slip the end of a fine thread into a tiny hole, no sucking (and no spitting out lumps of old wax sucked out of the tube.)

Having a mildly sceptical streak I wondered if the thread would either find its way back out of the tip guide or be damaged by either the guide or slot during tying. Well, if either can happen I have yet to find out how. Fitting the thread into this holder is extremely easy and once there it is secure – easily a match for any of my conventional tubed bobbin holders.

Clearly this holder is designed for what I regard as standard sized spools – it will not adjust for narrow spools. Since I don’t use small spools that is not an issue for me. The legs are looped stainless wire so I have a degree of control over the minimum tension by gently bending the legs – just as I can with my conventional holders. Leg tension can also be adjusted using the spring on the inner parts of the legs – slide the coiled spring down to increase drag on the spool. The ability to adjust the pressure on the spool for a spell and then reset it to minimum easily and without removing the spool is unusual. More likely I would use that feature to adjust tension when I change spools, heavier for stronger thread and lighter for real flyweight threads. I can as easily do that by bending the legs of my conventional holders, if and when I remember to do it before hand and don’t mind removing the spool a few times so I can get the tension as I want it.

Initially, I thought that tension adjustment was just another a gimmick, I found myself using it often, more or less every time I switched spools. Which brings me back to the other essential characteristic of this holder, as soon as I got the hang of fitting thread it became clear that switching threads was exceptionally easy and quick. I normally have several bobbin holders loaded and waiting on the tying bench. Loading tread into this holder is so quick it could reduce the need for a few extras – anything that clears a little of the clutter from my tying desk is very welcome.

Near the tip of the holder you should see a fine groove with a ‘hook’ leading to the tip. The idea there is that the groove can be used to help make dubbing loops, and by pulling the thread into the hook so it reaches the tip, the holder can be used to spin the loop before winding it onto the shank of a hook. At the time of writing I’m still getting the hang of that facility, at the moment it works something and the next time I end up with thread and dubbing loop wrapped around both hook shank and bobbin holder – not good! While the TT Bobbin performs the basic functions of its job exceptionally well I am not convinced turning it into a dubing twister is necessary.

This is a sophisticated revision of a basic tying tool and it works very well indeed. UK prices have yet to be fixed for the TT Bobbin but I expect this to be relatively expensive – for a bobbin holder.