Subject: [BOND] line stripper? Date: Wed, 14 Oct 1998 10:03:59 -0400 From: Marcia Johnstonhttp://www.berkley-fishing.com/t_tackle/access.htmAnn, first of all, welcome back! In case no one has responded to your question about the line stripper, here's it's history. We all know that there should be no tension on the yarn as it goes through the carriage. We've all done the pulling-several-yards-out- of-the-skein/ball-before-each-row bit. Then we progressed to unwinding-the-entire-skein-into-some-sort-of-a-container-before-starting-to- knit bit (discovering that with plastic containers a fabric softener sheet or a quick spray of Static Guard on the sides will cut down on the static electricity). For the next big advancement we have to give credit to Donna in KY's brother who, when he saw her unwinding by hand, suggested she try his fishing line stripper to speed up the unwinding. As far as I'm concerned, he deserves a Nobel prize! Needles to say, this discovery caused a whole bunch of us to run to our nearest sporting goods stores or Wal Marts, probably buying out the entire stock of fishing line strippers in the country! (By the way, a fishing line stripper looks a little like a large penlight flashlight, but instead of a bulb and lens it has a pink emeryboard-like wheel sticking out of the end. When you remove the top cover, you will see it sits on top of a rubber wheel which spins on a spindle when you press the on/off button. There is a second rubber wheel which touches the first, and the fishing line--or in our case, the yarn--passes between the two rubber wheels. One brand name is Berkely.) Some of us had beginner's luck and were successful in making the little thing work on the first try. Others (and I include myself in this group) had more trouble. Various suggestions were offered: pull the rubber wheel with hook grinder on top off the spindle and insert a cat's hair in the hole before replacing it on the spindle (this was to prevent the wheel from slipping as it spun); spray it with the silicon spray; make sure the batteries are fresh; put a drop of super glue in the spindle before putting the wheel back on. There were other suggestions which I have forgotten. These all worked for some but not for me. I tried everything except the glue (and I was about to do that), when I tried one more thing which had been suggested: make sure the batteries were in right. I just KNEW they were in right because the wheels spun when the button was pressed so I ignored this suggestion. However, if the batteries are inserted BACKWARDS (i.e., with the positive end--the end with the protrusion--going into the stripper FIRST) the wheels spin the wrong way and the yarn will just not go through! Once the batteries are properly inserted, the yarn will literally fly through the air! As to whether you should go out and get your own, I'd say "By all means!" It's a big time saver and leaves you more time to do the actual knitting! If you have trouble finding one, put out an S.O.S. on the list and someone will offer to pick one up for you. That's what I did. Marcia (a.k.a., LLS or the Little Line Stripper) ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 20 Oct 1998 11:10:18 -0500 From: Jody Tapley Subject: Re: [BOND] winder or stripper Linda M. Cole wrote: > I've been reading so much about the line stripper. I have a couple of > ball winders that I've been using for years. What is the advantage of a > line stripper over the ball winder (sometimes called wool winders)? When you're knitting with the Bond, you need to have the yarn flow with absolutely no tension on it. Because of that, many of us will unwind the yarn into a container and knit from there. The line stripper makes unwinding the yarn very fast and fun too. :-) I don't have a ball winder so I can't give you a comparison there, but I do know I love my little "yarn squirter"! Jody in Granbury, Texas jodylt@itexas.net ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 20 Oct 1998 11:55:28 -0500 From: Catherine Goodwin Subject: [BOND] ballwinder vs stripper Oh, I used to love those "compare and contrast" test questions, so here goes (totally impartial of course) * the flow of yarn can be much smoother from a pile of yarn off a line stripper, especially those hairy yarns that don't want to come out of a center pull ball due to clinging, however, with skill, one can wind a loose flowing center pull ball with a ball winder. *some yarns don't work that well through a yarn stripper, though I have never met a yarn that didn't wind on to a ball winder (even in my early days of handspinning when some of my yarns had unrecognizable portions of fibers globbed up-"nubby" would be an understatement!) *yarn strippers are battery, ball winders you have to crank (which can get tiring if you don't have a slave,oops, I mean unwilling teenager around to crank for you) *ball winders can convert yarns that were bought in hanks or skeins, or yarns you skein off to dye, into nice center pull balls,yarn strippers cannot. *yarn strippers have a cool novelty about them, you can be amazingly entertained by them shooting yarn, ball winders are boring but have their own sort of geometric beauty. *ball winders preserve the yarn without tangling if you change your mind and do another project first, once you've "stripped" a pile of yarn, it is in perile if you do not put it under lock and key if others (cats, children or spouses) share your abode, also, if you unstrip more than you need, or want to trade, what do you do with the spaghetti? * line strippers are cheaper, but if you have both, you can fix previous problem Anything else? Catherine Goodwin Rock Springs Farm and Fiber, TN rocksprings@multipro.com http://users.multipro.com/rocksprings/ ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 20 Oct 1998 11:54:00 -0500 From: "Jimmy L. Simmons" Subject: Re: [BOND] winder or stripper I have both the stripper and winder. Basically the stripper is used to quickly pull the yarn from a skein and places it in a pile in a container for tension-free knitting. No, the yarn won't tangle if it is left undisturbed. (If you mix it up...you have BIG problems). The ball winder is used to wind the yarn into a ball. Personally, I do both. I use the stripper to unwind the skein on the floor, then use the ball winder to make a ball of it. By doing it this way I catch all knots and tangles that may be hidden in the skein and since I prefer to knit from the ball (no mixing-up accidents) I have the best of both worlds. The stripper is many times faster, easier and more fun than pulling the yarn from the skein by hand. Jimmy Simmons orion@datasync.com Gautier, Mississippi http://www2.datasync.com/orion/french_beret.htm ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 20 Oct 1998 11:57:28 -0700 From: Lu Kelce Subject: Re: [BOND] winder or stripper Hi Linda and all: Our very dear Lila Jones was the first one to recommend pulling the yarn out of the skein and into a container for easy flowing yarn and faster knitting of same. THANKS LILA :) Donna Mardis gave us the line stripper hint suggested by her ?brother? I think. THANKS DONNA :) Both suggestions have been life savers for a lot of us, even those who have ball (wool) winders. I still wind my yarn into balls for storage purposes, but find that fuzzy or hairy yarn knits more smoothly if it is left unwound and used right from the tub where I "shoot" it. I still "shoot" all yarn into the tub first, even when I plan to wind it into balls, as it forms a looser ball that flows easier. I have had really good luck with my line stripper (My family calls it my Yarn Shooter) since I have shot everything from Luster Sheen to Lion Brand Homespun through mine. Both the ball winder and line stripper are part of my accessories for knitting and I'm sure we all have our personal preferences as to which has been the most helpful to us. I love them both. Lu Kelce in Riverside, Ca. "Everything is always NEW to someone" http://kelulu@pacbell.net ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Oct 1998 11:55:05 -0700 From: "Marian Gall" Subject: [BOND] Line stripper For those of you whose Wally world doesn't have line strippers and doesn't know what you are talking about, The phone number for the line stripper company is 1-800-berkley. the web site is
They know all about what we Bonders use their line stripper for. The company is a bit more expensive than Wally world but at least they have them and know what you are talking about. Marian Gall from the Arizona mountains gall@primenet.com
Back to the Bond List Thoughts Page | Please e-mail any comments to me at steph@stephthornton.co.uk |
Author : Steph Thornton.
Last modified on : 22nd October 1998.