Hoping for a little advice...

[lullabymoon]

I was hoping for a little advice about interchangeable circular needle sets as I'm looking to buy but I'm pretty much a novice. I mean I know how they work but I have no idea what constitutes a good connection or the like.

What I'm looking for is a bamboo set, in mm, that's reasonably priced (in the UK) and that perhaps I can add to over time. Does any one have any recommendations or makes to avoid, or any advice in what I should be looking out for?

Thanks in advance.

Comments

[james]

The only bamboo set of interchangeable circs I've ever seen are Takumi or Plymouth's, and I quite like both sets. (I have since sold the Plymouth set because I thought I'd lost it, replaced them, then found them and didn't need two!) However, I don't know if you'd consider them reasonably priced - they aren't the cheapest compared to other materials, but if you prefer bamboo there aren't many options. You also can't really add to them as far as I can tell. (The sizes on the websites are listed in US sizes, but my needles themselves are also marked with mm sizing.)

That all said, I really enjoy my bamboo circs, and find the joins are good and smooth and I use them constantly.

Finally, I don't know about sold in the UK, however I can find them for sale online and often that means they can be ordered and shipped (but not always).

I don't know if any of the above helps. ;-)

[lullabymoon]

No, that is helpful! I had been drooling over the Takumi's, despite the price, but it's good to know more about them. Hmmm, I've not seen Plymouth's in my searches but I'll keep an eye out. Thanks!

[james]

I've been using my set for about four years now, and I use them almost exclusively, so the cost of the set is really rather reasonable for something like that.

[lullabymoon]

That's definitely rather reasonable then. The knitting/birthday fairy says she may help out if I ask nicely enough! :D

[rhivolution]

Are you looking for unlaminated bamboo interchangables specifically or can they be general wood?

[lullabymoon]

Specifically unlaminated bamboo as general wood needles I have used in the past (mainly straight I have to say) have been too slippy for me to use easily. I'm not too sure if the same would apply with circulars?

[rhivolution]

Hard to say until you've tried them. I don't know anyone who's got a set of unfinished bamboo circs, but will keep my ear to the ground.

[lullabymoon]

Yeah, that's the problem. Thanks though.

[rivenwanderer]

I really like the KA Switch set, because they swivel. This (for me) is really key in not having sore wrists when I'm knitting for a long time. YMMV, of course. The thing to note is that there are (I think) 3 different thicknesses of cord, so you can't use the same cable for both a size 2 and a size 10 needle.

[lullabymoon]

Ooh, swivels. I'll bear that in mind, thank you.

[woolychicken]

I don't think KnitPicks ships overseas, but I know a few shops here in stock them anyhow (but I am not in the UK). I have the Knitter's Pride needle set which is made by the same company that makes the KnitPicks ones just under a different name. This means that if you can get the Knitter's Pride set, it is much easier to get spare bits or add to it since they fit together.

[lullabymoon]

labellementeuse says down thread that KnitPick sell over seas under the name KnitPro which I've been considering so I'll bear that in mind, thank you!

[aunty_marion]

The KnitPicks/KnitPro needles are available from several places in the UK: Get Knitted in Bristol has them, and I think IKnit in London has some. So - I think, but I don't buy interchangeables! - do Nest. Probably Loop, as well.

Also, if you can get to something like the Knitting and Stitching Show (Alexandra Palace, London, 11-14 October - also 1st to 4th November, RDS, Dublin and 22nd to 25th November, HIC, Harrogate) then you may find more companies selling different sorts of needles. You'd be able to try them and ask in person then.

[lullabymoon]

Thanks!

Yeah, I think that's going to be the best idea.

[aderam]

I have the Knit Picks wooden set. And I really love it. I moved to the wood needles after using bamboo DPNs and I like both quite a bit. I'm not sure if they ship to UK though.

[lullabymoon]

Apparently thye sell under a slightly different name her. Thanks for your input"

[glinda]

I know knitpicks are available in the UK because lots of people at my knitting bee have them, however, opinion is divided with some people praising them to the heavens and others complaining that their connections aren't very smooth (they have to bump their knitting over the join). But I don't know if that's a common problem with interchangables?

[ginny_t]

I used knitpicks harmony interchangeables exclusively for ~3 years. Eventually, I gave up on them because the glue kept drying out, and they came apart. When that happened while I was on the subway, it was the last straw.

I then moved on to Addi clicks, which are quite expensive, so don't meet your criteria. I looked at the KA switch, and they were also a contender. (I fell pretty to the ability to change tips without tools. That has come in handy since, let me tell you.)

[lullabymoon]

Hmm, I'll keep those in mind as the knitting fairy has been asking for present ideas. I can definitely see how not need any tools to change would be advantage! Thanks.

