Anyone else use nickel titanium wire for leaders?

[Three se7ens]

Ive been using it the last two seasons for all of my wire leader needs, and I love the stuff.  Its thin like single strand, but doesnt kink.  And its stretchy(very strange to me).  But best of all, especially in the lighter tests I use (mainly 35 lb and 55 lb), you can tie knots in it instead of crimping.  Im a big fan of the perfection loop for anything needing a loop knot for freedom of movement, and that knot works fantastically in nickle titanium wire. 

https://www.amazon.com/Aquateko-Knot-Kinky-Leader-Wire/dp/B00819OSQY?th=1&psc=1

Pic is a finished pefection loop in 35 lb wire. 

[Bryan Young]

Knot 2 Kinky is good stuff.  I'm starting to use it.  I have got check the sizes that I have and may need to order heavier leaders.  The cool part of these Ti leaders is that this one you can tie a knot where the others need to be crimped.

[Joao Tavares]

I have been using them for about a year now. I'm using 55lbs, 65lbs and 100lbs.

Never had one fail so far, no rust, no kinks and really flexible.

I use them crimped with two turns for extra safety.

João

[philaroman]

have some pre-made braided/coated ones...  great stuff

[mike1010]

Interesting.  Any idea home much of the wire's breaking strength is given up to the perfection loop?  Thanks.

[Dominick]

Thanks for the info.  Just ordered some for wahoo in November.  Dominick

[alantani]

dominick, let's get together after the SOA trip and make up some leaders for you.  i have all the crimps. 

[Three se7ens]

Interesting.  Any idea home much of the wire's breaking strength is given up to the perfection loop?  Thanks.

I tested two knots this evening.  Perfection loop in 35 lb knot 2 kinky ni-ti wire.  First one broke at 30 lbs.  Second one was a little higher, around 32 lbs.  What was really interesting was it started stretching around 8-10 lbs, and by 20 lbs, it was about 50% longer.  It stopped stretching there, but didnt break until 30+ lbs.

Im perfectly happy with that, I doubt Ill ever get to even 10 lbs of drag on these rigs. 

[philaroman]

"stretch" is such a generic term...  any thoughts on how much it will elongate, then recover (elasticity)

and, beyond that, how much it will elongate permanently, before it breaks (plasticity)

...not asking for measurements -- just a general feel you get, from playing w/the stuff

[Three se7ens]

Best I can tell it extends and retracts fully up until it's breaking point.  It's a strange feeling, like stretching a spring with a rigid travel limiter. It doesn't feel like mono stretching at all. It's hard to describe though.

The elasticity is high, and I couldn't perceive any plasticity in my (limited) testing.

[philaroman]

...It doesn't feel like mono stretching at all. It's hard to describe though.

The elasticity is high, and I couldn't perceive any plasticity in my (limited) testing.

actually, you described it pretty well -- thanks, just what I wanted to hear
makes me wonder if K2K could be used to make a better snubber...
maybe, loosely hand-braid 3-4 strands of the lighter stuff
what do the salmon trolling experts think?

[Tiddlerbasher]

I started playing with NiTi wire a few years ago - initially ready made traces. They work well but did work out a little expensive. So I did a bit of research. The wire sold for the fishing world is in the same group of products sold as arch wire for the orthodontic trade also stent tubes, muscle wire in robotics etc. I purchased a whole bunch of different diameters from the PRC. They all worked fine. The lighter gauges were easy to knot. Blood knot and perfection loop both worked well for me. On the heavier gauges crimping was easier with a couple of caviats - Double crimping I found essential. Also after some slippage of the 2 crimps I took the tag end and looped it back through the 2 crimps - that seemed to work! But it did leave a small loop of wire which could snag One thing I wanted to try was silver soldering the crimp joints, but I never got around to it. As Adam has stated this stuff is superelastic. It is a little spooky when you keep pulling and it keeps stretching - until you get close to the breaking strain then ping! This super elasticity I believe is the reason that crimps may slip (certainly on the lighter gauges). When the wire stretches it becomes thinner. So what was a snug fit, in the crimp, under tension becomes a loose fit - that's why I used a double crimp with a triple pass through on the heavier stuff.
These days I have gone back to buying ready made traces, I guess I'm getting lazy, also I use so few that cost isn't really an issue. For predator fishing I don't think there is anything better except for braided niti wire (when I find it ). For softness and reasonable tooth protection/abrasion resistance (UK pike and catfish) I am still using hollow core kevlar line as well.

[mike1010]

Interesting.  Any idea home much of the wire's breaking strength is given up to the perfection loop?  Thanks.

I tested two knots this evening.  Perfection loop in 35 lb knot 2 kinky ni-ti wire.  First one broke at 30 lbs.  Second one was a little higher, around 32 lbs.  What was really interesting was it started stretching around 8-10 lbs, and by 20 lbs, it was about 50% longer.  It stopped stretching there, but didnt break until 30+ lbs.

Im perfectly happy with that, I doubt Ill ever get to even 10 lbs of drag on these rigs. 

Thanks for checking.   Sounds great to me.  There's lots of good information in this thread.

[Dominick]

dominick, let's get together after the SOA trip and make up some leaders for you.  i have all the crimps. 

That would be a good idea subject to the below quote.

The lighter gauges were easy to knot. Blood knot and perfection loop both worked well for me. On the heavier gauges crimping was easier with a couple of caviats - Double crimping I found essential. Also after some slippage of the 2 crimps I took the tag end and looped it back through the 2 crimps - that seemed to work! But it did leave a small loop of wire which could snag This super elasticity I believe is the reason that crimps may slip (certainly on the lighter gauges). When the wire stretches it becomes thinner. So what was a snug fit, in the crimp, under tension becomes a loose fit - that's why I used a double crimp with a triple pass through on the heavier stuff.
These days I have gone back to buying ready made traces, I guess I'm getting lazy, also I use so few that cost isn't really an issue. For predator fishing I don't think there is anything better except for braided niti wire (when I find it ). For softness and reasonable tooth protection/abrasion resistance (UK pike and catfish) I am still using hollow core kevlar line as well.

[philaroman]

I think the original Ti leaders (Terminator?) were less elastic & whipped at the loop...
don't know how strong -- mine was never subjected to anything substantial