I personally think the handles are the biggest difference between these hooks, and for lots of reasons! You’ve probably noticed I keep saying “It depends”, or “It comes down to personal preference”. And that’s because it does. Only you can truly decide which hook is best for your specific style of crochet. If you’re able, I would encourage you to try one of each before you jump in to purchasing a whole set.

My personal preference shouldn’t really come into anyone else’s crochet hook experiences but I’m a Clover Amour gal through and through. I use and love a variety of crochet hooks but if I have the choice, I generally reach for a Clover every time! They’re not ideal for tight crocheters because the tapered throat allows the working loop to slip even smaller and tighter as you’re crocheting I’ll admit it – I’m a bonafide crochet hook addict. I’m constantly on the search for the best ergonomic crochet hooks which means I buy A LOT of hooks. At last count I had about seven 4mm hooks alone. Seems like overkill right? If I see a hook I’ve never tried before, I buy it immediately – it’s my achilles heel. I think I’m one of the only yarn crafters who buys more hooks than yarn! I’ve had a few people asking what my go to hooks are and the truth is, I use so many different styles of hooks I can’t even count, but I do have a few favourites. For beginners, try Clover amour. With a non-slip, comfortable design and a deeper throat, stitches don’t slip off the hook, ensuring smooth crocheting. More experienced crocheters may want to try the soft touch range. This offers smaller, lightweight hooks which are often a trusted ally for small, tight stitchesI bought this from a knitting store that carries only Addi hooks so I was kind of forced into buying it but I quite like it. It’s a 2mm so I use it for amigurumi and it’s a top notch little hook. I prefer these to the Addi Swing so if you’re going to budget for an Addi hook, try this one first, especially if you’re a pencil grip crocheter. I can’t quite imagine how a pencil grip crocheter would hold and Addi Swing. If anyone can point me to a video of it being done, I’d love to see it! Will I be switching? Truthfully, I’m not sure yet. There is still much playing to be done, and I encourage you to do the same. Video Review

I didn’t take very well to using the Addi Swing . I’m very glad I tried it and after a while it was quite comfortable but it took some practice. The Amour has a different color handle for each hook size. This is great not only because it’s more fun to look at, but once you learn which color belongs to which size, you can reach right in your bag and grab it. The downside is, the markings are less visible. Until you memorize which color belongs to each size, you’ll still have to pull them out of your bag, and it may be harder for some to read them. Shaft and Hook That’s not to say the Soft Touch is by any means uncomfortable, or should only be used if you’re a more experienced crocheter. I learned on the Soft Touch, and there’s a reason I’ve used them for so long.

I personally don’t rotate my hook very much, so I have no issues with the shallower bowl of the Soft Touch. One caveat though: I do find I drop more stitches with the Soft Touch than the Amour when I’m using a chunkier weight yarn. To cover a range of designs, choose the Clover soft touch steel crochet hook set. Providing customers with a variety of sizes, this product ensures maximum productivity and gives customers the support required to bring each and every idea to life. Beginners, I want you to know that having an expensive or “fancy” hook is not going to help you nearly as much as practice and gaining muscle memory. Don’t buy into the hype that you have to have the prettiest or most expensive hook to create beautiful pieces. It’s just not true. I’m a knife grip crocheter and found it fine to use the Addi Swing but I’m pretty sure a pen grip crocheter would struggle – they look to me like they’re designed for knife grippers.

That being said, if you’re considering upgrading from a standard plastic or steel hook, these are absolutely worth the investment. The ergonomic handles will save you so much hand and wrist pain in the future. Not to mention, they will both last a very long time. I’ve been using the same Soft Touch hooks for a literal decade, and they show almost no signs of wear. While I love the gold hook on the Soft Touch, the weird brownish tan of the handle just isn’t as nice to look at, and gets pretty boring. Clover is known for its quality, affordability and vibrant colours and their hooks are designed with comfort in mind. A reliable, trusted brand - it is easy to see why Clover has many loyal fans in Australia and around the world.

Clover Amour Promises Comfort & Reliability

However, there is one important difference between the hooks themselves! The Amour has a slightly deeper bowl (the groove of the hook itself) than the Soft Touch. But what does that mean for you? Well, it depends on exactly how you crochet. Left: Amour with deeper bowl, Right: Soft Touch with shallow bowl I really like cheap little Birch hooks. They’re better than the full metal ones (for some reason those ones just don’t mesh with me) and they’re really affordable. I have several because I like to keep my hook with the project so I don’t forget which hook I was using so I actually have 2 size 4 Birch hooks. No complaints. I can’t speak to the longevity of the Amour hooks, as I’ve only been using them for a couple of weeks, however Clover is known for making quality hooks. There isn’t anything that immediately stands out to me as an area of concern. I also haven’t heard of any complaints in the crochet community about the quality. Materials The Soft touch handle is made from ABS resin, which is a strong plastic. The handle has a very slight texture to it, but not something you will noticeably feel in your hand. It just provides a bit more grip than a smooth plastic. While the Soft Touch is less grippy than the Amour, I still find they have excellent control. Top: Clover Amour, Bottom: Clover Soft Touch Markings

Both the Clover Amour and Soft Touch have a tapered hook. There are many great debates on whether tapered is better than inline hooks (and vice versa), but it truly comes down to personal preference. There are pros and cons to both (that’s another post entirely), but my personal preference is tapered. I’m naturally a very twitchy person – I don’t sit still for very long – and this behaviour translates with crochet hooks as well. If I’ve been using a Clover Amour all day designing something in the Crochet Coach studio and I want to switch to another project, I’ll often change to a different style of hook too just to mix it up. It’s like exercise – if you run 5km every day your body eventually gets used to it and you need to change your exercise routine to incorporate something different. Grab a hook and some scrap yarn, and make a few double crochets in super slow motion. Pay attention to the way you move your hook. Do you find that your hook is often facing down (for example, when you pull through the loops on your hook)? Do you rotate your hook to grab a yarn over? If so, you might benefit from the deeper bowl.I will do a full post on the whole shebang of hooks but for now you just need to know that there are basically two kinds of hooks and most brands are based on these kinds of hooks. In fact, you can see in the picture below the only difference between my most used (left) and least used (right) Soft Touch hooks is a very slight fading of the gold shaft. I have had no issues with handles splitting, size markings wearing off, or decrease in smoothness. Very smooth metal shaft and throat – I have a cheap ergo hook and the metal is kind of bubbly which is endlessly annoying when my yarn snags on it