Crochet Hook review

Hi there!!!

Here is the product review post as promised :)
I usually try to stay away from reviewing products because it really is a personal thing, but I realize that sometimes when you're not 100% convinced, a positive review or two can give you the push you need to try the product - so here are my two cents - grab a bevy and sit down, this is a long one.

I want to touch on the different ways to hold a crochet hook.
I'm one of the odds that hold my hook in both knife/overhand and pencil grip style. When I am working with "larger" hook sizes (3.5mm and up) I tend to use the overhand but for smaller sizes I find it easier to work in pencil grip size.

Anatomy of crochet hook

Before diving into the actual review portion, I just wanna quickly share this awesome little picture from the greater Internet area that shows the anatomy of a crochet hook, just so we are on the same page in describing the  various parts of the hook . I didn't know there were so many parts ? but its certainly helpful to know, and makes me feel smart being able to refer to different parts by its proper name instead of the description of function (like "the part that actually hooks the yarn" is called a "bowl" - doesn't that sound so much better?!!!XD).

1. Boye Ergonomic Aluminum crochet hook handle

The homemade mod kept me happy for quite some time.
Then I started working on multiple projects at once - ones during transit to and from work and one at home....which was fine because I had acquired a second set of single ended hooks to complete the size set and to try out this baby. I saw this at Michael's and it piqued my curiosity - but I could not find any reviews on this product - the few I found were "OMG I am SO excited to try this, I will GET BACK TO YOU about how I like it" and there were no follow up. I guess  it was so amazing that they just could not find the time away from hooking to let us know how it was? I had to find out for myself.

This cost me $15CAD at Michael's, which I got a discount on because it was damaged and was the last in store.  It comes with round rubber heads that you slide onto your thumbrest of the hook before encasing it in the handle. The rubbers act as a stopper/stabilizer and prevents your hook from moving around. The handle fits PERFECTLY in the natural rounds of your hands and is super comfortable in the knife holding method. In fact, I made and entire doll in one sitting without pains after using this...it was REALLY comfortable.  And though I said it was designed for the knife holding, I've used it in pencil grip method and it was pretty comfortable too - you just end up going back to the knife holding method.
The cons of this product is that the plastic DOES NOT STAY SHUT. It's a twist-off top and came lose with use and about every 3 rounds or so I had to adjust and tighten. I made a Totoro doll using this which had 40+ rounds so that was kind of annoying.  Also, this was probably intended but this product will not fit all and any aluminum hooks - I am sure it will fit all the Boye brand hooks fine but only 2/5 of my aluminum hooks fit the rubber head.  The hook must be a standard 6" hook - any shorter, the tip won't hit the handle top which helps to hold the hook in place (again, not a problem, I assume, if you get their hooks). One other thing, I wish they included some sort of pouch thing to keep all the rubber heads together, and wrote the number corresponding to hook on the rubber itself and not just on the packaging. and had to search out  the sizing and the colors are so similar to each other that its hard to distinguish. So if you get this product, write the number of size on the rubber heads before chucking the packaging AND get a little baggie for them.

The top 4 contending hooks

I then got fancy and wanted to get some branded hooks - upgrade a bit - I had loaned out my hooks to a friend who wanted to try crocheting and why not upgrade? these 4 were the contenders. The top 4 narrowed to a top 3 because Hamanaka's selling point was it's double ended hooks and I already HAD a set I was darn happy with - perfect for travelling.

May I say I was pretty set on the Clover Amour set and its bright rainbow colours from the start. Then I watched a review on the Etimo who said it was better than the Amour set and the Addi swing looked like it would be great for both styles of holding and there were again, NO reviews -I had to try it. After much search I had to order these hooks online - I ordered 3.5mm of each hook from Amazon and gave it my honest shot.

1. Clover Amour set

This hook cost me $9 and arrived almost a week early which was a wonderful surprise.  Before I even bought the hook I was in love with the fact that each size is colour-coded and I needn't look for the size indicator anywhere - but in case you need to know, it is engraved - not etched - into the handle.

I like the lightness of this hook- its like holding a feather. The material - I guess the aluminum part - from the thumbrest and above, is a matted metal finish. It reminds me of  the way my aluminum hook was after it was baked in the oven? It looks and feels somewhat rougher but it actually is smoother and the yarn doesn't fall right off all the time which is helpful.  I just felt like the yarn caught better and the whole crocheting process was smoother.

THIS HANDLE is to die for. I just want to hold it forever.  It's not plastic so it has a little bit of a give , it's soft and matte finish is just hand-candy.  I didn't realize at first but, the thumb rest is a little bit chunkier than the rest of the handle(I guess that's an attempt at ergonomics), giving these hooks  an oblong-ish shape, which provides quite a bit of comfort - enough that you can use this hook comfortably in both methods of hooking - knife or pencil. Definitely a great buy totally worth the money.

