Expensive knitting needles

Faberge made jeweled knitting needles for ostentation. Some had the size
color coded by the large solitaire diamonds or rubies or emeralds set on the
end -- but, most of the real hand knitting in those households was done by
craftsmen (and servants) using steel needles. (Turns out that gold, silver,
platinum, and ebony do not really make great knitting needles. Turns out
that it is not all that handy to have rocks on the end of your knitting
needles. Or, brass medallions LOL)

These look less impressive than the Faberge jewels. If you must show off, do
something that will put those mere duchesses in their place! Buy a set of
the Faberge! They do come up at auction every so often.

I will stick to my steel needles, thank you very much.
For real, working, wooden knitting needles, I like dogwood.

Aaron



"Fay" wrote in message
...
Has anybody used these $112.00 knitting needles?

http://www.gbknitting.com/index.htm

In article ,
wrote:
Faberge made jeweled knitting needles for ostentation. Some had the size
color coded by the large solitaire diamonds or rubies or emeralds set on the
end -- but, most of the real hand knitting in those households was done by
craftsmen (and servants) using steel needles. (Turns out that gold, silver,
platinum, and ebony do not really make great knitting needles.
snip

Gold weighs too much, but silver has been used. Platinum is just silly.
OTOH some people whose websites I've read swear by their ebony sock needles.

=Tamar

I have knitted (a few stitches) with platinum SPN made by Faberge and set
with (large) emeralds. Platinum was required for the strength of the
setting to hold the stones. At the time, one of my professors in jewelry and
metal work was the curator of the Faberge exhibit in the university's art
museum. In that class, I made a full set of silver SPN set with pearls as a
Christmas gift for the mother of the girl that I was dating at the time.
Those knitting needles represented significant technical metal working
challenges. That professor graded me very well for overcoming such
technical challenges. On the other hand, the needles were really failures
as either jewelry or knitting tools.

The Faberge needles were successful jewelry because of the need of his
clients to project great wealth and status. I mean, if you were a princess
wearing a diamond tiara, and you are sitting there talking to a duchess and
a countess, you do not want to take out *wooden* knitting needles. Your
status demands you have something better than whatever the duchess or the
countess have. That means the most expensive Faberge needles set with large
gems. Large gem settings require the high strength of platinum so big
emeralds do not fall out and shatter on the tile floor. So in those days,
and for Faberge's royal clients, platinum knitting needles were not at all
silly. They were a serious statement of status. On the other hand, they
were not practical knitting needles either. We need to think about the needs
of the people in their time and circumstances. Today, there might be
knitters out there that need brass medallions on the ends of their knitting
needles to maintain their status at knitters guild meetings.

(I once tried to make ebony and silver SPN but could not get the joint
between the ebony and the silver both smooth enough and strong enough to
meet the professor's standards, so the bits of ebony and silver went on to
be other things. I did not know about sock needles in those days. And,
since I have discovered dogwood, I do not bother with any other wood for
DPN.)

Aaron



"Richard Eney" wrote in message
...
In article ,
wrote:
Faberge made jeweled knitting needles for ostentation. Some had the size
color coded by the large solitaire diamonds or rubies or emeralds set on
the
end -- but, most of the real hand knitting in those households was done
by
craftsmen (and servants) using steel needles. (Turns out that gold,
silver,
platinum, and ebony do not really make great knitting needles.
snip

Gold weighs too much, but silver has been used. Platinum is just silly.
OTOH some people whose websites I've read swear by their ebony sock
needles.

=Tamar