Lykke Needles: The Smooth Wood... and cosmetics and longevity

Finally, it's time to upload some more Lykke Driftwood pictures! I have a US#7 straight needle, which I haven't been using much, and a US #5 short 16" circular needle that I have been keeping busy.

These feel a touch slicker and harder to me than the Knitter's Pride wooden needles. By comparison, KP feels almost grippy. I think the Driftwood are slightly blunter than KP, though the tip taper is almost the same length. The Driftwood are made of resin-infused birch, sourced in the USA, manufactured and packaged in India. The joins do not swivel. The join is my favorite part of the Driftwood, largely because it is so smooth. It may not be fair to compare my fixed circular Driftwood to an interchangeable KP, but I've found myself preferring the Driftwood, in part because of that smooth join. Admittedly, I knit very tightly when knitting English. Most of the projects below were knit Continental.

Here's what I've been knitting with the Driftwood:
The superwash fingering weight swatch using Western Sky Knits' Aspen Sock yarn. We know I like this one, and that it knits smoothly.
Dish cotton, an experience I do not intend to repeat.
Brown sheep moth proofed wool, an easy knit. Perhaps the ultimate conclusion of my experiments is that the Driftwood pairs perfectly with wool and similar fibers. This was one of my few knits with straight needles, and I liked them. I just don't knit much with straights.


Cascade 220 superwash, in the round, for a Real Hat. The reddish needle in the first shot is a US 5 (same size) Knitter's Pride for tip comparison.
This was overall a satisfactory experience. I love the fluid join, especially when knitting with a needle that is too small. The tight stitches would otherwise have caught and tortured me, but the join let me get away with abusing the yarn with a too-small needle. Still, the needle almost split the yarn several times. I think this is my fault for knitting Cascade 220 with a US 5, though my experience with my larger Colonial needles was far less pleasant in general. The needle is simply too small, and I found the stitches too tight... even for me. It just didn't match the yarn's desired gauge. This project did finally convince me of the utility of short circular needles, though. When I received this needle, I didn't know how on earth I was going to use it, but after knitting several hats on short circs, I may never go back to magic loop with the stiff cables of larger needles.

 A linen/hemp circular wash rag, or washandje. This was pleasant to knit, though the needle felt almost too slick. I cast on too many stitches and ultimately frogged it.
Lastly, this was a wonderful and quick knit. This is a new yarn from a Canadian company called Sugarbush, and I absolutely love it. I also love it on these needles. This was a cabled headband. The yarn and needles matched perfectly, with just the right slip, just the right tip and just the right drag to keep the yarn from flying off the needles. I may have marched back to my LYS to show this off and bought enough yarn for a black headband, purple cap, and purple cowl. Just maybe.

A couple comments on my original blog post describe breaks in the interchangeable cables. There was one similar comment on Ravelry, which may or may not have been posted by the author of one of my comments. I don't know. The company directed those posters to the return/quality control section of the website, so at least they seem to be replacing problematic sets. Otherwise, I don't know what to make of these scattered reports. Are they a minor setback? Chiaogoo intermittently replaces needles for breaks and cable issues, and they've sold enough needles to be reasonably certain that these are infrequent events.

Unfortunately, I should detour back to the Flight needles. I have personally confirmed the cosmetic cause for the recall of the aluminum (Flight) needles. The black anodized coating, which I do rather like, scrapes off. I didn't expect it to happen to me because I don't hear much clicking when I knit. However, the progressive scraping has bared the tips of my needles. It doesn't seem to affect their function. I've progressively knit faster with these needles, and I suspect that this increase in speed has increased clicking and increased scraping. Hopefully the new and improved Flight will still be beautiful with their new sheen, whatever it may be.

For now, when I have the option, I choose my little circular Driftwood needles over my Knitters Pride interchangeable equivalent, both because of the point, the slightly harder and slicker feel to the needle, and that wonderful join. If the Driftwood have no consistent major quality issues in a few months, I may buy an interchangeable set. My LYS owner just told me that Lykke is releasing a set of 3.5in tips for the interchangeable needles, and if I can test drive them, that may be my compromise. Otherwise... well, I might have to sell the Knitter's Pride interchangeables, which would make me feel a little silly.

That was very long. And very chatty. I would still love to hear comments and experiences with the Lykke, especially as I continue to knit with mine while considering a large set purchase. It took about 3 years for me to decide to buy a KP set, so I have some time to ponder!