Brother KH230 knitting machine tested and serviced in my shop.

Brother KH230 is a bulky-gauge (9 mm between the needles) knitting machine with 110 needles. It has only manual/basic stitch manipulation capabilities. Read about the pros and cons of this model in my Knitting Machine Encyclopedia. The rest of this post is dedicated to a specific machine serviced, cleaned, and tested in my shop.

I did the usual maintenance on this machine: removed, inspected, and cleaned all needles (some were rusty and I either replaced them or cleaned and polished them), replaced the sponge bar, and cleaned the machine inside and outside.

I also tested the machine on all needles to ensure that all needles form correct stitches and that the carriage moves freely across the needlebed. I tested several yarns on this machine (see the video): thick wool/acrylic blend (just a swatch with a blue yarn), 100% acrylic yarn (for hand knitting from KnitPicks, and acrylic/wool blend). The machine handled all yarns beautifully. I made a pink blanket on this machine while testing it. I did not experience any static but used the tension mast with a wax already attached to it.

The machine will come with all major accessories and most minor ones. A lot of accessories were missing, so I replaced them with new ones, new or old stock (some claw weights are new, needle selection tools/rules are new/old stock). The knit leader scales are new stock as well.

The case and the lid had several new plastic rivets missing, so I replaced them too (in case you notice them to be of a different color; not shown).

The toolbox is still very sturdy but is missing a lid. Other missing accessories are:

• tapestry needle (any needle, even plastic, will do the job).
• original two-sided hook; I included a plastic replacement (to be honest, I never even use those hooks; I prefer the latch hook).
• oil bottle is not included; I use Hoppe’s gun oil from Amazon to lubricate the machine during kntiting.
• unravel cord is also not included, but any silky and smooth yarn will do

The carriage is in good shape. There are very minor discoloration spots, but they are smooth to the touch, and I treated them with a special corrosion-stopping and preventing solution. During the tests, I did not experience any static (which sometimes happens due to the corrosion on the parts and carriage).

Now, about imperfections of this machine:

• A hard copy of the manual is not included but pdf copy can be found online.
• The carraige lock is original but has some discoloration.

• You might notice that some of the needles are discolored. Those were polished and are smooth to touch. The discoloration is only cosmetic. All tets were performed with these needles.

• The case has some very minor bumps and scuffs (only most major and most noticeable ones are shown below)

• The lid has some as well (only most major ones shown below)

• The row counter has some minor scratches but works just fine.

• the cast-on combs have some minor dents but also work just fine. All tests on this machine were made with these cast-on combs. Cast-on combs for KH230 are very rare: they are shorter than the combs for the KH260 but longer that those for standard-gauge machines.

• The toolbox comes without a lid. I covered it with plastic wrap for transport.

• The tension mast is not original but rather a standard Brother tension mast (old stock). It fits almost all knitting machines, including electronic, including those that can knit with a Garter carriage (note the white holder-like addition on the mast – it is for the garter carriage sensor. It will not get in the way of knitting on this KH230). I am also going to leave the way sitting there. I used this mast setup during all tests.

• the needle bed under the connecting screw on the left-hand side is indented. It still did not affect the functioning of the machine but keep that in mind and check and tighten that bolt often.

Despite all these imperfections, the machine is in overall great shape, and I had a lot of fun knitting on it. Keep in mind that it seems that there are a lot of imperfections, but I am just listing them all because I am thorough and because I want my customers to know in advance about these imperfections and how they affect the functioning of the machine. In fact, none of these mentioned above affected the knitting on this machine (with and without the ribber).