choosing reeds

Hi weavolution friends, You all are amazing - there is so much information and so much I have to learn! As I've written before, my loom is countermarch loom is quite old and the Gowdy reeds that came with it, a 6 dent and a 15 dent, are sturdy, but considerably rusty. I am attempting to fix them, but will likely need new reeds. Based on your experience (I am a total novice), can anyone suggest which one or two reeds a beginner should invest in (how many dents)? Thanks a bunch!

Comments

What Reeds

I have found that the two that I use most are 10 and 12, but 8 is nice is you want to make rugs. It depends on what you think you might want to weave.

Reeds

If you're going to get two, I would get a ten and either an eight or a twelve. With those two, you can easily get many possible combinations. Personally, I would go for the eight since it's what I use for chenille scarves and rag rugs, but if you tend to like finer threads and be a towel person, you might be better off with the twelve.

I have been weaving for about

I have been weaving for about a year now and have only used a 12 dent reed. However, there are times I wish that I had that 10 dent reed. My loom came with an 8 dent and a 12 dent reed. Someday, I will get that 10 dent reed. Its hard to decide and i wish you the best of luck in your decision.

=^.^=

And I have 8,10 and 16, never

And I have 8,10 and 16, never needed anything else. Whatever you choose, you'll make it work. :)

Reeds I Use Most

I use the 8, 10 and 12 dent reeds the most.

Do you have a favorite reed maker to recommend?

I've got a few hand-me-down reeds that came with my looms, so I've never actually bought a reed. Now I want to expand my collection, but am not sure which kind to buy. I would rather spend $50 for a good reed that will outlive me than $30 for a reed that won't.

NOTE: these are for my 15" table loom, which is why the prices above are lower than they would be for a meter wide floor loom.

I've never paid any attention to reed height. Most of my reeds cane with looms, and they are what they are. Some are 4", some 5", a few are taller. I use them interchangably in a wide variety of looms and have never had issues with the height of the reed limiting the shed. If you have a rug loom, with a very large shed that you want to use rug shuttles with, it would be an issue, I suppose.