Understanding Underway

Back to the issue of hook sizing. I emailed Tulip Co., Ltd, the makers of Tulip crochet hooks, in Japan. These are, by far, my favorite hooks.

They look nice, they feel nice, they're ergonomic so my hand doesn't cramp too much-I love them. I "hinted" to my husband that a set would make a great birthday present, and he didn't disappoint. Thanks, hubby!

Well, not only does Tulip make great crochet hooks, they also have wonderful customer service. They got back to me in less than a day (time difference?), with a photo that explains a lot. At least to start with.

It seems the difference between hooks of the same size but from different manufacturers has to do with the change in diameter along the throat of the hook.

For reference, this is the illustration from the Crochet Guild of America's page.

It seems, from the photo from Tulip, that what's the same in hooks of the same size is the diameter where the throat meets the neck. What differs between hooks of the same size can be the diameter of the throat at a specific distance from the point where the throat meets the neck. So, in the image:

Both the Tulip and Clover are 2.2 mm hooks. But close to the pad, the Tulip's diameter is 3.3 mm, while the Clover's is 2.6 mm. (Another question: Do all crochet hooks have throats of the same length?)

I guess this means that as the loop of yarn slides up and down the throat while you crochet, it expands more or less, depending on which hook you use. Clearly, more on the Tulip than on the Clover. (Not to dis Clover hooks. I have several, and they're also very nice).

The next step is to try to understand how this effects the appearance of your stitching. I sense an experiment coming on. Stay tuned.

Hook Variations-Does Size Matter?

I posted this question on Crochetville, but if anyone out there has any input, I'd be interested to hear it. Why are hooks that are supposedly the same size, actually different?

I looked at 4 size G hooks. From top to bottom:

One bamboo hook by Clover, 4.0 mm
One aluminum hook by Tulip, 4.0 mm
One aluminum hook by Clover, 4.0mm
One (I think steel) hook by Boye, 4.25 mm

The actual hook parts are clearly not all the same size. They're also different shapes. And most importantly, they produce different size stitching. So I can't simply switch from one to the other mid-project and expect the same result.

So I got to wondering, what does the size actually measure? From what part to what part of the hook? And how is the angle of the hook from the neck determined? And what about the angle of the point of the hook? And exactly how does all this effect stitching?

Thus far, the answers remain a mystery, at least to me.