Wash them
Wash your knitting needles people. You spend hours holding them. Anything that’s on your hands (lotion…hair stuff…chapstick…possibly that pizza you had for lunch) is on there too.
Just chuck them a sink full of warm soapy water (ahem, making sure you don’t send them down the drain…that’s no fun) and let them hang out for a bit. You can use the same soap you use to wash/block your knits, I like Soak. After they’ve sat for a few minutes, rinse them off, and dry them off with a soft towel. They’ll feel so much better. The only thing you have to watch out for is needles that aren’t plastic or metal. If you got wooden (or bone, or horn, or some other natural material), you’ll probably want to rinse them and dry them quickly rather than soaking them.
But really…anything you touch that much can benefit from the occasional wash!
And someone asks every time so, yes, some of my needles are square! Kollage does them, and I do like them because they make a slight tighter fabric than the same size round needles do. And the others are some combination of Signature Arts Needles (the fuchsia ones and some of the green ones), Susan Bates (I especially love the pack they do with sizes 000, 00, 0, & 1), Hiya Hiya and ChiaoGoo (silver), and whatever else has caught my eye over the years (meaning there are some I just don’t remember).
And no…no there is no such thing as too many needles!
I also love the Bates package of sock needles, I think I have three! “…no such thing as too many needles!” Totally agree; especially since I broke a couple of my small bamboo #1 knitting booties out of acrylic yarn earlier this month.
Oh, thank you for sharing your needles with us! I find that I have a real penchant for interchangeable knitting needle sets, and I am easily seduced. I’ve been considering a 12-step program for needle addiction….it’s nice to know that at least I won’t be alone….