What is the best knitting machine to learn on? How do I decide on what knitting machine is right for me?

What is the best knitting machine to learn on? How do I decide on what knitting machine is right for me?
I thought I would do a little post about knitting machines, because like me, if you don't know what you want it can be quite daunting. There are so many out there. Though if you can afford to buy one from a dealer they will let you know exactly what you want.
I can't afford a new one (or as research suggests a "newer" one.) I am speaking from a "buying in Australia" point of view.  There is a company here in Sydney, that are apparently the importers of knitting machines. The models they have, though they might be never used, are still old models from what I have read. But then, I don't know if they make domestic machines anymore, anyway.

So, if you are reading this you are like me, in the second hand market, and have no idea of what is what, there are so many models, makes and attachments!
This is not a post by an "expert", this is simply what I have found through my own search to find what I want.
The knitty gritty! ;)
This is the best part to get started...

• What kinds of wool do you want to use?

Selecting your knitting machine 
Different yarns for different knitting - knowing what machine you want

See, just as regular knitting has different sized needles, so does knitting machine. they come in standard ( the most common), mid-gauge and Bulky.

This is what I should have decided on first. What do I want to knit with? There is a whole lot of information out there saying that you can knit worsted on standard machine if you use every second needle etc etc.

But think of it this way, some things you "can do", but are not recommended: I mean you might be able to persevere on a standard gauge machine, but is that what you want to do? "persevere"?

For example, when I decided I wanted a knitting machine, it was to make all the ideas in my head, which mainly involved lots of glorious colours, pictures and natural wool, alpaca etc.

I have to hold out for a bulky machine, as the things you buy from the store or from spinners are not the fine gauge needed for knitting machines.

hrrm maybe if I put it like this:

you want to knit? :

1. things from store bought yarn - most yarns in stores "readily available" are 4 ply and above, as described above, while this is said to be able to be used on standard knitting machines if you use every 2nd needle, it is not made for it. I believe you can buy 2 ply "fingering" wool in stores also, however the range and colours are not as readily available.
2. from punch cards and patterns available on the internet - if that is your main focus and are prepared to shop around for your yarn and standard gauge machine would suit you best. Be aware that the pre made wool in cones is not as readily available, and when it is, the colour range is not huge and they are mostly acrylics. (google machine knitting yarn to see for yourself ), you can use store bought "fingering weight" however, like with the bulky, they have to wound onto the knitting machine cones for use. People seem to buy a wool winder for this.

In my opinion the wool I wanted to use was a HUGE deciding factor, but because i want to use store bought and more readily available natural wools, I will have to wait longer (or if i win the lotto, to buy a new one), as the bulky weight machines are a lot fewer in number.
What you see for sale all the time, are the standard weight. The machines that use the fingering weight.

Here are some more excellent links that I read through to come to my decisions (so you don't have to google for hours and hours like I did)

Hand and Machine knitting - the similarities

Knitting machine True and False

FAQ about knitting machines

OK, so i guess you have decided on what type of yarn you want to use; 

I next just looked at the list below, and wrote down every bulky machine, the model number, brand, plastic or metal, manual or punchcard and the manufacture date.

If you click through to the link below, it will show you a list of knitting machines available.

Knitting machine list- please support this store that has made these many wonderful links available

As you can see there are plenty of options:

• metal or plastic - I think that is pretty self evident. metal is stronger but can rust and bend , where plastic is usually cheaper, can go brittle and break, etc
• needle size - we covered that above
• model number - keep a list beside you, so you know what to look for, for sale
• manufacture date - as you can see, some machines are pretty old! As, you will see in some of the links I provide below, this is not always a bad thing. If they have been used regularly, it is most likely they have been looked after. The main thing to consider is rust and parts.
• Electronic, manual or punchcard - this doesn't matter to me for what I want to do, all though the electronic would make for much easier and quicker patterns, like someone said I read (it is a hobby, not an automatic thing). Manual just means that you have to count your rows and move your needles to your count, Electronic is an actual plug in that in some, apparently you can just type your patterns in and a punchcard is one that (obviously) takes a punch card pattern. Basically, I think these are just pattern options (from what I understand). be aware that some of the punch cards only take 26 punch patterns while the some of the electronic ones are the full bed(or close).
• Bed length - obviously this is the length of the knitting machine.It says by "needles", but obviously the larger the needles on the machine the less there will be for the same length of the machine.
• accessories available - this is important for some machine knitters for what you want to do. This is one I am still trying to get my head around as each machine is different, and my advice would be to find out per machine you find. There are knit radars (which count the rows/stitches for you), and different heads (carriages), lace, intarsia(picture knitting) etc. Do your research per machine, as some machines have some of these things built it. Also ( as I want to do picture knitting), as I understand it, these carriages make it easier to do these things, but don't mean you can't always do it without. I THINK the intarsia carriage just cleans up all the floaters for you, but if you can put up with weaving in the ends like in hand knitting, you don't need it. (I THINK).

 I guess the next step is the actual buying - I have not been through this step yet, but found this link for some useful things to consider and look for:

What to look for when buying a knitting machine

That about sums up my post about buying knitting machines. When or IF I ever get a bulky one I can afford, i will post more on the subject, like patterns, how to's, what I learnt etc etc

There is still a wealth of information out there when googling! And please support these websites and links I have provided, by leaving a "thank you" message, buying from their store (if it is close to you) etct etc. It takes time sharing knowledge, for no reward. Like my post was just because I had such a hard time and spent sooo many hours to get my head around what I should buy that I was hoping to save someone else the hassle!

I'll leave you with one more link that is awesome!! It has SO many resources, even a little animation of how the knitting machine works. Amazing!

Amazing web-site - All things MACHINE KNITTING

ps: If you can add any info, or correct me on anything, please feel free!! This post is for you! :) Email is in side bar or just leave a comment. :)