The Irish hooks, also known as the Hartman hook, are one of the finest crafted and designed tools for rug hooking. I have been using them for many years now and cannot imagine working with anything else. It is my most coveted tool! Over the years I have observed people using various styles of Irish hooks and noted a few details that could be changed in order to make them exceptional. I have found that three styles were consistently selected. A bent hook for those who hold their hook in their palm, a slim handle pencil hook and a primitive pencil hook. Working with Neville, the owner and craftsman of these fine hooks, we discussed the options and made a few changes. Our bent Irish is ergonomically designed with a flatened area on the side of the handle for a comfortable fit for your thumb. These are available in right or left handed options. The brass, harpoon style shank is curved and shorter with a 6mm diameter making it ideal for hooking strips from 5 and up.
For those who prefer to hold their hooks like a pencil, two sizes of pencil hooks are available. The slim handle hook is fitted with a 4mm brass shank which is perfectly suited to finer strips from #3 to #6 and the Primitive Pencil hook at 8mm makes working with wide strips from #6 and up, a breeze. The pencil hooks are fitted with a shorter shank, allowing your hand to rest at a more comfortable position over your work. One of the benefits of the shorter shanks on all of the Irish hooks is that it results in a lighter hook. Handles are crafted from “Yew” wood which are finely sanded into silky smoothness. I invite you to visit the studio to try our new Irish hooks and experience the excellence in person. They are also available on the website supplies pages.
