How do you tell a good lucet?

In the time I’ve been using a lucet I’ve learned a few different things about lucets.

First, your hand must be comfortable using a lucet. If you have small hands, using a large lucet may not be the thing for you. If your hand doesn’t like holding nearly flat objects, you don’t want a lucet that is comparatively flat. When my husband made me my first lucet he made one out of thinner wood, and one out of thicker wood. I liked the thicker wood. I felt I could get a better handle on it (pun intended).

Second, your lucet should be sturdy. Some lucets I’ve found are comparatively flimsy. I wouldn’t expect them to stand up to too much use. I also found that one of my projects wore a groove in a lucet (the one on the bottom right). I was using a wool yarn and must have been pulling hard to create enough friction.

Third, a flaired or straight horn lucet is personal preference. I don’t usually use slippery yarn, so a straight horn lucet doesn’t bother me. However, when one is starting out a slight flair in the horn is probably useful to help prevent the loops from slipping off the horn.