The good, the bad, and the knitted

So a few noticeable issues I have with the loom first.  The hook it comes with is not very effective, I found myself trying to use it with a pencil hold and with in a minute my hand started to hurt.  I switched up to a knife hold and that works better but I am going to need to add some padding wrap to the handle and extend that about 1/2 onto the hooks shaft for it to be 'comfortable' to work with. 

In the instructional video it comes with the person working the loom had made adoptions to their hook but did not mention anything about it in the video's so I am guessing it's a known issue so just be prepared.  Also the hook could use some work it is not a complete 90 degree bend at the tip which makes working the slider section a bit difficult. I think when I bind off this test sock I am going to see if I can't bend it into a 90 degree angle and see if that helps when working in the smaller space for the slider section.
Now onto the loom itself, I got the wood and metal version because I didn't want to snap off the plastic pegs which I have done before with the cheaper plastic knit in the round hoops.  It is very sturdy so no issues there, but the instructions tell you for a standard sock to cast on 52, and I am finding that to be way to large in width for a sock.  Also I am finding that working around the corners, that corner stitch is always a bit looser no matter how tight I wrap the pegs. 

The test sock I have on the loom right now is worked cuff down, and I have finished the heel section and am just working on the foot section.  I worked a 1x rib cuff through the first color change of the yarn, then switched to working what they call the flat stitch which is basically a knit stitch just a bit tighter then if you work the knit stitch itself.  I think the next sock I work up on it I will adjust where I work the heal at, as their directions have you working it over one long side and one short side in short rows.  I will set it to where my short row ends completely on the short section so I don't have to try and work the heal over the corner.

Now on to the crochet hook I got -- I love it!  My hand did stiffen up a bit when I started using it but once I got into hook up a hat with it I completely forgot that I was using a new hook.  It worked just as great as my ergo handle.