My current “thing” is bottle-hitching. I have a steel needle—flat, with a blunt point, and a threaded base instead of an eye. The word “dock-slider” is stamped in the shaft. It’s my favorite and I’d like to buy some more of them. Does anyone know about this needle and possible sources. Google didn’t help. Thanks, Sam
Hi Sam,
I don’t know “docksider” needles. Fellow member, Marty Combs has needles. He has an online shop. A friend sent me some tube needles from him and they are fine. I do not have the link at hand.
For hitching bottles (this comment not intended to prevent you from going to Marty for the needles you use) I like to put many loops of line through the eye of a needle and drag the whole mess through at each “stitch”. I use a “much too large” sail needle or a home made “large eye” needle. I found the “tube needles” much more useful for projects such as THK’s and TH’s Crosses, where less material had to be passed at each stitch.
You might look at back issues of Knotting Matters and Knot News to see how other folks have made tube needles or used them in knotting. One of our PAB members has a tool roll of tubulars in every size and what he can’t do isn’t worth doing, so tube needles can be a great aid. :-X
I agree with Roy.
And I like to add, if you are offered or do own a gripfit, try using that.
I find them very helpfull and easy to work with, but not for all tasks.
Sadly I do not know a producent of gripfits, the few I own have been made by people making them small scale.
So if anybody knows of a supplier I would like to hear about it.
Willeke
How Do All 
Welcome to the forum Sam,
As above; I am not sure about Dock Slider, either as a product name or a company name.
If you are interested in other threaded needles, here is the link to Marty Coombs site he has 3 sizes of permalok threaded needles,
http://www.angelfire.com/ak/skateworld/index.html
If you kow some one with a lathe you could have some stainless bar threaded at one end and make your own that way, I have a bunch like this ranging in size from 2mm dia up to 20mm dia, I shape the tips of them to suit the job in hand.
If you do a search for for Lacing needles on www.google.co.uk you will find a lot of leather craft companys selling different types of threaded and unthreaded needles that would suit.
My preference for needle hitching is to use packing needles, these have a broad flat tip, that is curved at the end, this makes hitching much easier than with a straight needle, trust me; Iv’e tried all sorts.
also consider the fact that with a screw threaded needle you have to pull the whole length through each stitch, which could be 3 meters or more, with a packing needle or other “eyed” needle you you may only need to pull through half that amount each stitch, as the twine is threaded on to the needle almost to it’s mid point.
you can get packing needles from 3" upto 8" some times 10"
If you are interested in more info / or obtaining packing needles, let me know and I can help you out.
I hope this is of some help.
Take care,
Barry ;D
Thanks to all of you for the prompt responses. I’m delighted to get in touch with other “hitchers.” I have the packing needles up to 6". I’m not sure what a “grip-fit” is. I have several grip-fids, one sent to me by the late Stuart Grainger. I have made most of them to fit the various sizes of cord I use. All the needles I use are curved. A straight needle, as you suggest, would be a pain to use against a bottle. Most of my hitching is done with #12, #24, or #36 cotton and the packing needles I use with these don’t have an eye large enough to pull the cord through, though that’s a helpful technique. I have to doctor it to get even the end through. Maybe I need more needle sizes. So I use the tube most of the time with 18’ pieces. I had bought all of Marty’s sizes from him several years ago. Neither he nor Des had any info on “dock-slider.”
I’d also be interested in hearing about your work. Nearly all of mine is on wine bottles. Currently working on two double magnums (3 liter) and one magnum (1.5 liter). I’d like to go up at least one more size to the Jereboam and I’m going to talk to local wineries to see if that’s possible. Maybe we could all get together and hitch a 7’ Nebuchadnezzar.
Thanks again for your very helpful postings.
Sam
Hi Sam, and All
SamWrote: “I’m not sure what a “grip-fit” is”.
Read Grip-Fid, even Willeke makes spelling mistakes sometimes ;D
Here is a link to my Yahoo album, There is some hitching of one kind or another on most things in there, I still have lots to add to it when I get time to take and resize the photos.
http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/bazz_pard/my_photos
I would be very interested in seeing some of your bottles, it is always nice to see others work, and get inspired to crack on with a new project.
Take care,
Barry 
I'm not sure what a "grip-fit" is.Hi, Sam!
Willeke is from a non-English-speaking country, so it’s important to “spell check” automatically, yourself, to get the (quite large) value from her posts. For example, her word “reverence” (for a canonical list of knots) works much better than “reFerence”…
But I digress…
Have you tried just taking a (you pick the size) knitting needle (aluminum), cutting it to the “right” length & simply threading the back side yourself? I did that, sans threading, and it works great! Even kernmantel eye splices are easily do-able this way. The cost (by the pair, even!) is so low, even I could afford it! To thread the back end, you could find a bolt of the “right size”, cut “chip breakers” in the threads with a hacksaw, and just drive it on in (and out, and in, and out…) until the threads hold your cordage. Careful tapping on the “smart end” with a hammer should give you a “perfect fit” for curve & flatness.
The best place to suggest first (IMNERHO) is, of course, this site: Alaska Museum of Fancy Knots. His instructions on Turk’s Head Bracelets, Little Lump Knot, and Star Knot show the needles you describe, as well as some new things to do with them… or not, as you please. But he should know where to get more. If it were legal in this State, I’d wager you’ll find a new friend there.
This guy has some “SCREW THREADED LACEING NEEDLES (SOLID BRASS)” for sale. I don’t know him nor owe him, but it answers your request … sorta.
OTOH, an upholstery-type needle (curved, extra large eye) could help – if you cut one side of the eye out (but not the end) & polished it up well, you could put loops of material in the “open eye” to be pulled through all at once… The “hook” made from opening the eye might be faster than threading… Just a thought.
As for me, my hands seem to prefer “pulling”… I take a tool & reach “back” from where the thread is going, grab the thread near where it’ll end up resting anyway, then pull the whole end through “backwards”… Once the first bight makes it through & you can remove your tool, fingers will do to pull the rest. A guitar string (B, high E, or unwound G) folded over works well for me… Watch out for the odd Overhand Knot that’ll “magically” appear…
Happy knotting!
Jimbo
Sorry Sam,
I should have checked my spelling :-[
Jimbo,
When you can write a foreign language with as few mistakes as I do you are allowed to criticize my spelling, but not before!
(Most people who did grow up speaking English make as many or more mistakes, see some of the kids.)
Willeke
Well… actually… I have never used anything except an ordinary sailmakers needle of suitable size for hitching on bottles & jugs! Works quite well for me (and to judge from your comments, my work it is apparently OK)
Internal thread needles (I make my own from scrap steel, thread sizes from M2 to M12) are superb for many jobs, but especially when I hitch-cover jugs the needle takes a lot of wear. The steel that is soft enough for me to cut threads in is a little too soft to take that. Brass does not come even close…
Anyway, sailmakers needles works fine for me! (OK, I do have to use quite some persuasion to get the yarn through the eye, but in the end I always win… ;))
Lasse