Bending Hooks

[Black-Don]

Has anyone tried this to get a better presentation and if so have they had any problems with shank breakages when fishing ?

I've done this before with no problems but only had wee trout on the bent hooks. Last night I had a few breakages on a lighter gauge hook and was just wondering if anyone had any advice or experience in this field ?

[Highlander]

 I guess a hook can be "bent" ever so slightly without too much weakening. Personally I would be reluctant to do so. I would never feel happy  fishing with it. Hook manufactures go to great lengths to provide us with every shape & size so for my part I would buy accordingly to suit the pattern I was tying.
I remember when I first read about the Klink how Oliver Edwards heated the hook before bending. That to me was a no no of the highest order & why he promoted that is beyond me.

Tight Lines

[Traditionalist]

I have done it, but the only really reliable way to do it is to anneal the hooks,bend them as required, and then re-harden and temper them.  This is not really a trivial exercise and you need the gear to do it.

Bending tempered hooks is likely to weaken them very badly and is best avoided.

Putting a slight curve on a straight shank wont normally cause any severe problems but anything beyond that is asking for trouble especially on light wire.

The act of bending the tempered metal beyond its ability to spring back into position puts very large stresses on the crystal structure, and such a hook will break under stress far sooner than one which has not been maltreated.

If you want to try tempering hooks then here are some general guidelines;

http://www.gtz.de/en/dokumente/en-metalwork-annealing-hardening-tempering-for-instructors.pdf

You need more information and some experience to get it right consistently.

This book is still useful;

http://chestofbooks.com/crafts/metal/Metal-Worker-Assistant/Common-Examples-Of-Hardening-And-Tempering-Steel.html

Get the free PDF here;

http://www.archive.org/search.php?query=The%20Practical%20Metal-Worker%27s%20Assistant

TL
MC

[Traditionalist]

The hook probably wont break immediately but putting a thirty degree bend in a tempered hook will weaken it very considerably.  Whether a hook breaks or not depends on the temper and the type of stress applied. A straight "in-line" pull will not normally break a hook as even a weak hook is usually a lot stronger on a straight pull than the tippet it is attached to. Any side strain or torsional stress is liable to break it easily.  Also, a tempered hook which has been bent will not bend like one which has not been stressed, as it no longer has the resilience to do so. Hooks depend to an extent on their resilience.  Anything which reduces it weakens the hook, and usually quite considerably.

You can bend hooks and it may be OK most times but one of the times it is not going to be OK is guaranteed to be when you have a good fish on. It's simply not worth taking the chance.

TL
MC