Agree with both of you 100%. There is no way that thread under no tension harms the metal tension disks. When my foot is up, my tension disks separate enough that I can see between them, so in no way is pulling thread (which comes through at that point with no resistance) can harm them. I think this is one of the "rules" that gets passed along that may have once had some validity in some cases, but is not universal nor is it necessary. As an engineer by trade, my feeling is if the disks are that sensitive, the wrong material has been used in manufacture of the disks.

No, wait. If you agree with the idea that thread leaves more lint when pulled backwards through the tension discs, then knotting the leading end when you hand stitch is doing exactly the same thing...pulling it backwards. You can't have it both ways.

Draw a line (the thread end) coming off the base of a big squiggle (the spool). Make the end of the line an arrowhead (the 'grain' of the thread). On your machine the arrow points down through the discs and into the needle...sewing in the direction of the 'point'. Fine and dandy.

Take that same arrow and tie a knot directly behind the point, right inside the <. Now pull off the rest of the thread, cut it and start sewing. You're pulling backwards, against the point of the arrow. See it? For handwork, knot the end you cut not the leading end, and you'll sew the same way it goes through your machine. :)

I have been telling people for years to cut between machine and thread spool, the reason they say this when sewing with an industrial machine is that you change thread by cutting there and then knot new thread on and raise presser foot then pull thread through to needle so all you are left with is threading needle. This method is faster avoids miss threading machine and helps you make new good habits since yes pulling thread through backwards will leave lint in tension disc area which requires a machine tear down to fix.

My Bernina manual says the same thing.

When i got my bernina 830 that was the first thing I was told and apparently it's the most important piece of information! So I always do it with her but not with my janome's ..oooops I thought it was just for the new berninas maybe I'll be kind to my janome's and start to cut at spool pull from needle as well :-)

With the way the new processing methods of making thread there is no right or wrong end anymore. There is right a and wrong way the thread feeds off the spool.

You certainly are correct. I don't remember where I heard this.
Actually I do very little hand sewing, and I'm with the people who say it doesn't make that much difference anymore. So, carry on!

And if that's the case, doesn't it debunk the 'pulling it backwards off the machine leaves more lint' idea?

I heard this information before when I purchased my Bernina. IMHO they just wanted me to buy more thread. Not only did it not make a difference....it was a real waste of thread. Especially if you are embroiderying and using a lot of different colors, I thought. So......I did NOT cut the thread and pull down through the needle. Yesterday I paid $30.00 to have the shredded thread and lint cleaned out of my 830 Bernina. I LEARNED MY LESSON!!! I now pull the thread down through the needle as I was told. Funny the tech that fixed my machine knew exactly what I had not been doing. The machine would stitch 8 or 9 stitches and then stop. Fortunately I could turn off the sensor and finish my project, before taking my machine in to be "fixed".

I never knew this! Thank you!