Stripping back flies you dont use anymore

[James Laraway]

so im probably not the only person who occasionally goes through their fly boxes, looks at some of their flies then puts them aside for dismantling so that i can re-use the hook....

Often i end up with 10s of flies and this takes time as I tend to put the fly in the vice and use a scalpel and / or scissors

I have noticed online that people are using cauterising pens to do this and it looks like it takes seconds per fly - but like many things i see on social media I'm not sure if i believe it.

Has anything tried this and does it work ?

[Ben O'Neill]

I haven't, but I did think about keeping a jar of acetone on my desk for mistakes and retirees and then periodically fishing them out. No idea if it would help but in my mind it would at least eat up the head cement etc..?