Crochet hook is falling apart

I was working with a new crochet hook today. After a while, the handle got sticky—something I’ve never experienced in my 60 years of crocheting. It feels like a forgotten piece of licorice candy.

I’ve experienced that before, too. I think those are plasticizers that dissolve over time. You can see the same thing happen with Barbie dolls. But for that to happen with a brand-new hook?

Well, I’ve had the hook for a while. But I only used it for the first time today.??

I have quite a few of these hooks—and it happens to all of them after a while. It probably has something to do with sweat, salt, and/or hand cream.
I simply scrubbed my hooks under running water with one of those little metal sponges. Then the handle is smooth again, and the hook works perfectly.

I’ve had that problem before, too. A while back, I bought a whole set of crochet hooks.... They all felt really good in my hand.
Then, the handle on the hook I used most often suddenly started getting stickier and stickier, until the handle cracked right where the metal piece is inserted... I ended up throwing it away :-(

I often have this happen with the Prym ones, too. As already mentioned, just peel off or scrub away the “Softgrip” film, and you’ll have a completely “normal” crochet hook :-)

Oh, I’ll have to try scrubbing it off sometime.

I’ve had that happen before, too—it’s really gross. I haven’t noticed this with the really hard plastic hooks, just the slightly softer ones. So far, it’s only happened to me with Prym—not with other brands. Even after scrubbing it, it got that way again shortly afterward, so I switched to other brands.

I also remember holding my very first crochet hook as a young girl—it was just plain metal. All that fancy handle stuff came later. I’ve also bought ergonomic ones, but they’re no better than regular ones.

I’ve accumulated way too many crochet hooks over the years anyway. I only crochet with Clover and Knitpro now. Every now and then I use a plastic hook from addi. I have no idea what I could do with all my other hooks...  

This has happened to me before with a Prym hook, but not with other soft-grip hooks—and I use those all the time.

Best regards

Danie

Dusting the hooks with baby powder every now and then also helps prevent that sticky film from forming.

Ahhhh, that’s a great tip. I’ll try it right away… wait a sec… 

Cool, at least it feels good. It doesn’t look great at first, but who cares? It’ll probably wear off over time.

Great tip!!! 

I know what you mean....
I just wrapped a tissue around it and then peeled off the “non-sticky” layers.... Baby powder sounds like a good idea, too.
I prefer to crochet with the really old ones, the ones with wooden handles.... I have two that are over 50 years old 😇 and they feel so good in my hand (they’re from my grandma). 

Wow, wooden handles! They’re real treasures! 

Hello, fellow sufferers!

All of my soft-grip crochet hooks eventually started to get sticky.
Rubbing them down, using baby powder, rubbing alcohol, acetone… none of it helped much.
I’ve now painted all my crochet hook handles with clear nail polish (because I had it on hand, it dries quickly, and I don’t have to keep cleaning the brush).
Finally, everything is back to normal.
The handle isn’t sticky anymore. I hope my experience has been helpful to you.
Happy crafting!

I posted several times about this on Instagram last year. Many people reached out to say they’d had the same experience. Then the manufacturer responded and offered free replacements. I gladly accepted the offer and had all my hooks replaced.

Well, we’d all have had plenty of sticky hooks to replace. I sorted mine out recently. The only thing that actually helped for me was wrapping the handles with cotton yarn. The handles were so sticky that the cotton fibers of the yarn stuck to them well. Wrapped nice and tightly in rounds. Then tie a knot, and you’re good to go.

Otherwise, I’ll probably have to buy a few new ones, but it’s still a shame about the collection. Well, the soft grip does have its downsides, too.

Love, Ina

Yes, the Prym hooks… I used to scrub my old ones with scouring cream, which worked well. But they just don’t feel as comfortable in my hand anymore. I now have a few with turned wooden handles—they’re great. They feel fantastic in my hand, partly because the handle is a bit longer. I’ll definitely be getting one or two more of those.