# Kromski & Schacht Wheels



## Falls-Acre (May 13, 2009)

These are the 2 brands I've finally settled on for my wheel. They both have what I want in a wheel... beauty, function, variety, or at least I'm hoping. DH is helping me with this now (I think he finally realizes this is important to me), which is why I can look at these. I really would like to know more about the Kromski Minstrel and the Schacht Ladybug (I'd love to have the Matchless, but can't seem to find it anywhere for under a thousand, which is still out of my current budget).

I have seen very little information anywhere about the Kromski line of wheels. There don't seem to be very many around. Does anyone here have one? Any acclaims for it? Anyone had one that didn't care much for it? Is there anything about the Minstrel that's odd? (I know the Fantasia can't do bulky yarns)

I love the looks of the Schacht wheels and would love to have a Matchless... someday. In the meanwhile, I'm looking at the Ladybug. Has anyone here ever used one? How was it? Anything off I ought to know about this one? 

Thanks!


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

I have a Kromski Sonata. Wonderful wheel. It is my main go-to wheel. If I were to get a new saxony style wheel, it would be the Kromski Symphony. The Minstrel. I've spun on one. Treadles nicely. I don't care to much for the tensioning. I also prefer upright wheels with 4 legs.

The Ladybug. The only thing I've really heard about this wheel is that it treadles very stiffly.

New Voyager is where you want to go for more info on Kromski


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## hercsmama (Jan 15, 2004)

I'm lusting after the Polonaise by Kromski myself. When I'm ready to.graduate to a grown up wheel, that's the one!


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

I also have the Kromski Sonata and love how smooth it is. It is double treadle and that took me some getting used to. I know nothing about the Lasybug other than the woman next to me at spinning had one.


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

There's a Ladybug on Ravelry. http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/used-tools--equipment-classifieds/2034548/1-25


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

There is also a Schacht Matchless for sale http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/used-tools--equipment-classifieds/2002221/1-25. It's under $1,000


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## Falls-Acre (May 13, 2009)

I'm actually talking with the person that has the Ladybug.  I'm close enough that I could go retrieve it. It's in "limbo" at the moment with another possible buyer.

The Symphony is an interesting looking wheel. Does it travel at all though? Or is it too awkward for that and more of a 'stationary' wheel? That was what really drew me about the castle type wheels was their portability.


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## Sarah J (Jun 28, 2003)

I have a Symphony and take it with me when I travel. The support shafts tend to need tightening up periodically and it IS bulky, not neatly portable, but it isn't *heavy* - just large. I LOVE IT. But I've been lusting after their Sonata for a while now - it's beautiful, extremely portable and still the double treadle that I need!


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

Welcome to the Fold Sarah J! You would love the Sonata. It packs so easily into it's carrying case. I've hiked for about a 1/2 mile with mine on my back before. It really is a nice wheel. I'm still learning about mine. My poor other wheels are being ignored and I think they are beginning to feel it


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## lathermaker (May 7, 2010)

A friend of mine had a Ladybug and I really didn't like the way it handled. It does treadle harder that some others I've tried, and it seemed to be too small for me to use. I'm 5' 11" and the peddles were too close together for me to use comfortably. It just felt very awkward. My 2 cents worth.


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## SvenskaFlicka (Nov 2, 2011)

The Yahoo Spin-Sales group has a Kromski Polonaise listed for $400 plus $50 shipping. She's in Nevada.


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## hercsmama (Jan 15, 2004)

:shocked: Now you stop that right now! I barely know what I'm doing on this Babe wheel, and here you come telling me the wheel of my dreams can be had for 400.00?
Good grief woman! Talk about an enabler!!!:clap:

Your awesome! Thanks for the info!


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## SvenskaFlicka (Nov 2, 2011)

Glad I could help! I saw that this morning and thought of this thread.


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## hercsmama (Jan 15, 2004)

ound:
Well i'm attempting to join, have to wait to hear back. OOOoooo, I hope it's still there when I can get in.......:thumb:


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## Falls-Acre (May 13, 2009)

I'm still looking at Kromski's. I could have any of those, new, fairly easily. I'm watching a couple of Schacht Matchlesses (sp on the plural?) and will wait for those those to be decided before I settle for certain.

For the Kromski wheels, I've got it narrowed down to the Symphony, Sonata, and Minstrel. I love the look of the Symphony, but somehow can't really visualize myself spinning on it. That's probably not a good thing, huh? I really could see myself with the Minstrel... not sure about the Sonata yet, but I'm trying.


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## Callieslamb (Feb 27, 2007)

I wish there was a place close so you could go to try some of them out to see what you really want. I plan on a new wheel this year. shhh don't tell DH...he'll try to make it. I plan on going to a store and trying several brands, maybe several times. 

