Times and products change, and so they should. It seems like an age since I first looked at a Tallon Tay vice: a rugged, well-constructed, well-engineered vice. For the latest generation of the same vice Tallon have made subtle changes which, to my mind, are distinct improvements.

The original vice had conventional smooth jaws so grip depended on pressure alone. They gripped but there are other ways to achieve the same end. For this version Tallon have cut grooves in the jaw faces. Place a hook between those serrations and it’s held firmer with less pressure.

Resting my hand on the original, the short head meant the heel of my hand sitting on the crisply machined cam block. The new version has a longer jaw-barrel so the head is longer; with my fingers at the hook my hand sits on the smooth rounded head.

On the original, the material-spring seemed a little like an orphan, simply clipped around the jaw-barrel, free to slide back and forth. For this version, Tallon has turned a groove in the barrel where the spring stays put.

There are one or two other significant changes: the short plain lever has grown longer and more finished’ the block holding the bobbin cradle in place has become a stem dish’ and the pedestal (clamps are available) has become circular and similarly dish shaped.

Overall, this is more refined and more user-friendly. Plus, in the interim, Tallon has reduced their prices. It’s an excellent vice at a competitive price.

• Price £195
• From Tallon Fly Tying Scotland, PO Box 6592, Arbroath, Angus, DD11 3XZ. Tel. 01241 872700 (www.tallonflytying.co.uk)