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Ebony needles are made of exotic wood and are decorative as well as useful. The no-working ends of the needles may be beautifully carved.
A recent innovation in knitting needles is the square shaft. Square needles still have points, but the rest of the needle is square instead of rounded so a dropped needle will not roll. Some knitters also find the squared shafts easier or more comfortable to grasp.
A set of interchangeable needles consists of flexible cable in several lengths along with various sizes of needle tips to be attached to a cable to form a circular knitting needle.
Some knitting needles have a teflon coating to enable stitches to glide easily over the needles. Knitters who like to knit fast and/or use heavily textured yarn will find the teflon coating helps their knitting progress smoothly.
Jack pins are extra-large knitting needles used for knitting with super bulky yarns or used singly with a crochet hook to produce "broomstick lace."
Point protectors come in pairs, like knitting needles, and fit over the tips when the needles are not in use. They look a bit like pencil erasers and protect not only the needle points, but anything that might be damaged by a point--such as a knitting bag.
A cable needle is a single, short, double-pointed needle used for holding a small number of stitches while working a cable twist. Some cable needles have a curve or ridges to help keep stitches from slipping off the needle.
A jumper needle has a point at one end and a flexible cable with a stopper at the other end. Jumper needles are used to accommodate more stitches than would fit on a straight needle.
