Handle making
The hand-turning of wooden handles for tools on a lathe. See the separate entries for pole lathe turning and wood turning.
| Status | Currently viable |
| Historic area of significance | UK |
| Area currently practised | UK |
| Origin in the UK |
History
Techniques
Local forms
Sub-crafts
Issues affecting the viability of the craft
-
Market issues: Tool handles have not been made by hand in any volume since the 1920s/1930s – firstly due to mechanisation, then to the introduction of plastic handles, and then the remaining hand turned wooden handles were affected by foreign competition.
-
Foreign competition: Competition from cheap foreign imports
-
Training issues/recruitment issues: Lack of woodworking, metalworking and exposure to craft skills in schools
Support organisations
Craftspeople currently known
-
Richard Carter Ltd, Huddersfield, Yorkshire. Also manufacture spades and shovels, and edge and other tools. Twenty people working in the factory.
-
Woodware Repetitions Ltd, Sheffield, Yorkshire. Tim Hinchliffe has recently purchased the business from Colin Barnsley.
-
Bulldog Tools, Wigan. While the tool heads are forged in India, the tool handles are made in the UK.
The British Wood Turners Association maintains a list of members, which outlines what area of wood turning each craftsperson/company specialises in.
Other information
References
