Let’s Talk About Spindles
We’re doing spindle testing here at Chappy’s house.
I have an assortment of spindles which mostly don’t get out of the closet all that often. (Because, well, you know, three wheels.)
Today, though, I decided to pull them out and compare them.
We have here, from left to right, a Jenkins Turkish spindle (which, um, just arrived today), a Kundert, two Goldings (a tiny one and a larger one), and a petitelittle Greensleeves Vixen.
The Goldings–shocking though this is going to be to hear–almost sacrilege-are actually my least favorite of the group.
Don’t get me wrong, I think they’re absolutely gorgeous. I mean, look at them. Beautiful. But, comparatively? They honestly don’t spin as long or as well as the others.
The Greensleeves Vixen is a lovely little spindle, but that’s the thing. Very little. It spins well enough for its size, and is lovely to look at. (Tulip wood, by the way.) Very pretty. But . . . just okay. Not awful. Not wonderful. Perfectly nice.
The Kundert, though? This was my first good spindle and remains my favorite. It spins like it’s going to rotate forever. It’s beautiful. It’s aerodynamic. It’s just lovely. Big kudos on this one. I love it, and have yet to find one that I like better.
And, the new kid on the block? The Jenkins Turkish spindle? Well, this just stepped up to be my second favorite.
It would have had a chance for first except for that oh-so-annoying but necessary half-hitch at the top every, single, time I have to pause to wind on. If there were a hook on the top of the shaft that I could just loop around like I do on the top-whorl spindles, I’d be happier. No matter how “traditional” that pretty little notched top might be, I’d rather have a hook. By a lot.
But the spinning thing? Absolutely no problem there. Rotating is definitely not the problem for this Turkish spindle. It does that just wonderfully. This one, by the way, is Canary wood, and is a thing of beauty. Just saying.
Now, will all this playing mean my wheels are in any danger of being neglected and unloved? No. Spindles are nice, and it’s been fun playing with them, but ultimately they’re not fast enough for me. I appear to be more of a product than a process spinner and knitter–as much as I love doing them, I like to get to the finished product, to be able to use or wear whatever it is I’ve made. So ultimately, spindles are a nice diversion, but for “real” spinning, well, yeah . . . I like my wheels.
Spindles sure do look pretty though, huh?
Oh, and I think this is actually a couple of years old (if not, I saw one remarkably like it a couple of years ago), but you must check out this video of this Honda Accord ad. The entire thing was filmed in one take, no tricks, no computers. It took 606 takes to get it right, and all the parts in the ad come from actual Hondas. Just . . . wow. Old or not, I’m glad my Dad sent me a link for this because, honestly, I could watch it again and again and again….
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Even if the spindles aren’t that usseful, they ARE pretty! maybe you shouldput the ones you don’t like to use in a display case so you can look at them and say they are decorative?
I abandoned my spindles when I got my wheel, but this post makes me itch to go back to it. I’ll never be able to find it now! That green is awesome.
I never understood that saying about how they ‘spin forever’ until I got my Kundert spindle. Mine’s similar to yours but with birdseye maple.
I have three, my first is bubinga from a lesser known company that I don’t recall anymore, one a Mt. Saint Helen’s from Cascade and then the freebie CD one from Spin-Off. Seriously, the CD one spins the best and the longest. I’m actually pretty disappointed in the spin of the Cascade one. It kind of makes me sad that the most function is so not pretty.
I had a spindle once. In a box with a pound of roving, all ready to be spun. All excited I was to get it, too. Took it out of the box, read the instructions, put it back in the box, and that was that. Years later I gave it all to a friend who had a couple other spindles already, and even used them now and then. Nope. Me? If I’m ever going to spin, it’ll be with a wheel. Someday. Your spindles are lovely, though. Just lovely.
I remember that ad. It’s incredible. I can’t imagine figuring that all out, much less the precision it took to set it up correctly. 606 times. Good gads.
I love my Golding. It spins forever and my Greensleeves ( I have several) spin well, too. I love spindles and like to collect them when I can. Your Kundert is lovely.
That’s funny, I have a kundert and several goldings. My kundert doesn’t spin nearly as well. That said, I haven’t heard great things about the balance of that tree design, and my smallest and lightest golding doesn’t spin as well as my slightly larger ones, so maybe what it all comes down to is that different weights and sizes spin better in different designs.
Thanks for the review!
Nice spindle review! Even if you never used them again, they are certainly very decorative.
Ooh, pretty spindles! Thanks for the review.
Mesmerized by the ad… “I loved it. It was much better than ‘Cats.’ I’m going to see it again and again.”
I have always loved how spindles looked, but have never been good at spinning on them. And like you said, once you have a wheel; well.
But they are definitely very collectible pieces.
I have the same feelings towards spindles too. They are pretty, nice to futz with periodically, but for real spinning, nothing beats a wheel (or two, or three
I love that Honda ad. I had the .mov version of it for a while now. I did a bit of research when it first hit the net. Trying to get it in one take make the director just this side of insane. I can totally see it, but really, the results are so worth it!
I’m not a spinner… but I sure love the artistic flair of the photographic compositions. The spindles look pretty enough to sit on a shelf.
I LOVE spindle p*rn.
Couldn’t agree more about the Kundert–I don’t know what it is about them, but they really are superb spinners. The next best is probably my Bosworth…