........ Fibre or Bamboo Needles Another needle is the fibre, or bamboo, needle. Patented on November 12, 1907, it should not be confused with the cactus or thorn needle common during the WWII period. A fibre needle is soft. One should re-shape the tip before or after it is played, using a special cutting tool. You can get from eight to a dozen plays from a fibre needle, depending upon your cutting tool. Fibre needles are gentle on records. Companies claimed that the oily substance in the bamboo acted as a lubricant which would polish and smooth grooves each time a record is played. The soft tone produced by a fibre needle appeals to some. A drawback is fibre needles sometimes wear out before a record is over (the needle wears down--those who manufactured fibre needles claimed "there is absolutely no wear to the records" when fibre needles are used, and they may be correct). No company makes fibre needles today. Old ones can be found in machines sometimes. The fibre needle was invented by Fred D. Hall of the B. & H. Fibre Company, a Chicago outfit. Hall sold fibre needle rights to the Victor Talking Machine Company in 1910 although issues from 1916 of Talking Machine World show that Hall revived his fibre needle business, large ads warning dealers to avoid "infringing needles...brought here from Japan." Hall's Fibre Needles (he used capital letters as Victor did for Tungs-tone) were made from bamboo imported from Japan. The November 15, 1916, issue of Talking Machine World has an article about how fibre needles were made. The price for fibre needles in 1917 was $4 per thousand, or 40 cents for a package of 100. (from the article "Information about Victrola Needles" by Tim Gracyk from http://www.gracyk.com)