My hook problems...

[Jens]

As I've mentioned I'm new to thread crochet. Before I crochet with yarn and really like Susan Bates hooks. The first steel hook i bought was a boyl and the thread slipped off. So I bought all new made in Mexico SB hooks thinking they were better. I'm having problems now with the crochet getting tight (that's ok with me for now) but the hook feels like it's got small piece of steel that's catching my thread. Do you think I have a bad hook or is this a problem with the 'new made in Mexico' hooks? I used the boyl same size and it's slightly larger and it seems like I can keep the thread on it now that I've good a feel for thread. Maybe I'll switch to boyl....

 

Jen

[beth eathorne]

i use susan bates hooks too since i started crocheting in 1971 but last year found the clover soft touch hooks and boy are they great. a little pricey but well worth it after you fall in love with them. i would start by get one in the size that you use the most to see. I lost one and had to replace it and it was 5.75 for the new one but i would do it again in a heartbeat. they come in sizes c-j (8 hooks)

[ldyer1]

I have had this problem with plastic hooks in the past. I take a metal nail file and file them smooth. Hope this helps!

[Jsilvers]

The Mexican made Bates hooks have a very thin shaft, so when you tighten the loop on the hook it becomes too small to pull the thread through. I find them unusable. Also, I have had trouble with the Boye hooks, old and new. They are sized differently from the Bates hooks.

 

Now, I use mostly my older Bates hooks. The Tulip hooks have the same sizing as the Bates and work almost as well. Milward and Jewel hooks also seem to be a good substitute, but they are no longer manufactured, I think.