The fourth episode of “Thus, LOOPWHEELER Is Made”, titled “The Secret Behind the Brand Name”, is now streaming on YouTube. Back in 1999, when LOOPWHEELER was founded, internet search engines were still in their infancy. While searching for the English name for the old Japanese circular knitting machine, I couldn’t find a definitive term. Eventually, I arrived at “LOOP WHEEL,” and by connecting the two words and adding “ER,” the name LOOPWHEELER was born. The truth is, “LOOPWHEEL” itself is a word I coined — that’s the real story. Most people today using the term “loopwheel” or “ループウィール (Japanese text of "loopwheel")” probably don’t know that, but that’s perfectly fine with me.

As I also explain in Episode 4, the term “loop wheel” — with a space between the words — actually refers to a part of the knitting machine. This “loop wheel” component is used in two types of machines: the traditional TSURIAMI machine and the Tompkins machine. The image shown here is one type of Tompkins machine, documented in 1929. You can see how the fabric rises as it’s knitted upward — this, too, is a loop wheel machine. That’s the real story.

At some point, I plan to dive deeper into this topic and publish detailed materials here. I may have one of the most extensive private archives of classical dictionaries and technical documents on this subject in Japan, so I look forward to sharing a thorough explanation when the time comes. Yoshimoto and I are also talking about making a dedicated YouTube video on it — so please stay tuned.

By Satoshi Suzuki