In this installment of ‘Behind the Brand’, we sat down with the great folks at Norvise Tying Systems to chat about their brand’s unique approach to creating some of the coolest fly tying equipment in the industry.

spinning thread on a norvise
Image courtesy of Svend Diesel

Flylords: Who is Norvise?

norvise tying system

Norvise: We believe Norvise to be the most innovative fly tying system on the market.
Quality products that are made in the USA is what we are all about. We are definitely different compared to all the other fly tying vises on the market, and we like it that way. The ability to spin the hook on a zero axis and our fully automatic bobbin is what sets us apart from the rest, well that and our unparalleled customer service. Norvise is run by myself (Tim O’Neill), my wife Michelle, and our son Tyler. Our mission statement is “Tie Better Flies Faster” and with the Norvise system, that is exactly what you can do…

Flylords: What is a Norvise tying system? What differentiates it from any other vise?

working on a norvise

Norvise: Two things set us apart from the others. First is the ability to spin the hook on a zero axis. Now, notice I said spin, not rotate as there is a HUGE difference. The ability to spin the hook allows us to do so many things faster, more consistent, and better than the old, conventional way of tying flies. Dubbing, wrapping hackle and bodies, reinforcing chenille, making dubbing loops are all done with ease. The second part of the system
is the Norvise Automatic Bobbin. Never again do you have to wind slack thread with your thumb and forefinger, the Norvise Auto Bobbin does it for you. This will decrease your tying time per fly and makes for an overall better tying experience.

Flylords: How did Norvise come to be?

norm norlander founder
Founder of Norvise: the late Norm Norlander. Image courtesy of River Keeper Flies

Norvise: Norvise started some 30+ years ago by a mechanical engineer named Norm Norlander. Norm was looking for a better way to tie flies, after a few years and several prototypes, the Norvise was born. This process took place in the 1980s. He incorporated in the early ’90s and the rest, as they say, is history.

Flylords: What’s been one of the most challenging obstacles in breaching the vise market?

vise parts lined up

Norvise: Probably the fact that our product looks very different than any other vise on the market. People have to get over the initial “shock” of the appearance of the vise. Once they see our vise spin for the first time and then they watch us tying on it for a bit they quickly see the benefits of this fantastic system.

Flylords: You sponsor Braden Miller, the youngest pro-fly-tier in the game, how did you two meet?

Braden miller tying flies
Check out our full interview with Braden HERE

Norvise: Braden came up to the Norvise booth at the Virginia Fly Fishing and Wine Festival in Doswell, VA back in 2017. He spoke to Tyler first, then Tim. We could not believe the quality of flies, especially given the fact he was only 12 years old. We did an Instagram live video with him during the show, then after the show, we reached out to his parents and encouraged them to bring their talented son to some of the upcoming shows. He attended the Edison, New Jersey “Fly Fishing Show” and he tied in our booth off and on Saturday and Sunday. That was the weekend Braden purchased his Norvise and with the permission
from his mother Casey, we signed him to a contract.

Flylords: Who are some other influential tiers you’ve worked with?

Svend and Norvise
Image courtesy of Svend Diesel

Norvise: As a whole the fly tying community is great. There are a ton of great tiers that tie on and own our vise. Obviously, Norm would be at the top of that list a few other notables would be Lefty and Alec Jackson.

Flylords: If Norvise could partner with one fly tier in the industry, who would it be?

Norvise: Tough question to answer. We really like to see some of the stuff the younger kids in the industry are coming up with. We are fortunate to have Braden on our staff; I really like some of the stuff Gunnar Brammer is doing as well as guys like Tim Cammisa, Steve Yewchuck, and Morgan Eddy.

Flylords: How many trade shows does Norvise attend a year?

trade show fly tying

Norvise: We typically do a full schedule across the entire country that totals about 25 venues.

Flylords: As a vise company, we’re sure you do a good bit of tying yourself. What’s your go-to tie?

Braden Miler holding up a smallmouth bass
Image courtesy of Miller Time Flies

Norvise: Smallmouth, anything to do with Smallmouth bass are my personal favorites!

Flylords: Where do you see Norvise going within the next 5 years? 

Norvise: We would love to see Norvise continue to grow at the pace we have seen in the past 3 years. We want to continue growing our dealer network, servicing our customer base, and continue producing new and innovative fly tying products. If we can stay on that path, our goals and aspirations will take care of themselves.

norvise guys with fish

Flylords: Any future collaborations you want to tell us about?

Norvise: We are always working on new and innovative products to complement the system. We will be unveiling a couple of new items at the Denver “Fly Fishing Show”.

Flylords: How can someone get their hands on a Norvise tying system?

Spinning line onto a norvise bobbin
Spinning thread onto a norvise bobbin

On our website, you can find our entire product list post you can read about our Norvise ambassador’s as well as our Norvise pro team. We also have a link for an application for people to apply to be on team Norvise.

We are very active on both our social media accounts (Facebook and Instagram). We strive to keep them current and live to add a variety of content. Our followers not only find posts of some flies tied by ambassadors or pro team members, but we like to feature our everyday, real-world tyers from around the world, especially some of their kids that have started tying. Pictures of flies are not the only thing that we feature. We love to have calls and questions that engage our followers; which also can give our other Norvise tyers and followers ideas or tips that they may not have been aware of.

Thank you to the Norvise team for taking the time to sit down with us and share their story. To learn more, feel free to check out their website here!

Featured Fly Tier: Braden Miller

How to Tie: Steve Yewchuck’s Murder Hornet

Behind the Brand: BUFF (Ft. Tom Rowland)

 

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