I oughta be getting a commish from Toss, Hampidjan and Précourt, huh? I'm just real pleased with their stuff, so I tell everyone. Sorry if it's a belaboured point.

Thanks Jake...
needles like this style?

Chris, are you using those tools to splice covered line? I gota know your technique 'cause I'd be tearin' my hair out.

The problem I see with the needle that Jake has pictured is that the little hook bit would tend to snag fibres inside the core. It would just take a bit more care when drawing the tail through, is all.

(That 'needle' is available at fabric stores - it's used for drawing elastic through casing.)

No, you don't need to lockstitch a correctly done Brummel splice. It locks itself. (That said, I do lockstitch them anyway.) Brummel splices are also known as Möbius Brummel splices. The caveat is CORRECTLY DONE.

A simple tail bury, as Jake has pictured, in hightech low friction lines, will be just fine as long as the line is loaded (the 'chinese finger puzzle' effect).

What happens (disclaimer) IF YOU DON'T LOCKSTITCH A SIMPLE BURY IN HIGH MODULUS LINE is that when the line is NOT loaded, the low friction of the slick high modulus line enables the buried tail to slip right out.

Does the Brummell not need to be locked stitched to secure?

http://www.neropes.com/SPL_12Strand_EyeSpliceBrummel.aspx

No, it's a tricky splice to carry out - especially around something like a thimble...but it's interwoven through itself and cannot come apart. You have to see it to appreciate it.

Is this a good method to try this knot?
http://www.precourt.ca/brummel_splice.pdf