Just to confuse us a little further, Herter’s produced two versions of the 432, the reason for which is unknown to me.

The next on the list is an English made hook that was marketed by Herters Inc. Minnesota America. It was a true “Perfect Round Bend” and the “Eyed Mast” was placed half-way between the outside of the eye and the barb, (the half-way mark) as you can clearly see in the pic below. We do not know the date of this hook but at a guess it would have to be sometime during the early 1940s (Herters was founded in 1937 and was declared Bankrupt in 1981; today the business is owned by Cabela’s). 

On the left is my Herters. The sample on the right was sent to me by Mike Valla.  The post on my sample is further back along the shank by at least 1mm. The bend is slightly different; they are both size 12 and both carry the same model number, “432”.

The big question here is which hook came first and which one was amended and why? At a guess I would suggest the hook on the right was an earlier design, probably following the guidelines set down by William Brush. 

In an email sent to me from Mike Romanowski states:

Hello Mick,

I have attached some photos of my hooks.  My hooks appear to be finer wire and appear to be slightly longer than yours.  I compared these with some old Allcock 4991's #12's I have in my collection and the bends, although both #12's are different.  I don't know whether this is simply a 1XL fine wire version of the Herter or an entirely different hook.  The bronzing on mine looks much lighter than yours.  What do you think?  Mike

What I find fascinating with Mike’s long shank version of the Herter design is that it not only places the post at the 2/3rd mark but then again, take away the extra length in the shank and you come back to the halfway point. These hooks were most probably designed for the large Mayflies of England, Europe and America, where they are more commonly known as Drakes. 

Partridge of Redditch also made Parachute Hooks; the originals were called Aero hooks. Back in the 1980s they did an update and name change to HE1.

It featured a long stem as a post. The idea was to insert the stem into your vice, wind and secure your hackle, then clip off the surplus stem with a pair of pliers. This also flared the stem to help stop the hackle slipping off.

The reverse side of the package reads: This hook is modelled on the pattern which was made by Partridge some fifty years ago.  The renowned Terry Ruane has redesigned this old pattern for Partridge with the result of having a much more balanced Parachute when tied.

It should also be noted that with this new model the stem is now placed half-way between the eye and point.

So what’s the bottom line?  Personally I have always preferred to place the post half-way from the start of the eye and the point of the hook on a standard hook, such as the Mustad R50.  Simply because in doing so you always tend to edge forward a little during the tying process.  I also find that it balances a little better and it just looks right.  Then there is “choice” and if a fly is purpose-built with the hackle sitting right up on the eye, who can argue with that?