Kollage Square Needles
Stranded In Oz has been a proud stockist of Kollage Square Needles from day one. I even road tested some early versions of the square circulars (they were so cool, they had wooden and brass tips!) but those didn’t make the final cut!). That said, there was one large run of them that had some problems. Here at SIOz, if something isn’t right, we tell you and we fix it! So, when the Mach II needles were announced I said, damnit, they are such a good product, but if the kinks aren’t out of these babies, they’re going bye bye.
After getting the Mach II needles in, I gave them out to frequent knitters to test knit. Here’s Alison F’s review of the New Kollage Circs, made in the US of A:
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After a few hassles with Kollage needles (cables coming out of the needles, even when not in use and the coating wearing off quite badly after what I felt was very little use – my mother had needles from before WWII that weren’t as worn as the old Kollage needles were after just one garment), I was a bit reluctant to try again.
I’m glad I did try them again. The needles I am road-testing are 2.5 mm circs with the ‘firm’ cable. And boy, is that cable firm! It took a little while to get used to the firmness of the cable, but after an inch or so of sock I was flying. The firmness of the cable makes it very easy to pull through when doing Magic Loop. The points are fantastically sharp and would be great for lace. The wool I was using is a bit splitty and normally I would use blunter needles, but once I got used to sharpness of the Kollage, it was fine. The new coating on the needles so far is great. No signs of wear, enough grip to hang onto the stitches and enough slip to let them go. The cable join is still a bit of a problem if you are a tight knitter, it could be a little smoother, but hey, if that’s the only thing I can find wrong with these needles then who is going to quibble. Not me.
The square needles produce a lovely even stitch and they are still strangely relaxing to hold. I was very dubious about how hard square needles would be on my hands as I suffer from some hand problems, but once I tried them I was convinced. Interestingly enough, these new needles felt squarer than the old ones. I was more conscious of the shape of them in my hands, but not in a bad way. The only other issue I had with the needles and cable was the colour. As someone who mostly knits in black, grey or darkish purple, counting the stitches at night was a bit difficult. But this may not be an issue for other people as my eyesight is poor anyway. Will I buy another set? Most likely. I like a good sharp needle (except when I sit on them) and the cable is really firm. I think it would be great for 2-at-a-time, even though I don’t do that often as most of the time my brain can’t cope with sorting it out. Cheers Alison
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Thanks Alison for the informative review.
Just got word back from another customer who’s testing the new Kollage Square DPN’s — she loves them, and she’s 80+ years old! And it takes a lot to convince her to change needles, so there you go!
There are plenty of Kollage Square Needles in stock, so why not check them out?
