I have HAS (hook acquisition syndrome). I collect hooks. I admit it - it's an addiction almost as bad as YAS (yarn acquisition syndrome) and PAS (pattern acquisition syndrome). Both of which I also have! It could be worse! I have old hooks, new hooks, wooden hooks, hooks with beads, hooks with my name on them, tunisian hooks, cable hooks, steel hooks from my grandmother, plastic hooks, bone hooks, lucite hooks, clear hooks, etc., etc., etc. You get the idea. But there is always another hook to buy. And I recently found some that I am in love with!
When I am crocheting something with the thought that I may propose it somewhere to get published, I always crochet with a manufactured hook, not a wooden one. And my hook of choice is a Susan Bates Silvalume. So you can imagine how excited I was when I found out that SB was producing their Silvalume hooks with a bamboo handle! Yay! A good excuse (as if I really needed one!) to buy more hooks!
I found an M hook at a yarn shop, and the others - G through N, at local craft stores. I got all sizes (except G - I usually don't use a hook smaller than an H, so I didn't buy the G - I didn't know how I'd like crocheting with these. Well, I do, so I'll wait until the next coupon and go get the G!) I crochet with a pencil grip, and these hooks are great for that! But I also tried a knife grip (I use that sometimes with "difficult" yarn), and I found I could use the hooks with that grip. They work just like the regular SB Silvalume - they have the same inline hook. The sizes are: H - 5.00mm, I - 5.50mm, J - 6.00mm, K - 6.50mm, L - 8.00mm, M - 9.00mm, N - 10.00mm. These sizes are the same as the regular Silvalume. The really nice thing is that the larger size hooks, L, M, and N, are not plastic! They are the same material as the smaller hooks. So if you don't like the plastic or the lucite, you now have a choice! And - you can find the L and the M sizes without looking all over!!!
