"Old-School" Boye Needles?

[Matdredalia]

I have a little dilemma. I found a pair of needles in some old crafting supplies of a relative who passed on awhile bakc. There was only one pair of needles, which, I'm not complaining about, however....they are completely different from my own in texture.

I own two pairs of size 8 Bowe's -- one long, one short. And these are completely different except in size.

The coloring is different from most pairs of Bowe's I've seen, and the texture is unbelievable.

My yarn slides so beautifully, even when my stitches are just right (not too tight, but tight enough that they don't always slide very easily on my own needles). They basically have what I can only describe as a Matte finish. It's like the metal is not even painted over, but they ARE colored. *scratches head*

I know the needles are probably relatively old as there was a 1959 issue of The Workbasket, a popular needlecraft zine, in the supplies. So, heaven only knows how old they are.

The thing is, I really want more of these. Does anyone know if they still sell needles with this kind of texture?

And if not, does anyone have any needle suggestions?