House Handle, love hate (mostly love but....)

For "Handpicked" orders of any particular handle-- add 2.00$ per handle.
QA/QC is not part of the deal unless the customer is willing to fork over some extra cash.
 
FWIW, I got 3 excellent handles today, and one very good one).

I ordered two AA grade single bit handles in 30" and 32" with no lacquer and octagon shaping. Both have very nice octagon shaping, big old knobs on the end, and perfectly vertical grain, the one a bit tighter than the other.

I also ordered two AA grade cruiser bit handles, no lacquer , one with octagon shaping. Again, excellent octagon shaping, and that one also has perfectly aligned very tight grain, and the non octagon is very smooth and nice with grain about 30 degrees off vertical, but very thing and tight.
 
And we are back. I got an order of 11 handles today ($79 and change shipped) and 4 of them have to go back. another couple I could nit pick but I'm not going to bother. Fugly stuff, swells that look like misshapen asymmetrical tumors, shoulders that are 1/2" offset from each other, junky stuff like that but that I can fix. The others came full of splits and cracks and one is just bent. These are mostly FH handles, and I am fully aware that there may be the odd pin knot and grain alignment is a gamble but I accept those things. Knowing those issues, I should still expect to be shipped a usable handle. I ordered 11 handles. I accept blemishes, but am I really expected to add $22 to my order just so that someone can notice that they are putting garbage wood into the box? The flaws are quite obvious. I know that they will take care of this, but why do we have to go through the exercise? If you sell handles, if that is your business, is it too much to expect that you care enough not to pack splintered kindling into an order? I know that I am ranting, but this just shouldn't happen, and it is the 3rd time out of 4 orders that I have had issues like this. The last order had cracks AND black fungus. Get it together!
The order unboxed.

This one I may keep and just cut the last centimeter off. This is a 19" house axe handle. It is also a fat club.

Hatchet handle. Fail.

This is a 20" faller's axe handle. The bend is more obvious in person.

30" axe handle. Fail.
 
2014NorthwestWineCheeseTour.jpg


Salude

Bob
 
rjdankert said:
2014NorthwestWineCheeseTour.jpg


Salude

Bob
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That's right. Mock me. :confused:

Call it a product review, call it a rant, it doesn't really matter. The fact is that this company is turning out product that people would not pay for if they knew what was coming, and it is a regular occurrence. It isn't wrong to call them out on it. If it were an aberration, that is forgivable. But if it is regular and all the time and they have proven not to care enough to fix it that is another thing. Is your complaint that you don't like that I'm irritated? Fine. Is it that I'm actually showing people what shows up in an order? It is what it is, and it's correct to let people know.
 
I wouldn't accept those, especially if I had paid for premium hand selected hafts.

The fact remains that you can't buy a good haft off the shelf. That's why I usually go to TH. At least they give you enough material to fix it.
 
https://www.househandle.com/grades.htm


AA - Select extra grade, heavy weight, all white, all red hickory and white oak, free of defects - with clear lacquer finish.
bgO4Yd7.jpg


AW-FH - Heavy weight hickory and white oak. No Knots that will affect the service of the
handle - flame tempered with clear lacquer finish.

XX - Select grade ash or oak - with clear lacquer finish.
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FH - Second grade ash or oak - flame tempered with clear lacquer finish.
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AA GRADE SPECIAL REQUESTS

Handpicked Handles - We will add $2.00 per handle to your order.
No Lacquer - We will add .50 per handle to your order
Octagon - We add $1.50 per handle to your order.
The octagon is done by hand, not by machine, therefore will not be perfect. Each octagon handle will vary and are not returnable.

NOTE ABOUT SHIPPING AA GRADE HANDLES
All AA grade handles are shipped with complimentary wedges. They are not included in the price, they are simply a
gift from House Handle for ordering our highest grade handles. Every care is taken on our end to ensure safe delivery
to your destination. In the unfortunate event of shipping damage, complimentary wedges cannot be replaced
for free if they are damaged in transit.




The grading is a little different than I remember from the last time I ordered - two years maybe and I probably didn't even look to begin with.

I didn't even know they offered ash and oak...

FH is now second grade ash or oak - looks like hickory isn't part of that class now. I mean, if I'm reading this right.

JB, most, if not all, of the tools you post probably deserve AA handles.

Still, selling something low grade like that as a "standard"... I wonder if they just mix some definite dogs in there and know that the majority of people won't bother to do anything about it.

So, does the customer need to specify they want hickory - red or white and not oak as well now?
 
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Square_peg said:
I wouldn't accept those, especially if I had paid for premium hand selected hafts.

The fact remains that you can't buy a good haft off the shelf. That's why I usually go to TH. At least they give you enough material to fix it.
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I've looked at them, but at least through their eBay store it's over $20 shipped per handle. Do you know a cheaper path to their products?

