Which Crochet Hook?

I have been crocheting for a while now, and while I have noticed that there are lovely hooks out there, decorative and functional, I've never really given much thought to what kind of crochet hook I use. When I first learned to crochet, I had some old plastic ones, one a 5.00mm and the other a 4.00mm, which I didn't like using as much. When I began self teaching myself more (thank you Internet!) I bought a set of Susan Bates hooks. Why Susan Bates? They were sold in a set instead of separately and it was more economical. Nothing more, nothing less. But then, one day while crocheting with a 4.00mm hook and driving myself nuts, I decided I'd go and pick up a 4.50mm hook.

Picture is not my own work.

Or not. I could not find a single hook in that size at the store, so I picked up a Boye hook in 4.25mm hoping it would be just large enough to make my life easier. And so began my journey into checking out other crochet hooks--I didn't like that Boye hook because it was different somehow. Later I found out the Susan Bates is an in-line hook and the Boye is a tapered hook, and while I'm still not sure how this affects your project or the look of the stitches, I immediately knew I preferred my Susan Bates hooks. But I couldn't find any of this brand of hooks at my local Michaels other than in the set pictured, which is the exact set I purchased. It's hard to find in-line hooks apparently?

As I began working with chunkier yarns, I picked up some plastic hooks from Boye, and I don't mind working with those. I also purchased some ergonomic hooks from Boye, which I also wasn't a huge fan of, the soft plastic grip began to slip and move around and I didn't notice it was more comfortable to work with (likely because I have a crochet style all my own, my yarn hand doesn't hold yarn or the work but works to yarn over while my hook hand hooks in a way I've never seen another crocheter work) so I've always preferred the Susan Bates hooks for all of my projects.

Picture is not my own work.

But, sadly, I've become such an avid crocheter that I have now encountered PAIN from crocheting! At least, I'm pretty sure that's why my shoulder hurts so much. So I did some research on crochet hooks and decided to purchase one Clover hook, in a 5.00mm. I've long had my eye on this hook, but not being a fan of the tapered hook and thinking ten bucks for a hook was a bit much, I had never bothered to purchase one. It seems well liked among crocheters however, so I hope it helps my shoulder. Since this handle is very different, I will also try and hold my hook in a knife grip and use my yarn hand to hold and guide the yarn more like other crafters. I know there is no one right way to crochet, each of us has our own style of holding the yarn, or hook (knife grip? Pencil grip?) but I want to see if I attempt to work more traditionally if that will assist with my shoulder pain. We'll see.

This brings me to the questions--which hook do you use? How do you hold you hook? Comments are always welcome so please share! I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Happy Hooking,

Jewels