Some knitters swear by their bamboo needles, while others can barely stand to touch them. Likewise, some knitters may not even consider something other than aluminum, where others find them too slippery to use.
The Needle Texture
Texture and feel are two of the main factors for whether or not a knitter will enjoy working with a certain type of needle. If she does not like the way it feels in her hands, she will not enjoy using it, just as she would not enjoy knitting with a yarn that she did not care for the feel of.
Bamboo needles, while smooth to the touch, are not slippery, because they are made of wood. They tend to be warm to the touch, as wood does not reach to air temperature as much as metal. The smooth wood allows a knitter to slide her hands along the wood easily, but without slipping too much or sticking, both of which can be problems when knitting with metal needles.
Aluminum needles can be both slipperier and stickier than bamboo needles, depending on the state of the knitter's hands when using the needles. In completely dry hands, aluminum needles can be very slippery. If a knitter's hands are at all damp, she can find her fingers sticking to the needles.
However, aluminum needles are not necessarily bad. Some knitters find that the metal needles usually give them the sticky grip, making it easier to handle them. Also, because the surface temperature of aluminum needles reacts to its environment more readily than bamboo, so aluminum needles warm up after being used for a short while.
Use in Projects
Both bamboo and aluminum needles are useful for different types of projects, depending on the types of stitches being used and the yarn's fiber content.
Some of the more complicated stitch techniques, such as cabling, are more suited to aluminum needles, because metal needles generally have sharper tips and are easier to insert into tight stitches. While bamboo needles can be sharpened using sandpaper, they become duller over time.
The fiber content of the yarn can determine what type of needle will work best for a project. Each needle material and each fiber has a certain level of grip, meaning how well the yarn hold on to the needles. Some yarns, like acrylics, have more grip, and others, like silk, has less grip and can slide easily. For needles, bamboo has more grip than aluminum.
In general, yarns with a lot of grip work well with needles with less grip, and yarns with less grip work well on needles with grip. Therefore, an acrylic project might best be done on aluminum needles, while a silk project would work better on bamboo needles.
