I've started to make inline spinners and they've been working pretty well. But I've been having a problem with the blades bending. When I get weeds on the lure and do the classic smack it on the water so I don't have to take them off with my hands, the size 3 brass French blades bend, inhibiting it from spinner properly. I was surprised this happened. Is it just a poor batch of blades? Anything I can do instead of not smacking it against the water?

 

it might be a bit hard to see but here's a picture. The one on the right is the out of the package blade, the left one is the bent blade. 

I don't see any blades, in fact I don't even know what that is a picture of. I will say this, if you are bending a size #3 French blade by smacking it on the water, and yes I know how it is done, then you got really thin blades or your wire is heavy and you are really smacking it with a lot of force but I would think the wire would bend before the blade. Where did you buy the blades and are they Chinese blades purchased for cheap on ebay? I ask that because I have seen some really horrible willow blades a friend purchased there, extremely cheap but poor quality. Good quality blades are made from brass so they can be bent but being that they are able to move on a clevis makes it hard to visualize how the blade is getting bent unless it is extremely thin and that is why I ask about where the blades where purchased, I have blades from Hidebrandt, Hagens, Worth, and Lakeside and I could not see a size #3 French blade bending by smacking it on the water.

I've had a couple of inline spinners where the blades bent (Mepps) after I smacked them on the water to get grass off. What caused it was the lead weight smacking against the blade when it hits the water with a lot of force. So now I've learned not to clean grass off that way. I don't think your blades are defective.

3 minutes ago, georgeyew said:

I've had a couple of inline spinners where the blades bent (Mepps) after I smacked them on the water to get grass off. What caused it was the lead weight smacking against the blade when it hits the water with a lot of force. So now I've learned not to clean grass off that way. I don't think your blades are defective.

That makes sense. My spinners have a lead body weight on them. It must be from that. 

6 hours ago, smalljaw67 said:

I don't see any blades, in fact I don't even know what that is a picture of. I will say this, if you are bending a size #3 French blade by smacking it on the water, and yes I know how it is done, then you got really thin blades or your wire is heavy and you are really smacking it with a lot of force but I would think the wire would bend before the blade. Where did you buy the blades and are they Chinese blades purchased for cheap on ebay? I ask that because I have seen some really horrible willow blades a friend purchased there, extremely cheap but poor quality. Good quality blades are made from brass so they can be bent but being that they are able to move on a clevis makes it hard to visualize how the blade is getting bent unless it is extremely thin and that is why I ask about where the blades where purchased, I have blades from Hidebrandt, Hagens, Worth, and Lakeside and I could not see a size #3 French blade bending by smacking it on the water.

I ordered them from Barlows tackle