# brother KH 830



## twig (Sep 10, 2011)

Would anyone have any information on this machine, is it any good for anyone starting out or any advise for a beginner machine it is hard to decide on anyone so many to pick from
and I do not want to spend a lot of money, Thanks for any help
people are so helpful on this forum


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## Azzara (Jan 23, 2014)

I have one, and KH 830 ribber.

Older but solid reliable machine, standard gauge with a lace carriage. I haven't used mine in awhile but I have always been able to get parts etc that I wanted for it. It is missing a few functions of the KH 860 but nothing a beginner would care about for a long time. By the time you miss many functions you will be eye balling an electronic machine to upgrade anyway. 
I wouldn't buy it unless it came with a ribber. If it is only the KH 830 I would only consider it if it very low priced and in reasonable condition.


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## Madmandy (Mar 17, 2014)

twig said:


> Would anyone have any information on this machine, is it any good for anyone starting out or any advise for a beginner machine it is hard to decide on anyone so many to pick from
> and I do not want to spend a lot of money, Thanks for any help
> people are so helpful on this forum


http://machineknittingetc.com/brother-kh830-kh836-user-guide-guide.html this is the manual on free download


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## Madmandy (Mar 17, 2014)

PS I just acquired the same machine and its virtually the same as my old one apart from I now have a punchcard to use 
Download the manual to help you Print it off if you dont mind using your printer ink


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## janetmk (Apr 11, 2013)

I use mine -34 years old I think - as my preferred machine although I have newer machines. A workhorse. I love it. I do tuck st, all sorts of lace, fair isle etc. and use it on most days. I use it with a knit leader. I have got through several knit leaders but still the same much loved and much cared for machine. I have an 850 ribber with it. I have had it from new.


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## Angela c (Dec 12, 2013)

I think it is worth spending a little more and to have a punch card machine, the 836 is a good one, so there's really no need to up grade from this and there's plenty of equipment to buy for it, such as colour changer's- lace carriage-garter carriage-intarsia carriage-transfer carriage-linker-knitleader and ribber.

OH just looked at the 830 and it has a punch card!  :lol:


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## Chatty55 (Mar 2, 2014)

I have a KH890 and I don't know much about it sorry can't help


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## jaysclark (Jan 26, 2013)

Angela c said:


> I think it is worth spending a little more and to have a punch card machine, the 836 is a good one, so there's really no need to up grade from this and there's plenty of equipment to buy for it, such as colour changer's- lace carriage-garter carriage-intarsia carriage-transfer carriage-linker-knitleader and ribber.
> 
> OH just looked at the 830 and it has a punch card!  :lol:


The 836 was the 'lite' version of the 830. The 836 wasn't sold with a lace carriage to make it cheaper. I bought my 836 brand new from a dealer and couldn't afford the 830. I bought the lace carriage a couple of years later. First, and last time Brother put a higher number on a lower spec machine.


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## janetmk (Apr 11, 2013)

There is some confusion the Brother 830 is definitely a punchcard machine and has a lace carriage as noted above. A brilliant machine.


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## Entity (Sep 13, 2011)

I believe that the difference between the earlier Brother punch card models such as the kh-830 is in the main carriage. The later models can do thread/punch lace.

I'm sure later on, you would consider to obtain a ribber for the kh-830 as well. Here's some thought. 

The ribber for the KH-830 is the KR-830. The kr850, a later ribber model, can do jacquard and the kr830 cannot. However, Ms. Kathleen Kinder published in one of her book and stated that the Brother KR-830 can be permanently adjusted so that the lace carriage can be used in conjunction with the ribber. What this mean is that lace knitting and ribbing can be done at the same time without readjusting the ribber up and down repeatedly. The kr-850 is not capable of doing this. So, here's the plus side for the older model.

Hope these information helps.


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## susieknitter (Jul 14, 2011)

Entity said:


> I believe that the difference between the earlier Brother punch card models such as the kh-830 is in the main carriage. The later models can do thread/punch lace.
> 
> I'm sure later on, you would consider to obtain a ribber for the kh-830 as well. Here's some thought.
> 
> ...


You can do plain backed, striped backed, and ribbed backed Double Jacquard on any ribber make/model. You can't do Bird's Eye backed Double Jacquard on a ribber such as the KR830, or any other ribber that doesn't have the lili setting.
In my opinion the plain backed Double Jacquard (that is easier to do on a (Knitmaster/Singer machine than any other) is a nicer finish/fabric than the Bird's Eye one anyway. Having said this if you have the choice of buying a Brother ribber with the lili setting then it would be the better option because it's there if you want to use it.


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## 30Knitter (Apr 9, 2012)

I bought my 830 new. I've added the 900 ribber, an 840 knitting carriage and lace carriage, just to make single motif easier. Anything else like thread lace and intarsia aren't that important with this machine. I do however have the intarsia carriage. Most other accessories will work with it. Knitleader, transfer carriage, color changers etc. The manual for it is located on the knittingmachineetc.com site.
It's a great workhorse and came with the lace carriage. All Brother 24 stitch punch cards with work with it as well as some of the Knitmaster/Silver Reed fairisle, jacquard, tuck, slip cards, and Toyota cards.


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## Entity (Sep 13, 2011)

susieknitter said:


> You can do plain backed, striped backed, and ribbed backed Double Jacquard on any ribber make/model. You can't do Bird's Eye backed Double Jacquard on a ribber such as the KR830, or any other ribber that doesn't have the lili setting.
> In my opinion the plain backed Double Jacquard (that is easier to do on a (Knitmaster/Singer machine than any other) is a nicer finish/fabric than the Bird's Eye one anyway. Having said this if you have the choice of buying a Brother ribber with the lili setting then it would be the better option because it's there if you want to use it.


Thanks for clarify it in more details Sue.

By the way, we've discussed about the kr-830 ribber being able to adjust once so we could use in conjunction with the lace carriage. This has not left my mind.

Recently, I bumped into a good deal with the kr830 and grabbed it. I'm going to try and use it with the kh860 and see if it's possible to use it with the lace carriage. But... it's going to be awhile before I can get to play with it.


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