2. Tulip Etimo

This little hook cost $17 and came in a fancy little box - and was "made in Japan" which created immediate excitement for no reason.  It looks very similar to the Amour hook but let me tell you looks are deceiving.

I wasn't really thrilled about the set only being available in PINK (not a fan of pink) or that the sizes are written on the side in tiny letters but that's just me.

The handle is not as soft - I don't know what the material is, but it' feels a little firmer to me. It's possible that it feels that way because there is so little padding on this handle and its MOSTLY the hook itself - minimal material used, although it feels heavier than the Amour hook. 

While it doesn't have the wider thumb rest, it is longer which is great if you're a knife hooker. The metal part above is a smooth shiny finish, which is nice also but the yarn did fall off the hook quite a bit.

This was apparently not due to the finishing applied to the metal parts. its because how hook is engineered !!!

The Tulip Etimo, has an in-line head which aligns the head with the shank, so if the bowl isn't deep enough to catch the yarn there is no back up to catch and or hold the yarn in place for you while you work. The Amour uses a tapered design , so the yarn is held in the bowl and sort of secured by a tapered neck. The bowl on the Etimo is also shallower than one on the Amor -  This is probably why I felt like the yarn was catching better.  

What I found MOST interesting about this hook was that it is ONLY few mm shorter than the Amour hook but that mm made a difference in comfort. The end of handle was literally digging into my palm while I crocheted because of this shortage - not causing any pain but discomfort and annoyance mostly.

I didn't expect it to be mind-blowing like the reviewer said (I think she blew it out of proportion because she had a shop and she wanted to sell more of the Etimo sets since the price difference was so significant) but I wasn't expecting to be displeased about it.

This hook wasn't all that impressive to me - perhaps because it was almost double the price and nothing was awe-inspiring about it. I felt rather like I paid for that fancy packaging and well to be honest, I rather buy 2 hooks than one with fancy packaging.  

3. Addi Swing by Setler

This giant hook came all the way from Germany. Cost me $20, lots of worries and was last to arrive. I was very excited about this hook because I'm a big fan of German innovation -and this looked like it was perfectly made for people who hold their hooks like a pencil.  

I don't know why I thought that because , in retrospect it looks much like Oral-B toothbrush handle and I don't hold that like a pencil at all...:(

It came colour-coded and and giant size labels - I was in love.

I spent over 5 minutes researching this hook - which is not a long time but it shouldn't have been that difficult. But when I was looking on Amazon, the listing would say "orange hook 3.5" and have a picture of a blue hook, or a red hook - it didn't match at all- so I had to search online to see what colors belong to what sizes. I wasn't going to spend money on a counterfeit (I may have though anyhow).  This was probably the red flag I should've seen and not ordered. Because I ordered this item, random images of this product was showing up on my internet and a lot of it was of BROKEN HOOKS. People took time to post about it on their social media and the company had not done anything about it. So I spent much time waiting and hoping that I got the right hook and that mine won't be a lemon that breaks. 

could they not afford to color within the lines?

It arrives and I like the packaging but I don't like the hook - this immediately made me wonder if I did indeed end up getting a couterfeit.  The picture are poor in quality so this may not show, but the coloring is not within the engraved area and is bleeding all over the place, as if some 10 year-old hand-painted this label here.  You're selling a crafting tool to crafters' who appreciate detail and someone thought this level of messiness was acceptable?? for a dollar store item maybe. 

ANYWAY.

The great thing about this hook is that the bowl is deep and the hook is tapered in design. Sad news is that the shank is slightly shorter - which made it a challenge to have more than 4 stitches - popcorn stitch was NOT A THING -- everything just fell right off - and ain't NOBODY got time for that, especially this chica with 50000000000 projects on her lists to make.

What is most disappointing was that what made me think- the handle design - would be great for pencil holders, was precisely why it wasn't. In fact,  the handle design is why I don't like this hook at all. In all honesty, this may just be me, but I have small hands. The curvature of the handle fits only a certain size hand comfortably ; I can crochet with this comfortably in one way for 10 minutes and then I have to adjust whereas my friend was able to crochet comfortably for 30 minutes. Her hands are bigger than mine though. The curvatures also limit the way you hold the hook - it is only for the knife holders, nobody else. I have used this hook ONCE to make a little head and that was all. I have tried few times after but why use this and be uncomfortable when I have others which are so much better? What a waste.

Overall, I like the Clover Amour hooks best. It's affordable,comfortable and pretty. While I may NOT buy the set (because I don't think I'll ever need a hook size larger than 5) I may get their metallic hook set with pretty pastels, they are definitely my choice of upgrade.

If you aren't looking to spend money on hooks yet (because you eventually will), the homemade alternatives from my previous post works awesome until you need a second or a third set to keep up with your multiple projects.

I hope this was helpful,

keep on Hookin'!!

Love always,

Shines.