Which knitting machine to choose Brother or Silver Reed?

Knitting machine shootout Silver Reed vs Brother.

We will take two of the most common knitting machines... the Brother KH836 and the Silver Reed SK280. Both are standard 4.5 mm gauge and what’s more important, both are exceptionally good at knitting at speed.

The Silver Reed brand started out as Knitmaster. Knitmaster was the brand name, owned by Silver Seiko Limited, who were the manufacturer. Nowadays, Silver Reed is the new brand name and is the top seller in the UK.

Brother knitting machines are no longer manufactured. Brother, now only make sewing machines. Brother stopped manufacturing knitting machine many years ago; in fact 1995 was the last year Brother manufactured a knitting machine. The KH836 was first produced in 1986 and started life as the KH830 way back in 1976.

Some of the most common Brother knitters, still around today are the KH830, KH836, KH840, KH881, KH891, KH950i electronic, KH95 electronic and the KH260 chunky which was amongst the most popular in the UK and used ones are still available.

Compare Knitting Machines Brother vs Silver Reed

As an engineer, I enjoyed and was part of the knitting machine boom in the 1980s. Brother outsold Knitmaster/Silver Reed by a small margin. Brother knitters cost less than the Japanese Knitmaster at that time.

If you intend to be knitting late at night, maybe after the children have gone to bed, or whilst your partner is watching the TV then choose the Silver Reed. The KH- series knitting machines are considerably noisier in use than the Silver Reed models...we will talk more about that later.

Comparing like for like...Brother vs Silver Reed, which is best;

The Brother KH836 was a single metal bed with 200 needles, same as the Silver Reed SK280.

Brother KH836 Finer Detail.

The Brother has a simpler carriage with less moving parts, it uses buttons to select stitch functions.
The carriage has plastic slides to cushion it as it is pushed along the needle bed.
It uses a hardened steel metal belt to help select stitches whilst patterning. This metal timing belt runs the full width of the needle bed and when engaged, it is attached to the carriage, every push of the carriage constantly moves the metal timing belt located in the rear body of the machine.
Pattern selection is orchestrated via the metal timing belt, the carriage, the 24-stitch punch card unit and 8 x full bed length metal selector plates.
The 8 x metal selector plates are constantly moving to select the correct needles and run the full width of the needle bed. The selector plates move against each other and are located inside the needle bed.
It does not have the automatic end needle selection facility, but can produce tuck, slip, fairisle, lace, and fine lace.

Silver Reed SK280 Finer Detail.

The carriage is weightier and uses a dial to select stitch types. It is more complex, but well-engineered.
The carriage runs on roller bearings and is smooth to push across the bed.
There is no metal timing belt needed.
Stitches are selected via 2 x drums at each side of the carriage. These circular pattern drums take their needle selection directly from the 24-stitch punch card reader.
There are no selection plates, they are not needed.
It does have end needle selection and can produce tuck, slip, fairisle, lace, and fine lace.