South Africa might not be the first location which comes to mind when considering a new vise, but it is indeed the origin of the Jvice. The design follows that of the classic in-line rotary, and comes handsomely packaged in a black cordura nylon travel bag holding the vise, a bobbin cradle, a material spring, the oak tying station and a cloth waste bag.

Jvise

The jaws are of the cam-operated, parallel clamp design, with a knurled knob near the tip for hook wire gauge adjustment. The vise is equally suited for right or left handed tiers, and the jaws are even easily inverted to have the adjustment knob situated on the near or far side of the jaws, depending on the tier's preference. The inside of the jaws are finely pebbled and there is a single hook pocket for holding big irons. The hook pocket is curved to follow the generic shape of a hook bend, and hooks of all sizes are held securely. Access to the smallest of hooks is somewhat restricted due to the beefy nature of the jaws.

The jaws are cam operated, where the cam works to close the jaws by either rotating it up or down. On the vise I tested, the cam could do with a shorter lever. Canting it upwards made it come into contact with the horizontal arm. (In discussion with the maker it became clear that the lever length issue has been rectified.) The jaws are finished in a pleasing non-reflective satin nickel.

The height of the jaws can be adjusted somewhat by canting them, with the aim of centering the hook shank exactly in line with the axis of rotation. However, the range of adjustment is quite limited and falls short of achieving in-line on large hooks such as pike hooks, large salmon irons or saltwater hooks. In the 'real world,' this is not a real issue and for me is no cause for concern. Exact in-line positioning is a must only for spinning vise designs. Close to axis is perfectly adequate for hand cranked rotary vises such as this.

Jvise with pedestal

Rotary friction is adjusted by a large diameter brass knurled ring, located at the back of the oval shaped bearing housing. The range of settings is wide enough to accommodate the tier's preference and, once set, the tension remains consistent. The rotary lever is brass and slightly angled away from the standrod. It is nicely shaped with a widening at the end to stop the finger from sliding off the lever, but somewhat short in length at just over one inch. I believe in future runs a somewhat longer lever may be fitted.

The supplied standrod is a non-standard 10mm in diameter. Upon request the vise can be delivered with a more standard 3/8" diameter, allowing third-party accessories to be more easily used.

The Jvice is supplied with an oak wood tying station (14.5" x 10.25"), which doubles as a pedestal base. It rests on four silicone feet. The vise can be positioned on the tying station in a number of locations, making for a versatile setup. The height of the jaws above the tying station varies from 8" to 8.5", depending on the jaws angle set. Aside from placing the tying station on a flat surface, it also makes it very convenient to tie flies with the station positioned on one's lap. The tying station also has slots to hold tools and materials. The cordura nylon travel bag incorporates pockets for tying tools, as well as holding the tying station, vise and accessories.

Verdict:
The overall appearance of the Jvice is one of solid workmanship, close tolerance machining and sound selection of materials used. If anything it leans towards a slight overkill in robustness, but that is hardly a bad thing. The lines are not quite as clean as I would like, with a few projections which, depending on how you position the non-bobbin hand, may cause interference. There are still some rough edges to the vise design, but the maker is addressing most of those I encountered. The result should be a sturdy, well-rounded vise. The inclusion of the tying station may be an added selling point depending on your tying requirements. The Jvice has a black anodized ovoid bearing housing, but can also be ordered in red or blue upon request. The price of US $350 includes shipping from South Africa.