[havocthecat]

Not sure about that, but I find the knitpicks needles to be too sharp at the point too.

[snakeling]

That's a selling point for me. I find most needles are too blunt for my tastes.

[havocthecat]

Awesome. :) Personally, they hurt my fingers to knit with. But I'm glad I was able to help!

[snakeling]

I'm not the OP :)

[lullabymoon]

I think I'll give them a miss then, definitely not a fan of too sharp needles. Thanks!

[lullabymoon]

The reviews online seem to be split as well. I think it might be a common problem, but then my knitting seems to stick on my ordinary circulars sometimes anyway. Thank you!

[labellementeuse]

FTR Knitpicks sell as Knitpro in the UK as in NZ and Aus, I believe. I started out with their wooden - not bamboo, but very light and with that pleasing wooden stickiness - interchangeables and really love them, and have added to the set considerably. Here are some pros and cons since you've had a few recs for them:

- They're very pretty and the tips are great.
- The cables are fantastically flexible which is a huge plus if you're a magic loop fan like myself
- They're screw-in, and they do sometimes come unscrewed as you knit. The cable keys are supposed to tighten them so it doesn't happen so often, but this doesn't work as well as it might especially after you've got a lot of use out of a set. (Smaller tip sizes seem particularly prone to this.) I end up just checking the join occasionally as I knit and rescrewing it in more firmly as I knit - this doesn't bother me but you may find it annoying. I still get a lot of use out of my set and don't want to go buy another one, but if I did I'd at least try a click-in set like the hiya-hiyas.
- the set's smallest needle is 3.5mm, and the KP wood tips only go as low as 3.0 mm. I use their nickel-plated tips in the sizes below, which fit the same cables so it works really well as a method of expanding the set, but if you really want or need wooden needles and frequently knit in smaller sizes they might not be for you.
- I have snapped a lot of needles in smaller sizes by stepping on them, which I think is basically inevitable when you're looking at 3mm-thick twigs but is still annoying (I'm gradually shifting to nickel tips for that reason) - but bamboo might be stronger so that would be another reason to stick to the bamboo.
- They're pretty affordable, I think.
- Knitpro accessories are good. You can get very cheap cable connectors allowing you to join together two cables, which enable you to both a) do very large-circumference knitting or b) try on your wips really easily - instead of threading all my stitches onto a bit of waste yarn I just connect an extra cable and shove the stitches onto that and pull it over my head. You also get with the set screw-on tips for the ends of the cables, so if you set a wip to hibernating you can leave it on the cable but use the tips in the next project - I imagine these are available for lots of other types of sets but I don't know for sure.

What I would actually recommend doing is just buying a set of tips and some cables from each different brand you're considering and seeing which ones work for you and which don't. If you just do one for each of your next projects you won't be investing a lot of money at once and you'll be able to get the best review possible.

[lullabymoon]

Wow, thank you for that! That is hugely helpful. :D

[babs_bee]

As someone who used to use the Knitpicks Harmony needles, I will tell you what I've switched to: Dyakcraft Needles (found here: http://www.dyakcraft.com/)

The reasons?
1. My Harmony needles kept coming apart at the join (not the part where i connected it but rather the cable came out of the join. Yes, Knitpicks would replace it but I kind of got tired of calling them to get them replaced.
2. When I had 500 plus stitches of a lace shawl on the needles and the cable came out and I lost all those stitches? Yeah, I was on the Dyakcraft website ordering my first set that day.
3. I'd rather support a small business than a big one. For more information on that, read here: http://ttabvue.uspto.gov/ttabvue/v?pno=91195102&pty=OPP&eno=23

Disadvantages first on the Dyakcraft:
1. There is a long wait for them (especially wood). In fact, although I've test knitted with someone else's, I have not received mine yet.
2. They might be slippier than you like although I found the needles had a slight grab to them.
3. They cost more than the Knitpicks.

Advantages now:
1. Although the wait is long, you don't have to pay it all upfront. You can choose to pay your needles off in installments.
2. The needles are hand-crafted and true works of art.
3. Personal belief for me is that I'd rather support a small business.
4. You can customize exactly what you want. The only problem is deciding on the color(s) you want!

Now if you are not totally averse to metal, you would get their Northern Lights metal needles more quickly. I got my metals and I totally love them.

If you are on Ravelry, you can check out the Dyakcraft Fiber Tools Lovers (http://www.ravelry.com/groups/dyakcraft-fiber-tools-lovers) and maybe find someone who lives near you (or even not so near) who is willing to let you try out his/her needles before you want to decide. THere is a special thread on there to search for a person to do just that.

Whatever you decide, good luck on finding the needles that are perfect for you!

[lullabymoon]

Thank you for that!!