med, soft or hard plastisol

[gav]

Hey guys I am going to place an order for some plastic so I thought I would ask what sort of plastic you use, personally I would have thought that soft would have been the main choice but now I am having some doubts and am starting to think it would be medium.

This is all new to me ATM and will mainly be shooting swimmer style baits so if you have a preference / suggestion then fire away

[jl3140]

I only use medium because the lures have great action and are decently durable. Soft will give you more action, but less durability. Hard will give you less action and more durability. You could always make a post down in the for sale or trade area to get a few in soft and medium from forum members if you want to see the difference in person.

[Jerry V]

Start with regular formula and add softener or hardener to taste if it's not exactly what you were looking for.  I've a feeling you'll like it just fine the way it is, but if you find your self adding softener or hardener to the tune of 10% or more it's time to change formulas.   

[gav]

thanks guys sounds like starting with the medium is the better solution until I gain some experience, I can already see this being an addictive game but I suppose it also comes with the best excuse / reason to go fishing so it may just pay off.

[ctom]

Welcome to the Do-It forums Gav. Lots to learn from here.

If you are making small baits, say crappie sized stuff, you'll find all the durability and action you want in the soft formula. If you think you will be making mostly larger stuff for bass or walleye then medium is the ticket.

[WALLEYE WACKER]

I use soft and have caught 22 walleye on one glider before it was unusable.  That's durable enough for me. But there are a lot out the that use medium and are happy with using hardener or softener. You just have to find what works for you.

[ctom]

Personally I think soft is easier to learn with because its thinner in the cup when cooked. I use soft in walleye baits all the time and haven't ever wished I had medium in the baits, but then that's just me. Most molds are said to be fashioned around medium plastic so medium should hoot fine for the beginner. And as Jerry mentioned, get some softener with the order and soften up a batch or two just to see for yourself what the difference is.

The elasticity and toughness of the new Essential plastic in medium is unreal. I add softener to it to make it work more toward my needs in plastic handling. Which grade of plastic to use is one of those things that one has to try first hand to determine whether a firmer or softer plastic is what you want if the medium right out of the box doesn't trip your trigger. That ol learning curve.....jumps right up to say HI don't it?

[andrewlamberson]

Gav... Welcome to the forum! I personally use Medium and I make bass, walleye, bluegill and crappie baits. I sometimes add softener when I'm making small bluegill baits.

The advantage of making you own baits is that you can make them the way YOU want them...not what the manufacturer decided.

There is no "right" or "wrong" way...just the way you like them.

Again, welcome and have a good winter reading all the posts!

[BareKnuckleJigs]

I use Hard and Soft, and mix them 50/50, 1:1, to get Regular.  A LOT of my Bass baits I prefer to be made in Soft, and that's even spilling over into my Inland Saltwater baits.  I mean, I make these things...I don't use salt...I'll take 1 fish per bait if that's all I got...I usually get more than 1 fish per.  I want my hook to perform at its best for the hook-set, so Soft gets the nod for just about anything I intend to rig weedless.  I've even added Softener to Soft for Bass baits, but only occasionally.  I often-times like the loose-floppy action in Softened Soft Bass stuff.  Leave the salt and glitter out, and Your baits are more durable.

[gav]

Think I might pull the trigger on the medium stuff with some softener because the soft sounds a bit delicate which is difficult to estimate from behind a computer screen, and besides it will give me a chance to play around before the next order of plastisol.

Thanks for all of the comments

[bassinfool]

I use soft with all of my bass baits, but for boot tail swim baits a little more stiffness gives me a better action and "thump" on the retrieve.

[Slow Burn]

All good info from some extremely knowledgeable guys, who I have learned a lot from on here. Personally I use hard. 99% of the baits I make are for toothy saltwater fish.  I mainly make baits for myself and friend and the hard does give more durability and I have found I have lost little if any action.  That being said, all of the molds are have are larger in size, ie 4-6", so the length of the tails makes up in the action department. Like BKJ said, personally I will use/tear a lure a fish and used medium for the first 2 years with no issues.  Just when I got around to selling some the durability issue came up and that's when I made the switch.  I don't think you can choose wrong for personal baits.

Just my $0.02