It's not the knitting needles, it's you! Well, your body chemistry ...
I picked up some new needles before Christmas . Two sets of 16" 3mm Skacel Addi Lace circs. I am going gung-ho on sock knitting and decided to bite the bullet and spend the money to alleviate my frustration with my small diameter cheapo circs.
So, I love the needles. Nice bright, shiny, slinky brass, smooth join, pointy points and slinky cable. All good things in a circular needle. Especially if you're using it for socks or mittens or some other small round project. I zip through a pair of socks, a pair of mittens and then start a second pair of socks with the same needles. It's about this time that my sock is becoming less and less of a joy to knit. The yarn is not moving along the needles. It's sticking like glue. Trying to push the stitches up the needle is ending up in having to use so much pressure to get them moving that they fire right off the end! I switch over to my crappy cheapo Aero circs and find it a much more enjoyable experience.
Enter a little innernet reasearch. I find entries here, here and here relating that the Addi Lace needles either reeked, tarnished or turned the knitting on them green or black. Basically, my body chemistry doesn't like the brass needles. Poop!
I can't find the receipt. I use a little Bar Keeper's Friend and polish up the tips then pop them into their plastic envelopes and they're as good as new. I purchased them at my LYS and I hope that they will exchange them for a pair of Addi Turbo's in the same size. After all that I've read about Skacel standing behind their product and the fact that I have a valid reason gives me hope.
Um, no. The owner of the shop isn't in but the girl there reiterates they have a no exchange/no return policy on their needles. I understand the reason behind this and explain about the tarnishing issue. That I bet she can return them to the distributor without a problem. She says she's sorry but....no. I get it but I am a bit miffed. Not so miffed that I would never shop there again. They're 7 blocks from my house, they carry a nice variety of yarn and their knit nights are a riot.
As it happens my sister was with me and asked to stop at Three Bags Full. She's a spinner and remembered that they had top knots or something or other for spinning. While we were there I decided that I would pop for another set of Addi Turbos. So as I ask Francine, the store clerk, where she keeps the needles. Then my sister pipes up about the trouble I had with the Addi Lace ones and Francine is all over it! "Yes, I've had many customers with the same complaint!" Then little sister relates how my LYS wouldn't exchange them. Francine, the superstar, say "I'll take them back! Our distributor says if there's anything wrong with a set of needles that they will take them back. No matter what!"
I was stunned that another store would make that offer. Not another store in the same chain...another store entirely! Wow! That's some customer service! AND I didn't have to do a straight exchange! She let me pick a set of 2.5mm Addi Turbos and a hefty 420m ball of Kauni Effectyarn. All it cost me was 35 cents. I KNOW, right?!
So a BIG THANKS to Francine over at Three Bags Full for going the extra mile. I hope that you get recognized and not reprimanded for doing what you did. I found it refreshing to find a store that listened to the customer instead of repeating policy. That you made it work out for both of us. You have secured me as a dedicated customer!
