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I will be honest this kit is not perfect. But none of the interchangable needle kits you can buy actually are, so I can't really count that against this kit.
For the most part, I really like this kit. Here are just a few things it has going for it:
Widely available, and quite affordable if you have a weekly coupon from a certain popular craft store ;-)
Needles are pretty colors which keeps things interesting
Wider range of needle sizes than other kits
Allows you to make a twenty inch circular which, while not as short as the seventeen inch you can make with a certain other kit, is shorter than the twenty-four inch you can make with yet another kit
Metal needles, which I prefer to plastic or wood all types of yarn slip nice and easy
Nice points, not too sharp and not too dull
Individual pieces can be bought separately
Storage case is compartmentalized well and not too ugly
However, here is what it has against it:
Shortest circular you can make is twenty inches, which, while better than the twenty-four inch you can make with one kit, is not as nice at the seventeen inch you can make with another (works with a struggle for a hat, too short for collars)
Cables are a little on the stiff side and the bend where it joins the needle is a little weird HOWEVER it is not as bad as the non-interchangable Boye circulars (I hate those)
Some people complain that the cables and needles come unscrewed frequently but I really have not had a huge problem with this
My biggest complaint Boye needles are weird sizes compared to other brands. While Boye claims to set the standard, pretty much every brand is different in diameter (consistently so) for sizes six, nine, ten, and seventeen. I have no idea why.
This kit would be perfect if the sizes were the same as all other lines and it had a shorter cable option. As it stands, I still really do like this kit and recommend it but rather than actually view it as being all the needles you ever need, you might want to have a few needles of another brand in those four sizes that Boye makes strangely.
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I bought this set (using a coupon at a craft store website) when I first decided to get into knitting. It serves its purpose well, and has accompanied me through a lot of my early learning. You can use these as straight or circular needles, in all the standard sizes; it really is potentially all you'd need for most projects, but you can order additional cords in larger sizes, extra end caps, and other items you might find helpful if you become more serious about knitting. I think that circular needles are easier to hold than straights and put less weight on your hands as you work-which is very helpful after a long period of knitting. It is even possible to fudge double-pointed-needle patterns with this set; search knitting video websites for help on how to do that.
As you become more serious, though-dare I call it Knitpicky?-there'll be things that might lure you away from this, your first set. Many people end up preferring bamboo or wooden or plastic needles, for example; these are metal. Others want to learn new techniques for knitting small items, like the Magic Loop method; this set isn't compatible with that. A lot of knitters end up opting for other needle systems, like the Denise system or the Knitpicks Options system. (If you want to read a good comparison between the Denise and the Boye systems, look up the review at knitty dot com by Amy Singer).
But why worry about all those possibilities just now? If you're beginning, this set will serve for quite some time. You can upgrade later with all the money you saved from not having to buy individual sets of needles for each of your first few projects.
But I still haven't upgraded mine, and it's been five years now.
ps-The coming-unscrewed problem other reviewers mention can be avoided by using the included tighteners religiously whenever you start a new project (I don't, because I'm lazy and impatient, and still rarely have problems).
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I got this set when I first started knitting as that was much easier and cheaper than buying all the straights and circular needles. While it was nice having all the different size needle right there, they would come unscrewed which was annoying and they would disconnect and they stitches would be dropped. I had to check quite frequently that they were not coming unscrewed. I tried knitting with the smallest needles, and the yarn kept getting caught at the connection, because it was wider than the needle. so since we were traveling, we had to stop at a store so I could get dpns of the size I needed instead. I ended up selling these and getting the Denice interchangeable. I like them MUCH better and don't have the same issues.
Honest reviews on Needlemaster 40-Piece Interchangeable Aluminum Knitting Set
In response to some of the other reviews here, I'd like to add my own experiences with the Boye Needlemaster.
Having crocheted since I was a child, I took up knitting when I retired. It's been an adventure trying out all the new techniques in knitting. I can't get over how much less yarn I need to complete a knitted project, then crocheted.
Two winters ago I discovered that the 16" circular is what I needed for hats, and I started a collection 16'' circulars, and found that the Boye circular needles were my favorite, for their smoothness, long points and sturdiness. Some of the other needles (bamboo, plastic, etc.) actually came loose from the cords and were not repairable. Or the yarn would stick at the connection, or it was too awkward to join the circle, because the needles were so straight.
Last fall I started making scarves lenghtwise and triangular shawls, and found that I could get well over 72" of knitting on the 29"" circular. I couldn't spread it out and see how it looked, but I could work on it quite easily, I just needed point protectors when I put it down.
This fall I started a new triangular shawl, where the 2 short sides of the triangle are on the needles. I was working it without any problems, but I couldn't tell how big it was getting or how I looked.
Then I saw this set on E-bay at a very low price with no bids on it. I came over here to Amazon to check out the reviews of the set, which really is expensive, even in the craftstore with the coupon. I couldn't understand why no one was bidding on it. Boye has always been my favorite in crochet hooks and single points, so I went ahead and bid it up. I guess it was my lucky day because I won a brand new set of the Boye needlemaster for a song!
When it came in the the mail, a few days later, I took the 2 longest cables and joined them up with the needle size I was using and I knit my shawl from my 29" needles to this set and I was able to spread it out and try it on. Now I could see that it was coming out beautifully and that it was almost done! As I worked my second row with the Needlemaster, halfway across I found that because the cable was so long, it was curling up and making it difficult for the stitches to move along. I was glad to come to end of the row and shorten the cable.
A 29" circular is sufficient for most projects, except that you can't see how it's progressing. With this set, however I can switch over to a longer cable and back again. Because I find it so much easier to work with the shorter cord. Try it!
To sum up:
It's very handy having all the sizes and all the cord lengths in one little package, because I'm always switching needles and lengths around to find the just the right size.
The connections won't come apart easily, they screw on with quite a few turns they can't slip off.
If you need a longer or shorter cable as you go, you can just change over.
The connections are very smooth, even smoother than than some of the joined circulars out there.
The connecting ends of the needles are tapered to a smooth point and could probably be used as double points in a pinch, like to finish off a hat.
I think that some of the bad reviews were from people who are not very expeienced with other types of knitting needles. You can get along with this one set just fine. I couldn't ask for a better set of knitting needles. I am just as pleased with this set of Boye interchangeable needles as I have been with other Boye products.
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I bought this set after someone at work showed me hers. As an amateur knitter, I think this set is wonderful. Because I do all of my knitting (even straight knitting) on circular needles, it was so much easier to buy the set than to buy all of the different needles and cable sizes needed to complete all of my projects.
For those of you having trouble keeping the cables tight, make sure you use the key that is given. After you twist it by hand as much as it will go, get the key and the rubber grip and twist it the rest of way (instructions are on the instruction sheet). This is a VERY important step. I decided to skip this step once, and my needles and cables came apart. Hopefully, this will solve your problem; if not, I would call the company.
