You can never judge a needle buy its packaging or its name. I am going to go ahead and admit here I am a knitting needle addict. The excitement of a new needle bring so much joy. I know though that some steer clear of buying needles because they are just not sure about certain ones. You can find many needle review on the great wide web but I thought I may add mine to the mix. I am going to be reviewing several different brands and materials but all size 4. I tend to use smaller sized needles than larger ones so this way I can offer more to review.

The two types of needles in my review are either fixed circulars or interchangeable sets. Before I go any further let me say that I do not just buy metal, bamboo or wood. I find I love the different finishes with different yarn blends. The most important thing to me is the point. I love a great sharp point. I find that I prefer to knit with a smaller weight yarns anyways and a sharp point makes me happy.

1. ChiaoGoo Stainless Steel Circular (this one has the clear cord)

The Knitters Pride and Knit Picks Crew: These were my start off needles. I love knitters Pride and Knit Picks because of the cost and quality. I also love that they are interchangeable.. meaning I can stick a knit picks needle on a Knitter Pride cord and vice versa. I own The Knitters Pride Dreams, Marlz and several Novas and Karbonz tips. The knit picks I own some of the Harmony and metal tips. They are often priced very similar and carried by Local Yarn Stores. You will not find these in big box stores. You can order them online.

 The joins are good some are better than others and it just varies on a one on one basis. However, after a while I tend to have some catching. The tips are pointy enough but not the sharpest. I will say the Karbonz are the pointiest of the line. (karbonz are not pictured here I only have larger sizes)

The purple Knit Picks and black Knitter’s Pride cords are very similar. Both of them offer a little hole that is called a life line hole on the interchangeable sets. The interchangeable’s also come with a little “key” for tightening the cord and the tip. The cords are very flexible but still have a little stiffness. They are not as stiff as the Red ChiaoGoo cables but not as flexible as the Addi blue cable or the Hiya Hiya blue cables. The new Knitters Pride “color coded cables” are similar to the Hiya Hiya Blue cables but not as flexible and seem to be stiffer than the original black Knitters Pride and purple Knit Picks Cables.

The Tips of all of these like I said are similar. The Karbonz do seem a bit sharper. The Harmony is a bit sharper than the Dreams and Marblz. The Marblz are a slick acrylic. I have a Knit Picks acrylic and the Marblz seem to be a it slicker. I love the wood on the Dreamz, Caspian, Harmony and the new Majestic. They are not only beautiful but also pretty slick. The Marblz and Dreamz for me have a problem, after wear the numbers printed on them do wear off. The Dreamz also have the number/size on the metal but it can be hard to read. The Karbonz do have the size in the metal base of the tip and it has not come off but all the others have.

Hiya Hiya Sharp

 The Hiya Hiya Sharps are just that sharp! When I wanted a new set sharper than the Knitter’ Pride and Knit Picks I ordered the ChiaoGoo Twist Red Lace Interchangeable set and the Hiya Hiya sharp set. The Hiya Hiya Sharps were pointier. They are very similar sets and both are well loved by knitters. The cables are worlds different. If you want to read my review back when I bought them that can be found here on the Amazon site.  My opinion stays the same though. I love the Hiya Hiya sharp. They are the in the top Sharpest needles I own. The only other ones that are similar in the tip are the Addi Turbo Rockets, Addi Lace Brass and of course Signature Needle Arts.

They are higher priced than Knitters Pride and Knit Picks. However they have swivel cords. What does that mean you ask? Well like the ChiaoGoo Twist and the Addi Twist you can hold the needle in your hand and the cord moves allowing it not to become all tangled! Now let me also say that there are a Hiya Hiya that are not sharp, so if you want the sharp ones make sure the package says sharp.

These tend to be my go to needles. I have the large and small set. Like Knitter’s Pride and Knit Picks though I do have some cables that catch. The finish on the needle themselves is slick and smooth. They have the the size printed in a similar place to the Karbonz. The cable is more flexible that the Knit Picks and Knitter’s Pride but not as flexible as the Addi blue cables. The Hiya Hiya also a lighter than the Nova Knitter’s Pride and Nickle Plated Knit Picks.

The Others:
The Deborah Norville Premier Yarns Wood, Kollage Square high grade aluminum, soft cord and ChiaoGoo Stainless Steel Circular (this one has the clear cord) I am grouping these together because I have mixed feeling about these needles.

The Kollage they are square which is different but a good different. I love the square needles I have several Kollage Square DPN’s and LOVE them. I love the points and the feel of the Square needles in my hands. However, I am not a fan of the Kollage soft cord. It is so limp and my yarn tends to grab to it. (I knit mostly with wool’s) I have also seen the cords tend to break at the joins. On of my knitting groups use these a lot and while Kollage offers excellent customer service it just gets a little frustrating. The points are sharp but the “shaft” are is a lot shorter than its fellow needles. The size is pressed into the needles you can feel a little bit of a grove where its stamped in.  In the picture to the left you can see the cord is so limp it just hangs almost straight. Which some people love but for me it makes it hard to get my yarn to go in that circle and not have to push it with my fingers.

