Circular Needle testing

When I opened the shop, way back when, I stocked addi and HiyaHiya fixed circulars and Brittany wooden straight needles. Most of my lifetime of knitting has been done on addis and I have a shoebox full at home. I LOVE addis... but the one thing that was always remarked upon at the shop was the price. I used to refer to them as the "Cadillac" of needles, and I've always believed in using well made, long lasting, quality tools, but the price was always an issue so I've slowly stopped restocking them with the except of some Sock Rocket circulars and addi Flip Stix which are my favourite double pointed needles. 

I was happy with the HiyaHiya's but over the last few years I've been looking for alternatives to ordering from China. so I started bringing in the Lykke Driftwood circulars which are lovely needles at a good price, but lately the supply chain challenges started me looking around again. 

I've been knitting my linen stitch scarf for the colourword knitablong on a set of bamboo interchangeables from Kinki Amibari of Japan, and I'm thrilled. I liked the look of this small interchangeable set, which has 3.5mm, 4mm, 4.5mm and 5mm tips and 14, 22 and 29.5" cords. The packaging is cardboard, so very environmentally friendly which is part of the company ethos. It's a very straightforward little set. I was mainly curious about whether the tips would loosen as I knit, as there is no key to tighten the tips, but so far (knock wood) there has been no issue. 

So I've found a brand that fits what I'm trying to do at this little shop... they are high quality, fairly priced and from a company that values ethical practices. I'll be slowly adding more from Kinki Amibari to the shop. 

S x