I'm going log shopping. Seriously.
 
Agent_H said:
https://www.househandle.com/grades.htm

FH is now second grade ash or oak - looks like hickory isn't part of that class now. I mean, if I'm reading this right.

JB, most, if not all, of the tools you post probably deserve AA handles.

Still, selling something low grade like that as a "standard"... I wonder if they just mix some definite dogs in there and know that the majority of people won't bother to do anything about it.

So, does the customer need to specify they want hickory - red or white and not oak as well now?
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I have had many FH hammer handles come as oak, and I prefer it. The straight hammer handles are almost always very good, and I prefer the look and color especially when paired with older heads. This is the first order that I have placed with them that included FH axe handles, and I did it based on my hammer handle experience. These at first glance are all hickory. Note, the flawed faller's axe handle was an AA handle.
 
jblyttle said:
I've looked at them, but at least through their eBay store it's over $20 shipped per handle. Do you know a cheaper path to their products?

I'm going log shopping. Seriously.
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I buy from local suppliers who stock them and let me hand pick through the back room before they even make it to the floor. Check your local saw shops and specialty tool houses.
 
Square_peg said:
I buy from local suppliers who stock them and let me hand pick through the back room before they even make it to the floor. Check your local saw shops and specialty tool houses.
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Around here we have Home Depot and Lowes for 36" handles. Aside from that, there are the link handles at Ace Hardware stores. At least they have boy's axe handles. But expensive. Like a moth to a flame, that's why I keep going back to get burned by House. The selection. I'm covered locally for full sized stuff, and I'm all set on hammer handles of all types. It's that mid sized stuff that is lacking around here.

Seriously, I'm going to go find an ash log.
 
Tennessee Hickory Products
http://www.tennesseehickoryproducts.com/index.shtml

This page fills the customer in on the details. They use a 4 digit numbering system for ordering.
http://www.tennesseehickoryproducts.com/orders.shtml

Link to the specific numbers for handle styles and lengths:
http://www.tennesseehickoryproducts.com/images/eye_handle_guide.pdf

So for instance, if you want a 32” straight single bit you order the 1232
1 – Axe handle
2 – Straight
32 – length
1232-X would be octagonal.

If you want a 30” sledge hammer handle you order the 2130
2- Hammer
1 – Sledge
30 - length

House Handle is easier with the drop down menus for sure. Make a shopping list, check it twice, and send an email to their contact list.

Looks like blanks can be had from Charles O Cox Corporation. For those it looks like you have to contact the sales at Tennessee Hickory Products as they don’t have site and everything points back to the Tennessee Hickory Products home page as a contact.

I have only happened upon their handles here locally and not ordered online but I am thinking of doing so. I have most of that guide memorized and a list already made.

So, I can't comment on shipping, customer service, speed of delivery, or return policy.

I can say the ones I have found have been all sapwood and pretty straight - it's wood after all.

*They also state that they do not sort by heartwood or sapwood so don’t expect them to be all of one or a mix.

Also - place an order and tell them you have been disappointed with their competitor and you will share what you get.
 
I've had good success with O.P. Link (a division of Seymour Midwest) but they are usually pretty thick from the factory. Personally I look at that as a good thing as it gives me more real estate to work with when adapting it to what I want the final result to be. The wood has always been nice and dense, no warps or checks.
 
I just called THP yesterday to ask about ordering a handle or two. The handle was looking at was a 24" single bit I think item #13244 or something like that. The price was $12.50 per handle so already more than HH. They charge a $5 handling fee for small orders under $100 plus shipping. So buying in bulk might make it a more affordable route than their eBay page, but they are still going to cost more than HH.

I ended up ordering two 24" handles for $21 from GrandRiver Wood Products. A bit of a gamble but I'm hoping it pays off.
 
If you're going to start out with a log, why not start out with a better wood than Ash? I know, I know, it's probably adequate for what you're using it on, but if I was gonna spend all that time and effort, I'd want to make sure I started out with something higher grade.
 
Not all regions of the US have abundant hickory. Ash is totally fine, as is beech, and even oak or yellow birch. While hickory is the ideal, people really sell other woods short. It's not going to break the second you look at it wrong.
 
Here's a few pics from my last order all were hand picked and no lacquer and I have to say the extra cost is well worth it.

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jblyttle said:
Seriously, I'm going to go find an ash log.
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You've reached the same fork that I did man. You do a lot more volume than I do too, by a mile, and I understand how time prohibitive what I do can be, but sometimes the aggravation just isn't worth it anymore. With a band saw and blanks that don't suck I think I could make a handle start to finish in 3 hours or maybe less. For me, making a handle includes the hang because they generally happen together. I get the head almost hung before the handle is finished.
 
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