The one difference that matters
A stitch on a slick needle moves at a touch; a stitch on a grippy needle stays where it was put. Slick is speed, and it is also dropped stitches and a loose fabric for a knitter whose hands are not yet certain. Grippy is control, and it is also slower, and tiring in a yarn that already clings. Everything else — weight, warmth, sound, price — is secondary to that.
Bamboo
Light, warm in the hand, quiet, and with a slight grip that holds stitches on the needle. Bamboo is the material to learn on, the material for slippery yarns (silk, bamboo, mercerized cotton, a brushed alpaca that wants to slide off), and the material for lace, where a stitch that stays put is worth more than a stitch that moves fast. It is also kind to hands that ache: it flexes a little and never feels cold. New bamboo is slightly matte and grows smoother with use; a needle that still drags after a few projects can be polished with wax paper.
Crystal Palace bamboo is the one we stock: circulars in 16", 26" and 35", 8" double-points, and 10" and 12" straights, from US 0 to US 19. The tips are tapered enough for most lace and the cords lie flat.
Metal
addi's nickel-plated brass is the fastest surface a needle comes in. Stitches slide along it without being pushed, so a long stretch of stockinette or ribbing goes noticeably quicker than on bamboo, and a tight knitter finds the stitches easier to move. It is cool to the touch, which some hands like and some do not; it clicks; and it is unforgiving of a loose grip, since nothing holds a stitch on the needle but you. For a sticky yarn — a wool-mohair, a rustic single, a felting wool — metal is the relief: the yarn clings to itself, so the needle should not. The addi guide sorts the tip shapes.
Rosewood
Reynolds rosewood is a dense, polished hardwood: heavier than bamboo, smoother, warm, and somewhere between bamboo and metal for speed. It is the material people buy once they know what they like, for the feel of it as much as the performance, and it is the quietest and warmest needle for a long evening of a big project. Supply is limited; we stock rosewood straights in US 10.5 and 15, a 24" circular in US 15 and 8" double-points in US 10, which suits the chunky and bulky projects where the weight of the needle does not matter.
Match the needle to the yarn
| Yarn | Needle |
|---|---|
| Smooth wool, superwash merino, cotton | Any; metal for speed |
| Silk, bamboo, viscose, mercerized cotton | Bamboo or wood |
| Mohair, brushed alpaca, rustic singles, Lopi | Metal |
| Lace weight, any fiber | Bamboo, or a metal lace tip once confident |
| Sock yarn | Metal for speed, bamboo double-points for control |
Match the needle to the knitter
Learning, or knitting loosely: bamboo — your first knitting needles is the whole starter list. Knitting tightly, or wanting speed: metal. Sore hands: bamboo or rosewood, and a circular so the weight sits in your lap — the circular vs straight guide is about that. Most knitters end up with both a bamboo set and a metal set in their common sizes and pick by yarn; the needle size chart is for matching either to a pattern.