Plastic Boye and Bates with a clip

[MaryPat]

I was in a thrift store and bought a couple of hooks on Saturday that just intrigued me. I was hoping someone could tell me approximate age of the hooks.

 

Three of the hooks are Boye. One is kind of an aqua blue and two are a deep bright red. They're marked with lettering and numbering sizes, but not with mm sizing. The hook has a sharp-ish angle on the sides of it.

 

Two hook are Susan Bates -- marked 10¢ -- and have plastic clips on the end. At first I thought the clips were for safely stowing in a pocket, but I think the clip could also be used to hold one's place in-between crocheting.

[hooklady]

THe plastic the Boye hooks are made of is tenite. They started using it in 1935 when they patented the tapered throat. Based on the colors, I would say your hooks were made in the 1960's.

 

The Susan Bates clips-on hooks were patented in 1949 and first had a metal clip. Later, in the late 1950's early 1960's they changed the clip to plastic. They were discontinued in the 1960's. The clip was used to to attach the hook to your work.

 

Hope this helps.

[MaryPat]

This is really interesting. Thank you. I never heard of tenite. It certainly seems a sturdier plastic than the crystallite hooks around now.

 

The clips on the Bates Hooks are plastic and are bent away from the hook. Do you know if there's any way to straighten the plastic safely.

 

 

THe plastic the Boye hooks are made of is tenite. They started using it in 1935 when they patented the tapered throat. Based on the colors, I would say your hooks were made in the 1960's.

 

The Susan Bates clips-on hooks were patented in 1949 and first had a metal clip. Later, in the late 1950's early 1960's they changed the clip to plastic. They were discontinued in the 1960's. The clip was used to to attach the hook to your work.

 

Hope this helps.

[hooklady]

This is really interesting. Thank you. I never heard of tenite. It certainly seems a sturdier plastic than the crystallite hooks around now.

 

The clips on the Bates Hooks are plastic and are bent away from the hook. Do you know if there's any way to straighten the plastic safely.

 

It is sturdier, one of its properties is that it is not flammable like some earlier plastics. The first hook my mother bougt me when I was a child was a green one of these, size G, and I'm 56 now. I still have and use it.

 

The plastic clip is supposed to curve slightly away from the handle of the hook, so don't try to straighten it. They tend to break off, which I think is one of the reason they stopped selling them.

 

As you can tell, I love talking hooks.