You can also see in this photo the one that looks the shortest. Well that is the ChiaoGoo Stainless Steel Circular with the clear cord. That cord makes me CRAZY. It holds so much memory. I have to boil them before every use. They are decently sharp but not sharper than any I have mentioned. The way the cord is joined is also very cumbersome. It is almost angled. I bought mine at Tuesday Morning and they were cheap, under $4.  They are my least favorite needles I own but they still get use from me.

The Deborah Norville Premier Yarns Wood are actually to me better than the ChiaoGoo Stainless Steel Circular with the clear cord. They too were a Tuesday Morning find and I paid less than $3 for them. They have a cord similar to the Knitter’s Pride black cord, but it is stiffer. The join is not that bad and the tip is a little blunt. The wood is OK but not as nice as the Knitters Pride or the Knit picks wood. It is grabbier than those. The size is printed on the wood and stamped on the metal of the join.

Skacel / Addi Needles. 
Talk about the luxury needles. I was sent the ones for this review but I have others I bought on my own. The ones I will be talking about today are the Addi Natura Bamboo, Addi Turbo, Addi Turbo Lace Brass and Addi Turbo Rockets. Now many people swear by these needles and I see why. I have a friend know as Lildeb_831 on Ravery and she is all about the Addi Rockets and I agree with her 100%. So let get down to the needles. The Addi Natura are a bamboo but do not let that fool you. They are unlike any other bamboo needles I have gotten my hands on. They are smooth and not that grabby at all. They do feel a little more textured than the Knit Picks Harmony, Caspian and Knitter’s Pride Dreams etc but not that much more. They have a good point but the pair I have does have a slight place at where the bamboo sits in the the metal tip that can catch yarn. The size is printed on the bamboo needle and the pair I have is fixed so it does have size on that amazing blue cord. The cords are more flexible than the Hiya Hiya sharps. 

The Addi Turbo are a more blunt tip. They are super smooth and have the amazing blue Addi cord.The join on the fixed pair I have is almost seamless. With that blunter tip the shaft is a little shorter than the Lace and the Rockets. These are probably the bluntest of the tips besides the ChiaoGoo I talked about above. 

Signature Convertibles: 
I have 3 signature needle convertibles, US 3, 4 and 5 and I am in LOVE. I love the cords on them. I would say that the cord similar to the knitters pride and knit picks but not as stiff but a little stiffer than the blue Addi cords. I got the stiletto point on all 3 and its as sharp as the Hiya Hiyas if not a little sharper.  They are very very lightweight about the weight of the Addi if not less but they are the most expensive needles, costing more than any other I am reviewing. 

Now my Favorites!! 
UPDATE: 2017 My most used needles are the Signature Convertibles, Hiya Hiya Sharp interchangeable. I love a pointy and slick needle and The convertibles do not let me down. They are ultra light and just wonderful.  I am out of love with my Addi set as the joins are really catching on some and I take excellent care of my needles. :/ I have also purchased some ChiaoGoo fixed they are not my favorite cord and not my favorite slickness on the needle. However the red cord is nice for heavier shawl knitting. I really want to try some signature fixed and plan on getting some soon. 

Addi Turbo Lace Brass and Addi Turbo Rockets. I have seen the brass needles before on destash at my local yarn but have heard they have this awful brass smell and leave stuff on your hands. I am so glad I gave them a chance.  They did have a brassy smell when I first opened them but you can barley smell it any more. I did not have anything on my hands after using them and they did not get a film on them after use.

 I am going to talk about them along with the Rockets because they are almost identical besides the finish. Both have the wonderful blue Addi cord, both of the ones I am reviewing are fixed and have a seamless join and both are slick and making knitting wonderful. They both have about the same pointy tips the Hiya Hiya Sharps. They are a bit more pricey than the Hiya Hiya sharp but having that seamless join is worth it. Skacel/Addi does offer a twist interchangeable set that everyone that have talked to loves. 

The Brass do seem to be a itty bitty bit more grabby than the Rockets. The Rockets I think …dare I say it have become my new FAVORITE needle! They are fast and slick. The down fall is stitches can slide off because the yarn does not grab to the needle like others. 

They are light weight and honestly I already have the new Mixed Set and the 5 in Lace Rocket Set on my Amazon wish list. If I had to pick one I would say the Lace Rocket set with that pick case! They make my heart skip a little beat. 

~~~Ok lets stop right here and talk about Amazon. I love Amazon and am a prime member but have learned a very valuable lesson about ordering needles on Amazon. Amazon uses 3rd party sellers which is why they can offer such amazing deals. However most needle companies DO NOT honor needles etc if there are issues from Amazon. So although I have items on my Amazon wish list I use the magic link and just link them to my wish list but buy only from the actual retailers of the needles. For instance if you are wanting to buy Skacel/Addi products I highly recommend http://www.addineedleshop.com/ They have very fast shipping and often have sales.

So lets do a little quick review…  My Favorite are the Addi Rockets, Addi Brass, Hiya Hiya sharps on the higher end and for every day and very affordable Knitter’s Pride and Knit Picks. Bellow you can see some of the connected ends..

So if you have any questions please let me know. I hope you venture out and try some new needles. If you are interested in my hook review you can read about that here. Like always thank you for taking the time to visit my blog and Happy Crafting.

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