Needle eye thread friction

[Gymnast]

Sometimes I do studies, that may or may not got any interest. You decide.

This time it is about the thread friction of the needle eye of sewing machines needles. I got some needles from some not that reputable brands, and have tried to test them without actual sewing with them. A whole lot of new needles I got was actually bad. I could clearly see, that the needles I got with high needle eye friction did also create problems whey I used them in a sewing machine.

If you only got good quality needles, you may never encounter a problem with this.

If you like to check or compare some needles you got, then measuring the needle eye friction can be one more way to evaluate needles. I made this video about it:

 

Edited July 28, 2021 by Gymnast

[kgg]

2 hours ago, Gymnast said:

If you only got good quality needles, you may never encounter a problem with this.

I guess it proves the point that you get what you pay for. My personal experience has lead me to using only Schmetz needles as a lot of the other brands that I tried were just frustrating to use. This maybe particular only to my needs, machines and what I sew. It was interesting to see the quality decline of the Flying Man needles over a six year period.

kgg

Edited July 28, 2021 by kgg
word missing

[nylonRigging]

Appreciation sent for the time spent looking at this . The Needle and the 'Eye of ', is a small and overlooked thing, but the work quality we expect of it is big .
.....thanks
.

[LindanHotAir]

We have found the Groz-Beckert GEBEDUR titanium nitride coated needles to be good quality and very long lasting. They have significantly reduced thread shredding. The coating reduces friction and frictional heating.

[Gymnast]

Good to know, that other sewing machine users have found this needle eye thread friction important too.

I know that many people sewing garment prefer top stitch needles, that have got a longer needle eye. I have not got such needles, but I guess they might very well reduce this eye friction this way.

12 hours ago, LindanHotAir said:

We have found the Groz-Beckert GEBEDUR titanium nitride coated needles to be good quality and very long lasting. They have significantly reduced thread shredding. The coating reduces friction and frictional heating.

Interesting discovery, if such coating can reduce friction. Less friction cause less heating.

I have also discovered, that the thread U-turn near the hook is another important place to have a nice round pass for the thread. I got a Singer 237 with sharper edges at this place, that frayed the thread. I then grinded this place. The Pfaff 30 is produced with much nicer machining finish at this place. But I guess most industrial sewing machines should be made smooth there.

On 7/28/2021 at 1:18 PM, kgg said:

I guess it proves the point that you get what you pay for. My personal experience has lead me to using only Schmetz needles as a lot of the other brands that I tried were just frustrating to use. This maybe particular only to my needs, machines and what I sew.

When I got the needles in 2020 for household machines, I could not get stretch needles above size Nm90, Universal needles above Nm130, and Ball point needles above size Nm90. So I needed to look for alternative brands and suppliers. In this way i also got some stretch needles from AMF, that got no issues. So I guess most brands are OK except for some few.

[kgg]

9 minutes ago, Gymnast said:

So I guess most brands are OK except for some few.

I think all information related to needles quality / size/ type / fiction etc. as it is important to the quality of work any machine can provide and is often overlooked. I just sold my PFAFF 1245 in the last couple of days. Now I have room for another machine but had a inquiry from a guy basically around the corner from me who said he had bought an old Singer 211 but considered it a $500 "boat anchor". He needed something that worked without shredding / breaking / bird nesting the V92 thread that he was using on some boat canvas. We had a phone conversation and narrowed down his problem with the "boat anchor" to probably the type and size of needle he was using. I offered him a couple packs of my Schmetz needles to try and now the "boat anchor" is just sailing along find.

kgg