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Thread: You will all want one of these!!
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31st March 2014, 03:00 PM #1
You will all want one of these!!
Well, possibly you won't, but if you have a crafty partner (careful here) and wish to curry favour you may be interested.
We were returning from Brisbane the other week and as we approached Toowoomba SWMBO said she needed a crochet hook as the one she had borrowed needed to be returned. We headed off to Lincraft, but the traffic was diabolical for us country types (more than ten cars in a row) and we did a U-turn and headed off to Spotlight. They didn't have the large size we required.
"Never mind said SWMBO brightly. You can make me one in wood!"
Possible I thought, for the right encouragement .
This was the plastic hook I copied:
Hook 1 002.jpgHook 1 001.jpg
And the timber versions:
Crochet hook 001.jpgCrochet hook 002.jpg
The top hook is Gidgee and the bottom Spotted Gum. I was initially concerned the neck area might be too weak, but these timbers are strong and I needn't have worried. They are just under 180mm long and the handle section is 15mm diameter. The handle is turned on the lathe and the hook shaped with rasps (my new Liogier rasps ) after a bit of trimming with a frame saw (thank you IanW for that beast). The whole lot could be done with planes and rasps if no lathe is available.
Crochet work is normally associated with fine material. In this instance the idea was to use up old sheets, which are torn into strips about 50mm wide and used to make a bath mat, which is why such a beefy looking crochet hook is needed.
Crochet hook 003.jpg
SWMBO isn't happy with the result and says she needs more practice. She has more sheets . The pic seems to show up flaws, which I didn't see before so maybe she is right. She tells me she usually is .
Good use for scrappy little bits of wood and an alternative to pens I suppose. That might provoke a response from the pen makers if nothing else .
Regards
PaulLast edited by Bushmiller; 31st March 2014 at 03:01 PM. Reason: A bit of punctuation
Bushmiller;
"Power tends to corrupt. Absolute power corrupts, absolutely!"
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31st March 2014, 04:04 PM #2Deceased
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8th April 2014, 07:19 PM #3
Paul, a long time ago, I was asked to make some giant knitting needles for a special project that required needles much larger than normally available in your average craft store. This I duly did, but it took more mucking about than I anticipated. This was because very few woods are fine enough to take the high polish required to prevent the wool catching & causing very un-smooth knitting (as I was told!). My first couple of offerings were roundly rejected, & the ones that finally got the nod were made from Rosewood, a wood that takes a high polish & keeps it. I realised why materials such as bone & tortoise shell were used before plastics came along. In view of that, I would have thought Spotty Gum would be a poorer choice than Gidgee or Mulga (which is very fine & should work very well), but p'raps he way crochet stitches are made, it's not so important for the hooks to be super-smooth??
Cheers,IW
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11th April 2014, 09:42 AM #4
Ian
They haven't been used in anger yet (or for crochet work ) so I can't really say whether one timber is better than the other. I understand what you mean, but they in fact feel about the same and the burnishing oil applied on the lathe does tend to fill in the pores.
For those of you who are holding out on the verdict before making one of these () I'll have to get back to you.
On the subject of knitting needles, I remember as a child using a very large pair, which were indeed wooden: A pale timber but I have no idea what it would have been: Possibly Beech. Oh and before the comments start to flood in, when you are a five year old boy, you can be persuaded to do all sorts of things. It took a year or so before I decided knitting wasn't for me .
Regards
PaulBushmiller;
"Power tends to corrupt. Absolute power corrupts, absolutely!"
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11th April 2014, 07:37 PM #5
Well I'm not ashamed to tell you that I was quite a good knitter years ago. I spent a lot of time sitting in aircraft, and my eyes got too tired to read, so at the suggestion of my swmbo, I took up knitting to while away the hours. Got pretty good at it, too! I used to get some strange looks from a few macho types, but got lots of encouragement, too.
I have it on good authority that Henry VIII was a champion knitter. Don't think old Henry was a wimp.....
Cheers,IW
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11th April 2014, 08:02 PM #6GOLD MEMBER
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In a passed life I was a drummer. Some of what we played was pretty hard on equipment. The local ladies knitting group were always keen to get my reject sticks so long as I trimmed them down to their specific requirements.
Probably the only drummer with an over 70s Lady fan club.
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11th April 2014, 09:37 PM #7
I made a few of these for a lady in Lismore. I remember how fiddly they were. Did a lot of squinting. It was fun to do some of it with my daughter. We stamped the numbers on them as well. like #3 ,5 (? don't remember). Put a little flat on the handles to take the brand of the number.
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11th April 2014, 10:49 PM #8
Talking of good 'ole Henry a friend of mine at school used him as the excuse for his less than acceptable performance in the history class. He said he had been lied to as he was told Henry died of excesses when in fact it was syphilis. He could no longer believe anything that was told to him and as a consequence flunked badly.
Actually, if knitting was all right with Henry perhaps I should look a little further into it .
Regards
PaulBushmiller;
"Power tends to corrupt. Absolute power corrupts, absolutely!"
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12th April 2014, 08:52 AM #9
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12th April 2014, 12:22 PM #10
Absolutely right, but it didn't suit my school friend's agenda to acknowledge that.
Back on the subject of crochet hooks in the case of these I made remember that the "wool" is in fact strips of cotton sheet so in any event I think snagging is unlikely to be an issue.
Regards
PaulBushmiller;
"Power tends to corrupt. Absolute power corrupts, absolutely!"
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15th May 2014, 09:52 PM #11
Yes I like them. Don't show my wife.
Nicely polished right to the hook
Dave the turning cowboy
turning wood into art