What do you like about each of the ones you are considering? I want many, many drive ratios. Easy of treadling.


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## Pigeon Lady (Apr 4, 2004)

I have the polonaise and love it but I taught myself to spin and It's all I've ever spun on so can't offer any comparisons. The only thing I don't like, is having to detatch the drive band to remove the full spool. She's so beautiful, I never get tired of looking at her


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## Falls-Acre (May 13, 2009)

I want a double treadle wheel... all of these are doubles. 

The Sonata I love it's portability, the wheel size seems reasonable. I'm not crazy about the fact that it's scotch tension only, that it only comes with 3 bobbins/onboard kate. And I don't know about the looks of it. I'm not crazy about the fact that it would require 3 different flyers to achieve the best range (standard, fast, and jumbo). But portability and ease of setup are heavy weights in its favor. There are a lot of folk that really seem to like it and have good praise for it.

The Minstrel I love that it could be either double drive or scotch tension. I adore the appearance of the wheel, it's really lovely. It's a slightly smaller wheel diameter, which is not in its favor. I've seen shaky comments about this wheel that are a bit of a concern. It would still be somewhat portable, though not as easily as the Sonata. I like that it would have a slightly smaller footprint than saxony type wheels. The Minstrel, I have found, compares to the Sonata in range just slightly. But while it does have a jumbo flyer, it cannot go faster than a 16:1 ratio. That's a limitation I'm not quite sure I want. Keeping in mind that my goal is to own a single wheel... ever, so I need a good range.

The Symphony is really drawing me in the most. I love the look of the wheel. I love that they include a separate tensioned kate and 2 different whorls. I love that it has both double drive and scotch tension options. The wheel is a nicely robust 24" and the range for this wheel is huge and varied. I really could see myself spinning on this. BUT I am not crazy about the fact that this wheel would likely need to be stationary and that it has a larger footprint. I have to pay attention to that in this small house of mine. And I have to wonder about how the whole wheel would work out with it being double treadle on a saxony-type wheel.

You can see that I'm torn. Each wheel has benefits and drawbacks, too evenly weighted for me to make a final decision on these as yet. I still have time though, I'm not in a rush. Believe me, if I knew anyone that had an actual wheel, I'd definitely be asking to try it out! We are not so lucky... there is even only one LYS in this area!!


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## Callieslamb (Feb 27, 2007)

You've done your research though. When you decide you will know what you have and why you have it. I need to take lessons from you - lol! I just did.


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

Falls-acres is this your first wheel? I can't remember. 
As for the Sonata needing 3 flyers I don't know where you got that idea. My Sonata spins everything I throw at it so far. It is a fast wheel. The portability is great, after years of hauling a not so portable wheel around. I like my Sonata but I can't claim it as my favorite. 3 bobbin seems to be enough, especially with a ball winder. The lazy kate is not a problem for me, I never use it and so it is folded away.


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## PKBoo (Apr 10, 2008)

Does your local yarn shop carry spinning wheels? Or are there any fiber festivals near you? It really made a difference when I tried them out. 

My search for a wheel took over a year - I searched Craigslist, Searchtempest, and Ravelry for a year, and never did find a used one. But I had 'sampled' wheels several times - in our LYS, and twice at different fiber festivals. Plus guild meetings when we could try other's wheels. 

Good luck with your search - great job on the research and narrowing them down! 

Oh - one other thing! Do you have a spinning and weaving guild close by? Ours has a wheel that we can 'rent out' for a month at a time. I was able to get the basics down before I 'test drove' wheels, so I knew what was comfortable.


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## frazzlehead (Aug 23, 2005)

Also - you say you want a DT wheel. Have you spun on both DT and ST?

I ask only because at the spinning class I was helping with last week, it was really clear that some people did way better with double and some with single. Someone asked the instructor (my friend) which she preferred, and she said when she started she liked DT but now that she's been spinning for awhile, she has changed to preferring ST.

I personally like ST much better than DT - mostly because of the body positioning that I end up in. With DT I'm all hunched and squished and with ST I feel way more 'open' and stretched out and I can vary my position more (which is good cause otherwise I stiffen up).

Neither is right or wrong ... but it's one of those things you may not know until you try it how your particular body reacts to the difference.

There's lots of 'talk' about DT wheels being "better" but I've spun on both and I truly believe that your personal comfort is the key, more so than the mechanics.


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

Completely agree with Frazzle on the treadle thing. I much prefer single treadle. It has taken me a long time to find a comfortable way to sit and spin on my DT wheel, it seemed to really bother my lower back if I'm not sitting just right.


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