Comments on: review: ergonomic crochet hook

By: Karen

Karen — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 19:14:59 +0000

My hubby bought me 2 of the Boye Ergonomic handles. They’re not bad but have some issues.

Pros: It’s a decent size for my little hands, it keeps me from curling my baby finger up too tight and from hyper-extending my thumb while pushing through a tight stitch. In general it keeps my hand more open and more relaxed. (I have a tendency to crochet very tight and very stressed, I haven’t found the peace and relaxation most people claim to get from knitting, crochet or sewing.)

Cons: it has a rubbery texture, meant to avoid slipping of course, but it attracts lint and feels a little yucky at times. It uses little rubber plugs to fit various hook sizes, but they don’t keep the hook from spinning inside
the handle. I’ve been experimenting with using multiple plugs to secure the hook better and/or using foam pencil grips or other materials to reduce the slipping and spinning inside. It’s not perfect yet, but greatly improved.

I’ve also considered making custom grips from Polymer clay, but would have to make one for every hook and worry that if I goof one I’ll have to trash my hook, my favourites of which are hard to find.

http://www.amazon.com/Boye-Ergonomic-Aluminum-Crochet-Handle/dp/B004ALF72G

By: pam

pam — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 23:39:27 +0000

Anyone have neck, upper back and tricep pain? It sneaks up on me and takes months to heal. I’m trying to figure out how I can crochet differently.

By: Gladys

Gladys — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 05:56:09 +0000

I need to purchase ergonomic crochet hooks and have decided the Clover brand would best suit my needs. The cost of those make in England are beyond my budget. I have found on Amazon Clover Takumi Crochet Hooks for much less. These are made in Japan. Are both made in the same style? I like the Boye hook best. Clover Takumi hooks similar to Boye and Susan Bates? I would appreciate your input. Thanks!!

P.S. I need to purchase this by Oct. 31 to get the best deal.

By: June

June — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 14:42:48 +0000

Good idea! They sound like a similar concept to the new(-ish) Susan Bates bamboo-handled aluminium hooks. I’ve bought some and I really like them – and it’s easier than cutting dowel for those of us who are less handy with a drill

By: Gail Cortese

Gail Cortese — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 16:59:32 +0000

I have been crocheting for about 18 mos. and started a farmers market business featuring scarves, mittens, hats. I have made over 200 scarves, about 70 pairs of mittens and that many hats. I had no problems with my hands until just recently. I was working on an item that required holding more tightly with my working hand. Had my hubby make me some handles that fit the hooks H and J that I usually use. He just got some 5/8 inch doweling, cut into 4 inch pieces and drilled down into the end with drill bits that match whatever size hook I am using. They look like a hot dog on a stick with their crochet hooks extending from the flat part to tip. Using a drill bit the size of the hook lets the hook handle fit tightly into the hole drilled.The addition of a fatter handle makes me grip much more openly and prevents the tight tendonitis producing grip of death. Easy and cheap to make and works very well. You could use fatter doweling if you had larger hands. I just tried different size doweling at the store and picked the one that felt best in my particular hand. If I had just taken the time to stretch and rest early on this would not have become a painful problem. Hope this helps some of you work more painlessly and cheaply to boot!

By: June

June — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 01:32:53 +0000

Jodi, I suggest you contact the manufacturer of your egg hook. There’s more than one company that make egg-shaped hook handles, and I don’t know if the hooks are interchangeable between brands. The manufacturer should be able to give you a definitive answer as to whether they produce hooks larger than a K that are compatible with your egg handle. Good luck!

By: Jodi

Jodi — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 00:58:22 +0000

Hi, I am looking for an egg shaped crochet hook in N. I bought the egg shaped wooden oval handle (looks like a large egg) with the different crochet hooks screwed on. It doesnt come in anything larger than a K. Due to elbow pain I cant crochet unless i am using the egg oval handle and my pattern calls for an N. Please let me know if you know where to purchase the larger hooks for this handle. thank you, Jodi

By: Sherry

Sherry — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 02:44:04 +0000

Quote: “My main hand problem when I crochet is actually with my non-crocheting hand; the hand that holds the work in place rigidly grips the work without moving for long periods of time, and that is the main cause of my (crochet-related) pain.”

This is exactly the resent problem I have been having, I went to a Doctor, and he diagnosed Arthritis in my thumb joints….very painful, it took almost eight weeks of NO crocheting to finally be able to pick up my hooks again, and I still have some pain, so I really have to baby this area! All great advice above, the exercises , breaks, and switching to knit, less tension, when I feel myself speed up or apply lots of tension – I take a break for about 2 minutes and remind myself of the pain it will cause! However what has really worked for me is , I wear a thumb brace on my left hand at all times when I am crocheting, purchased it at WalMart for around $17. I will never crochet without it now, I am crocheting pain free!!
The thumb brace wraps around your wrist, and has an extension which a metal piece sewn into the brace which runs down along your thumb, immobilizing the bending of the thumb.

http://www.muellersportsmed.com/Specialty_Thumb_Stabilizer.htm

The brace is made by “Mueller sport care. ( http://www.muellersportsmed.com) 1-800-356-9522

It looks bulky, but I have learned to crochet just great with it on, I use Clover soft touch crochet hooks.

Hope this helps someone else.

By: June

June — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 02:21:57 +0000

Natasha: I intended to do a follow-up post on this, but I haven’t got around to it yet! I did actually cut down a grey Susan Bates aluminium hook (with the assistance of my husband) and it really didn’t work well for me. The flattened ‘grip’ area on the hook was too wide to fit into the shaft of the egg’s mechanism, so the only way it would work was to leave a much longer portion of the hook sticking out of the egg.

I have now given up on the egg. Nice idea, but it really doesn’t feel comfortable for me – it’s too much of a wrist/arm workout!

By: natasha

natasha — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 02:14:21 +0000

thanks for the review. i was checking out the egg online and found you. i did see on their listing that you can cut off your favorite hook and use it in the egg, which would work better for me because i personally like that exact type of gray susan bates hook that you showed in the photo. i do a lot of freeform crochet and have a favorite in that gray hook in a 2.75, i hold it in a death grip and last night , right before i finished a piece, it snapped right at the grip. gah! i went right online and started looking around. i hate the boye shaped hooks and i found a japanese style that has a squishy grip and is double ended, but i don’t like the way the hook looks. i did find a set of bamboo ergonomic hooks from china that look like the clover soft grip ones, but with a more bates-like hook. i find that the clover ones have a shape that i don’t like. one thing i have done is to make a polymer clay handle on some of my smaller hooks and it does help. i am still not sure whether to get the egg or not. i wish i got see it in person.

again, thanks for the review and sorry to yammer on so:)