Nice knitting needles-any recommendations?

[Molehillmountain]

I have plenty of needles but I hanker after some posh ones after seeing ads in magazines. Is it worth bothering and if so, which ones are nice? I use bamboo usually but if I get fed up with slow wool I switch back to metal.

I love looking at knitting with artviva needles. I've only got a couple of pairs but they are made of lovely wood.

I like knitpro needles, but they are a bit pricey. Addi turbos are good, extremely smooth and lovely to knit with.

I have all sorts of rosewood hand turned fancy needles but I agree with Angie - knitpro either nickel or wood and addi turbo are my go to pins.

Thank you! Can I ask how the nice wood ones compare with bamboo - or is it such a different league that there's no comparison? I like nice knitting things to look at-using is a secondary consideration

Well, I'm not too keen on bamboo, I find them a bit bendy in my big pudgy hands! The wooden ones get nice and warm while you're using them and they're not as flexible. I like addis, however they are a bit slippery with pure wool.

I have an interchangeable needle set that's plastic (my dh got them for me as a pressie), but I hate using them, I wish I could afford an entire set of knitpros!

I have some brittany birch ones which are lovely to use. Lost a brand new pair to the dog though

Also have some knitpro circulars, interchangeables which I bought myself from DH had for Christmas but not actually used yet

I love the knitpro wooden ones too, but I do have some lovely bamboo DPNs as well which are light and fantastic to use.

Apparently the new Knitpro cubics are all the rage, I've not tried them (as they rather inconveniently brought them out just after DH had bought me a set for my 40th birthday) but it might be necessary to buy a pair 'just to see' when I go to my knitting class next Saturday!

And I've literally just managed to break one of my Knitpros :( Will see if it can be rescued with superglue but I'm not happy!

tribpot.

I know. Actually what this does do is prompt me to remember something I was gonna say earlier which is: wooden needles if you sit on them / bend them will often splinter on the surface so they become hard to use compared to a metal one that will just get a bit out of shape. Narrower needles (the one I broke was a 3.25mm) may be weaker in wood than in bamboo or metal, it's much more common to find the very narrow sizes in metal, I think.

I love the Brittany birch ones too MoaningMinnie

I just looked online at needles-the knitpro ones look like things of beauty! The sets (wishful thinking, but maybe birthday) seem to have 3.5mm as the smallest rather than 3.25mm. Most dk patterns are 3.25mm and 4mm. Do you think I'd just use the 3.5mm instead, or would I have to buy an extra set (good excuse I'd say )? I'm thinking perhaps four or five pairs would cover me for my usual knitting-perhaps a set isn't the best way to go. Think I'm considering needles as an outlet now I've banned myself from buying yarn!

I bought an extra set and lack MrsMagnolia's discipline and organisation to keep them safe :( I also just use 3.5s if I come across them first, but my attitude to gauge is rather haphazard, as most of my stuff is blankets and baby knitting. The set comes with a handy bag to keep everything in, plus 4 or 5 cords of different lengths too - once you've priced up even your regular needle tips at 5 quid a pop, plus some cords, the set looks like reasonably good value for money when you ask for it as a present. There's also a beginner's set which has fewer different sizes, I believe. Weird that the 3.25mm is missing, though - as you say, it is one of the standard ones for DK.

I feel the need to be a real needle anorak now! I have knitted three actual rows this evening and spent the time in between looking at needles . These sets then-can they only be used as circulars? And should I be nervous if so? Feel a bit ignorant! Never gone circular before-although obviously I own two pairs of them that I bought for a pattern languishing in my stash! I have also looked at the Brittany ones-lovely things they are too!

Just pondering whether I'll be allowed to knit with acrylic wool on my wish list needles

Yarn not wool

God no - you can use them to knit straight as well. In fact in some ways they're better for straight as well as you can get many more stitches on them without having to knit with two fishing rods. (I think a lot of the trend towards seamless knitting, i.e. doing stuff in one giant piece, is to do with the availability of circular needles). You also don't have to carry all the weight of the knitting on the needles as you're knitting and they are thus also more plane and train friendly because you're not constantly poking other people with big sticks, even if they deserve it. (Usual caveats about knitting needles on planes of course).

In that case I think I need some-if only to be considerate to fellow travellers. It might be my duty as a knitter.