I'm a member of a Facebook knitting group. A couple weeks ago one of the other members mentioned she'd bought a set of circular needles from an Ebay store based in China for a price that I couldn't believe. Folks asked her how the quality was and she said it was pretty good. They are very much like Chiaogoo needles. They had the same kind of cable on them. My curiosity was peaked. I ended up buying some just to try them out.
First of all, the Ebay shop is Cherry's Store. There are quite a few different needle choices available, as well as crochet hooks and other knitting and crochet tools. I decided to purchase 2 of the set of 13 25"/65cm stainless steel circular needles.
The sizes are UK rather than US or European mm sizes. They range from UK size 6 to 18. In US sizes, that is between size 8 to size 00000. Prices are listed in Canadian and they were $5.69 CN per set. Shipping was free. I paid $9.87 total in US dollars for the order. Needless to say, at those prices, my expectations were very low. I figured if I didn't like them I could probably donate them to a thrift store. The price was worth the learning experience.
I placed the order on Friday Jan. 9th. They were shipped from China within hours after I placed the order and arrived on Tuesday, Jan. 20th. Damn! That was quick!
And what a surprise! I LIKE them! Thirteen little packages in each of the two sets. They are made in China and all the printing on the package is Chinese. I don't have a problem with that.
Each one came with a circular needle, a little plastic needle gauge, and a yarn needle! The last two items being a bonus I did not expect. The yarn needle is very nice. The hole is a good size, and the tip is sharper than you usually find, which comes in handy once in awhile.
The circular needles themselves seem to be very well made. Very smooth to the touch. No burrs on any of them. The points aren't real sharp, but they aren't real blunt either. Kind of a nice medium.
I took them to the Tuesday Rathdrum Knitalong group meeting and we all tried them out. The unanimous consensus is they knit very nicely!
The cables are actual steel cable with a transparent plastic coating on them (like the Chiaogoo red cables). The joins where cable meets needle are the smoothest I've ever seen! They are stable and strong too. There's a nice curve on the end of the needles so when you're knitting the stitches just slip on down. It also decreases the strain on that join so it will last longer. I found it much nicer to hold than the ones that are completely straight. With the 3 smallest sizes, one needs to be careful just because the needles are so thin. I pulled a little hard and managed to kink the cable on the size 00000 right at the join. I can straighten it out so no problem, but I will make sure not to do that again.
Now most knitters will not use the 5 smallest sizes (I will, but then I love knitting itty bitty stuff), but even with just 8 of them being usable, $4.94 a set is a darn good price for these needles! One of my friends pointed out the smallest size needles would be good for using as a life line, or holding stitches. (She logged on to Ebay before the end of the meeting and ordered herself a bunch.)
All in all, I am quite pleased with them and have ordered the 17" long set, as well as a package of 100 locking stitch markers in assorted colors, and a little tools kit that contains scissors, point protectors, stitch markers, tape measure, and whatnot in a little plastic case.
Cherry's Store has the stainless circular needles in 4 different lengths: 17, 25, 31, and 47 inches. Kind of odd measurements, but they work.
They also carry double pointed needles and straight needles of various lengths in steel, plastic, and bamboo, as well as circulars in bamboo. As I mentioned above, they have the locking stitch markers, and some other knitting notions. They have knitting looms, pompom makers, and tons of crochet hooks, and tons of other stuff (like clothing, toys, jewelry) too. I can't speak for the quality of anything but the stainless circular needles, so buy at your own risk.
Live long and prosper. \\//
First of all, the Ebay shop is Cherry's Store. There are quite a few different needle choices available, as well as crochet hooks and other knitting and crochet tools. I decided to purchase 2 of the set of 13 25"/65cm stainless steel circular needles.
The sizes are UK rather than US or European mm sizes. They range from UK size 6 to 18. In US sizes, that is between size 8 to size 00000. Prices are listed in Canadian and they were $5.69 CN per set. Shipping was free. I paid $9.87 total in US dollars for the order. Needless to say, at those prices, my expectations were very low. I figured if I didn't like them I could probably donate them to a thrift store. The price was worth the learning experience.
I placed the order on Friday Jan. 9th. They were shipped from China within hours after I placed the order and arrived on Tuesday, Jan. 20th. Damn! That was quick!
And what a surprise! I LIKE them! Thirteen little packages in each of the two sets. They are made in China and all the printing on the package is Chinese. I don't have a problem with that.
Each one came with a circular needle, a little plastic needle gauge, and a yarn needle! The last two items being a bonus I did not expect. The yarn needle is very nice. The hole is a good size, and the tip is sharper than you usually find, which comes in handy once in awhile.
The circular needles themselves seem to be very well made. Very smooth to the touch. No burrs on any of them. The points aren't real sharp, but they aren't real blunt either. Kind of a nice medium.
I took them to the Tuesday Rathdrum Knitalong group meeting and we all tried them out. The unanimous consensus is they knit very nicely!
The cables are actual steel cable with a transparent plastic coating on them (like the Chiaogoo red cables). The joins where cable meets needle are the smoothest I've ever seen! They are stable and strong too. There's a nice curve on the end of the needles so when you're knitting the stitches just slip on down. It also decreases the strain on that join so it will last longer. I found it much nicer to hold than the ones that are completely straight. With the 3 smallest sizes, one needs to be careful just because the needles are so thin. I pulled a little hard and managed to kink the cable on the size 00000 right at the join. I can straighten it out so no problem, but I will make sure not to do that again.
Now most knitters will not use the 5 smallest sizes (I will, but then I love knitting itty bitty stuff), but even with just 8 of them being usable, $4.94 a set is a darn good price for these needles! One of my friends pointed out the smallest size needles would be good for using as a life line, or holding stitches. (She logged on to Ebay before the end of the meeting and ordered herself a bunch.)
All in all, I am quite pleased with them and have ordered the 17" long set, as well as a package of 100 locking stitch markers in assorted colors, and a little tools kit that contains scissors, point protectors, stitch markers, tape measure, and whatnot in a little plastic case.
Cherry's Store has the stainless circular needles in 4 different lengths: 17, 25, 31, and 47 inches. Kind of odd measurements, but they work.
They also carry double pointed needles and straight needles of various lengths in steel, plastic, and bamboo, as well as circulars in bamboo. As I mentioned above, they have the locking stitch markers, and some other knitting notions. They have knitting looms, pompom makers, and tons of crochet hooks, and tons of other stuff (like clothing, toys, jewelry) too. I can't speak for the quality of anything but the stainless circular needles, so buy at your own risk.
Live long and prosper. \\//
