Dyna King Excalibur

~By: Lance Dean | May 4, 2016

Before I start this review I want to say that I was not asked to do this review and the vise used in this review I paid for and the Ford GT images in this post are of scale model Ford GTs.

In 1966, the Ford GT-40 took 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in the 24 Hours of Le Mans race.  The Ford GT-40 continued its unbelievable success through 1969. That’s a remarkable four years in a row that the Ford GT-40 won the mother of endurance races. After the 1969 racing season, racing regulations changed, making the Ford GT-40 an unqualifiable car for the 24 Hours of Le Mans race. Ford released new version of the Ford GT in 2005.  It sported a 5.4 liter V8 engine and was a beast of a machine.  Ford is about to release the Ford GT once again and will race at the 24 Hours of Le Mans on June 18-19, 2016.  The 2017 Ford GT sports a 600+ HP V6 twin turbo charged engine that any enthusiast can respect.  But let’s be real, my love for the Ford GT doesn’t only come from its sheer power or its many awesome functions, like the active suspension which automatically adjusts the height of the GT depending on road conditions or the adjustable wing which automatically adjusts the down force of the GT with the push of a button, no this love also comes from its sleek lines, mean ducts and vents in all the right locations, and it’s solid colors.  I love blue.  To see what the 2017 Ford GT looks like and to get more information on it go here.

Winning 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans GT-40 Model Car

For the last few years I have absolutely loved tying flies. I have tied flies for almost twenty years and up until a few years ago I always used a Super AA vise, which worked fine; it did what it was supposed to do for the casual tying style I used at the time.  A few years ago I started tying flies passionately.  This passion drove me to the Peak Rotary Vise, which in my opinion is still the “biggest bang for a buck” vise on the market.  It is truly a workhorse.  A few months after I bought my Peak I discovered Dyna King.  At the time, the Excalibur was not on the market but the Barracuda was.  The Barracuda looked like a nice vise, but was way out of my budget.  The high price was just one of the things that kept me from buying a Dyna King Barracuda the other factor was the “POW” factor. The POW factor is something that doesn’t just grab my attention; it has to keep my attention and not let go. The Dyna King Barracuda wasn’t there…Until, now.  During Christmastime of this year I found an ad on Facebook for a new vise from Dyna King called the Excalibur. The Dyna King Excalibur had the “POW” effect on me.  Once I seen it, I was in trouble.  All the different adjustments that could be made to the Excalibur and the colors available especially blue kept me coming back to look at it over and over. A couple months ago my wife and I decided to treat ourselves to an investment of something nice that we could use for fun, after all we made plenty of sacrifices for our family and we’ve always worked really hard for what we have, so we deserved it. I decided that I wanted to invest into a new vise.

Dyna King Excalibur

The anticipation that grabbed me while waiting for my new Dyna King Excalibur to arrive through the mail almost killed me.  So when it finally arrived at my Post Office it was like Christmas morning as a kid.  All that kept me from my Excalibur was a brown, medium sized box.  Finding it difficult to contain my excitement, I carefully cut the tape from the joints that kept me from my new vise. The shade of blue that I found on my Excalibur was the first thing that stood out to me when the box revealed my new Excalibur. The shade of blue on my Excalibur reminded me of the shade of blue found on my favorite car – the Ford GT.  The Dyna King Excalibur is the only vise from the Dyna King line that comes in an assortment of colors. Currently, the Excalibur is available in blue, purple, black, and silver.  After I placed the bobbin cradle on its shaft and slid it into the shaft of the pedestal, I did what a person who purchased a new Ford GT would do with his new car; I paused to admire the fine workmanship of the Dyna King Excalibur.

Like the 2017 Ford GT, the Dyna King Excalibur is American made and has many features that make it a winner. The jaws of the Dyna King Excalibur are of the quality we have come expect from a name like Dyna King.  The first fly I allowed my new Excalibur to chew on was my favorite fly, a size 12 Copper John.  A spec sheet that came with the vise claimed that the Dyna King Excalibur jaws would hold hook sizes in the range of 8/0 to 22. It took a bit to get used to the style of jaws that are found on Dyna King vises, but once I got it figured out it was relatively easy to get used to and more importantly the jaws securely held my size 12 hook.  After I applied the lead weight on the hook of my Copper John I started the thread and then tied in the biot tail.  So far the jaws held the hook without any give.  After I tied the Copper John’s tail in, I tied in my copper wire abdomen.  This allowed me to try out the rotary function of my Excalibur.  Before I turned the rotary handle of my Excalibur I twisted the tension knob to a tension that fit my tying style.  As I rotated the rotary handle, I paid close attention to anything that felt off and found nothing. The Excalibur rotated very smoothly as I wrapped the abdomen around the hook of my Copper John.  I finished the fly by tying in the wing case, thorax and legs and then decided that my Excalibur was awesome.  Another feature I found while playing with my Excalibur was a knob that when tightened drove into the rotary housing allowing for a complete lock out of the rotary function of the vise.  The vise also features a couple adjustments that allow you to use it as a standard non-rotary vise by simply loosening a bolt you can change the angle that the rotary shaft sits. The jaws can be adjusted as well.  Another bolt allows you to bring the jaws closer to the rotary housing or further away.  To get a better idea of what I am talking about, watch my video review of the Dyna King Excalibur.

The Excalibur is an investment and if one is considering purchasing one, one must understand this.  Although there is a huge cost difference between a Ford GT and a Dyna King Excalibur, buying an Excalibur needs be considered an investment just as buying a Ford GT is.  When buying either the Ford GT or the Dyna King Excalibur you are not only buying style you are also investing in quality.  The Dyna King is a quality top of line vise.

In the few months I have owned it, I have tied many flies on my Excalibur, including big Pike/Muskie flies, Dry Flies, Nymphs and other streamers all in various sizes and like all vises I have had to make minor adjustments to the Excalibur depending on the fly I tied. I had the privilege of tying during the Wasatch Fly Tying Expo in April and my Excalibur preformed flawlessly.  It is truly a quality show vise for the serious fly tier.

Please enjoy my review of Dyna King's Excalibur and please remember to stay up to date with Fishbait's Fly Box and follow fishbaitsflybox.com by submitting your email address at the top of the right hand column of the site. “Like” Fishbait’s Fly Box by clicking like at the top of the right hand column or by clicking here and then "Like" or "Follow" and subscribe to Fishbait’s Fly Box on YouTube by clicking HERE and then click subscribe.

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