First of all, I've always liked Boye metal needles. They are so sleek and smooth and the tips are the perfect shape for me, not too sharp but not dull either. However, cables are a different story. They're too stiff, and the transition from the cable to the plug is rough—not rough enough that it catches on the threads, but rough enough that the threads don't slide smoothly over them. Not to mention that the cables sometimes unscrew from the tips of the needles. Other reviewers have found ways around the cables' stiffness - one took the tips of the needles to a gunsmith to be trimmed for working with Knitpicks cables, another made his own cables from weed rope. I've tried making weed cords with limited success. I had trouble getting the joints smooth enough to be any smoother than Boye's coarse cables. The weed cords also don't have a slot for a tension tool, so they're pretty easy to detach. Then I found the Chiaogoo Cables (http://www.amazon.com/ChiaoGoo-Interchangeable-Knitting-Needle-7514-S/dp/). B00C1QO3AE?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00) and connectors ). Those rated for "small needles" fit perfectly on the tips of Boye needles. However, the bolts on the Boyes are English (2/56 it seems) and the bolts on the Chiaogoo are metric, meaning they thread well up to a point and then stiffen as the threads deform slightly . This acts like a lock washer, making it very difficult to unscrew on your own, but it also means you don't want to take it apart and reassemble it. My solution was to get a set of connectors for each pair of needle tips and leave them permanently attached - you can even add a drop of superglue if you want to be sure it's permanent. The added benefit of this is that I now have tightening tool slots on both sides, the needle side and the cable side. I've done a few projects already and haven't had a single dropped connection, plus everything about these cables is incredibly smooth and the cables come in a variety of lengths. In the attached picture you can see my permanently inserted needles next to the Chiaogoo cables. Now I'm very happy with my needles - it's a shame I had to go through a lot to finally get a set that works so well. !
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