I use a single copper crimp and it seems to work. I've never had shooting line fail at the crimp. However, I know that many people who shoot big tuna etc. use two crimps.
But I'm curious about the logic of saying that two crimps give twice the opportunity to cut the line and twice the weakness. If we use no crimp at all, then we avoid any possibility of cutting the line but then there is nothing to keep the line from slipping. We must use a crimp because the hold on the line outweighs the danger of cuts. Why won't two crimps provide an extra hold that outweighs the additional chance of cuts?
Hi Bill,
As you might remember, my large target fish are dogtooth tuna and giant trevally on Pacific reefs. Pound for pound the hardest fighting fish in the ocean, no other fish come close to include tuna and marlin. I am anal about my gear because of that.
Ill tell you why I use aluminum crimps
1. Copper vs Aluminum....serious big game fishermen use either brass or aluminum, never copper. When I first started spearing I used copper because that was what the stores had and I didn't know any better then over the years I learned why aluminum is better.
-- The most popular aluminum crimps are long and short - oval barrel or the 2 hole barrel. I use long aluminum oval sleeves.
-- Aluminum crimps are soft and don't have sharp edges. When crimped properly, they will not crack or break and squeeze and grip the line vs copper which because of its hardness will not do that. Edges of copper are sharp and many people have lost fish when the line is nicked by those sharp edges. Also with copper, the place on the crimp where you actually crimp the sleeve can get small cracks and over time along with the sharper edges of a copper crimp can actually nick any part of line around the crimp and cause overlooked damage.
2. Aluminum does not corrode in the sense it would cause any damage to a crimp for spearfishing. The only thing close that would happen is that they might become discolored over a long period of time. Not a factor as by the time they might change color, I would be changing out the line because of line damage not associated with crimps.
3. Two crimps vs one....A long time ago I did a lot of on-line research on crimping, read many articles and watched videos and the consensuses was that one proper crimp is better than 2. To summarize the reason is two fold, one a proper crimped long barreled crimp can hold an amazing amount of pressure enough for most fish encountered by fishermen and second reason is that because of the damage most people make by doing improper crimps this damage is increased 2-fold and does weaken and damage line.
4. I NEVER accept factory crimped mono. Ive seen too many botched jobs to NEVER trust them. Just because they come from a "factory" does NOT mean they are superior. With something as critical as crimps never take a chance.
5. I have moved away from mono. I am using the "benthic" type hard shell lines now due to the abrasion resistance they offer vs mono. I crimp this also using the same techniques I explained before.
6. I really like your large crimper....but for me traveling, they are just too heavy. They are the best because they are adjustable and allows a person to not over crimp seeves
Make sense?
