Crimping tool questions

The best crimper for spearfishing ie. for mono and wire is the Speardiver ALL stainless steel crimping tool available from FreediveStore.com. It has a stainless steel tool head with stainless steel handles and red non-slip grips, with 4 positions to crimp all wire and mono normally used for spearfishing, from 50 LB to 450 LB test. And includes a built-in side line cutter.

Being all stainless steel it's perfect to use at home and take on the boat. Other crimping tools have stainless Steel in the description but are almost never completely made of stainless steel. Normally only the handles are stainless steel, this is most evident with crimpers that have a black color tool head. But even crimpers that have a steel colored tool head are most commonly not stainless steel

For best holding strength and durability crimp in two spots slightly back from each end of the crimp, so that the crimp edge doesn't dig into the mono and cut into it. Leave the middle un-crimped. When possible lightly melt the end of the mono with a lighter to form a glob, before pulling it to the crimp. This will lessen the possibility of the mono slipping through the crimp.

Speardiver ALL stainless steel crimping tool

With 300 lb and 400 test line, I only use the two smaller slots in the crimpe (not sure the brand I got it from Mako…before I knew Dan). So if the Omer is only lacking the bigger slot, it would be the same as the Mares I would think.

I have the Mares. LIke the red one. But one problem with it is the opposite sides of the crimper don't exactly line up. The semi circles don't meet exactly like in the picture.
But it works. I've never had a crimp slip.

In my experience the exact shape of the crimping die is less important than getting the right pressure. even with the correct die if you squeeze too hard or too light the crimp will fail. Regardless of which one you go with, ( I doubt either company makes them. they are probably rebranded crimpers from a fishing supply company) practice a few times and test your results before you put it on critical gear.

Quote from Wishihadgills

In my experience the exact shape of the crimping die is less important than getting the right pressure. even with the correct die if you squeeze too hard or too light the crimp will fail. Regardless of which one you go with, ( I doubt either company makes them. they are probably rebranded crimpers from a fishing supply company) practice a few times and test your results before you put it on critical gear.

X2

Always practice your crimps and remember you want to ultimately squeeze the mono, not crush it

I've found that hunting around reefs, even a not so great crimping job will still outlast the shooting line. A couple decent size snappers or grouper will try to hole up and shred the mono shooting line. Blue water...maybe more important. But I had just put a new line on my gun last week....shot one 25 lb black....done. Shredded.
But I do my best to make nice even crimps. I just ain't always successful.

Very true hank. I learned my crimping skills for hook and line fishing where the connection strength is everything. With reef hunting you can get away with a decent crimp but for blue water you shooting line will most likely be the weakest link especially if the crimps aren't solid.

The only crimp job I had let go was cable. I hadn't braided it and I lost a 40 lb or so kingfish. I've had the shooting line break at the little loop on the shark fin but that was just due to me being lame and not checking my gear before going out.

The larger crimpers and the bench top versions have stops that prevent over crimping and give you more than enough leverage to prevent under crimping. It is still possible to get bad crimps with these tools. Mono has a wide variation of diameters for the same breaking strength and you need to match the diameter with the correct sleeve. With the small hand held crimpers the correct pressure is a skill.

For me it is about the feed back. When your die and your crimp are properly sized give it a solid squeeze and increase pressure until you feel like the crimp has stopped. You can still go, but I find that is the over crimp range. It takes a little trial and error but the crimp really tells you when to stop on the hand models.

When using cable, always splice it behind the loop. This makes the crimp a redundant bit of tackle. It is annoying to do the splice through a shaft tab but it makes the whole rig a lot more secure

This brings up a good point, anyone using chaffing gear on the loops, at the shaft and breakaway?
Jon from Ulu uses little sleeves over mono that protect mono from damage from the fins. Seems well worth the effort, since its only likely to break on a once in a lifetime fish. Worst possible time.

Im a huge believer in burning the end and pulling mushroom flush with crimp after it has cooled, before crimping. This is a crucial step according to many big game anglers. Its almost a pet peeve to see crimped mono without burnt ends. The tiny little point hiddding by the crimp annoys me;).
Another often overlooked part of the process is crimping to close to the edge of the crimp causing it to dig into mono, thus creating a week point

Here a factory/Custom Ulusub rig:).

Im really digging the piece of mind of not having to worry about chaffing at that spot. One likely to be a weak point in any setup.

This is interesting dialog.

I finally got a hold of a Mechanical Engineer that happens to own a company that makes MONO. Got some interesting information so far. I will try to learn more, but for now, If you had a prefect crimper and crimp, and had it dialed in to be perfect. I think variability of mono would change things up some. Looks like water absorption of Nylon is a factor during the manufacturing process.

As stated earlier, the "feel of the crimping" and then testing it, seems to be the best method.

Following the basics of crimping, not on the ends etc. its important.