plastic saw handles anyone?

And what happens to balance?

Pam Niedermayer - Austin, TX

>

Re: plastic saw handles anyone?

MikeW

>Hi Adam,

Not discouraged here. It is simply part of the process--one we enjoy more than some other aspects. Show us a handle, we'll make it. Doesn't add to cost. But it does take time. As do the other aspects.

One thing that is a knock for plastic handles is the warmth, or lack thereof. Sweat makes them slippery--whether a plane handle or saw handle. They could be made quicker, though.

In some ways, the cost savings of plastic is made available via shear quantity manufactured. Thousands of handles sitting waiting to be installed isn't cost effective, either.

Perhaps it isn't all about the cost, though (quicker is less cost). Questions for you are, would you desire a plastic handle? Would you tend to use it over the handles you've made?

Take care, Mike

Hmmmm....

Corey Megal

>I have a few old saws with plastic handles (vintage 1950's maybe) and they are not fun to use. Having said that, if the handle was comfortable, and it cut the price by at least 25%, I'd give it some serious consideration. I think in general terms, plastic handles just don't feel friendly.

Corey

Is this April 1st?

Denis Ch�nard, Orl�ans, Ont.

>Of all people, YOU suggesting plastic handles? :-)

My answer is a huge "it depends"... There are so many types of plastic that one would need to specify the kind(s) of plastic used, and I won't pretend knowing anything about the different types.

All I know is that the plastic handled tools I've used feel "colder" to the touch than wood, less ergonomic (though there are bad wood handles too), and tend to be more slippery as your hands get sweaty (an issue for me).

I will not say never, but for me to accept a plastic handle on a premium saw it would need to outperform wood...

DC

NO!

Paul in NJ

>Hi Adam,

I would NEVER buy a plastic handle for a saw I was making. On the other hand, I would never buy a wooden handle for a saw I was making either. I can�t think of a hand tool I have that has a plastic handle except for screwdrivers and I prefer the ones that have wooden handles. As a hobby woodworker, I like making the handles. They are sort of a mini woodworking project that doesn�t take much time and gives me some small sense of accomplishment.

Paul Dzioba

Re: Is this April 1st?

Todd O. Cronkhite Maine Native, Presently Away

>It would take a lot of convincing to make me buy a plastic handled saw, and that alone would probably make it not worth the time and effort to produce them. I feel as I'd simply take a pass on them.

T.O.

Re: plastic saw handles anyone?

Robert Henderson

>Bottom line, Adam - people who have never done the work will never understand the effort involved or guess wrong as to where the most effort was needed.

I know I didn't before I started working wood.

If you want praise from civilians, you will have to educate them.

Post a picture of your saw here. We'll understand and appreciate what went into making it.

Vote no on plastic!

Re: plastic saw handles anyone?

Dave Anderson NH

>I, like the others would worry about the feel and whether or not my hands would get sweaty. More important would be the tooling cost consideration. You'd have to make thousands of handles to be able to successfully amortize the tooling cost for even a single handle design. Then what hapens when a bunch of folks don't like that handle and want modifications? My guess is that you would be looking at a tooling cost for even an inexpensive aluminum plated mold of between $8000-10,000 when you consider the pulling cores for the slot and the 3+ saw nuts. I could even be low on the estimate. Then what resin do you use, a PC/ABS blend?

A better alternative if you really wanted to explore plastic would be thick plate stock and an industrial CNC router, but then your choices are limited on stock color.

Re: plastic saw handles anyone?

Dean J in MN

>Good question, and from what I've read, expected answers. But -- I'm not too quick to say "NO" to plastic. There are a lot of types of plastic, who knows, perhaps one will work well for a handle. I know from experience in the world of fishing that offering a non-cork handle on a top end casting rod is met with the same response from most people. Even if there are other materials which are better suited to the task. I fish in the late fall, wet cork and sub freezing air temps are not a happy combo. There are synthetic materials better suited for rod handles in such conditions, even if it displeases the purists. So -- maybe there is something there worth digging into.

Now -- how are those injected molded molding planes coming along? I want my half set of H&Rs!

-Dean

Re: plastic saw handles anyone?

Dan Moening

>Aside from the general concensus of aestetics, slipperyness, warmth and feel, how would you repair a broken plastic handle?*

Although I've made a few tools requiring metalworking skills, I'm a woodworker. The metalworking required minimal tools and skillsets that were within any general woodworkers abilities.

I suspect plastics modification/repair would require a tool and skill set way outside my abilities.

I have fishing rods, a few handtools, etc with 'plastic' handles. As they age they do become grungy and eventually unservicable. At some point they simply become 'disposable'. Not something I'd wish for a useful tool.

*Answer: with a wooden one. :-D

Wow! This is a dilemma

jim reed @ tallahassee

>Woodworkers expect a good saw to have a handle made from WOOD. Woodworkers also are constantly looking for high value products. What a mental challenge!!! How can the average ww brain understand this? Superior cutting, good price, PLASTIC handle. Which factor will win and close the sale? My brain is spinning...

no way

Jack Guzman from Maine

>Adam,

There are so many options available these days. With such nice stuff coming from Wenzlof(sp?),LN and Adria,not to mention some of the beautiful saws available in the used tool market, that plastic handled saw would have to have something very special about it to make it worth buying over one of these other fine choices.---Jack

Re: plastic saw handles anyone?

Jay St. Peter - Southern, MD

>I tend to be a function first type person. So, if it was less expensive and good in function I'd have to answer probably. There kind of needs to be a minimal downside though (which I think would be possible, but maybe not cost effective).

Same thing with chisels. I like my LN chisels better than my Marples, but that would be the case even if the LNs had a plastic handle. If the LNs had a cheaper option to have a plastic handle, I'd probably have gone that way.

There will definitely be times where I pay extra for some shop jewelry, but most of the time I'm simply looking for quality tools that I can afford.

Jay

Fisher-Price already makes them!

Stephen Shepherd in the State of Deseret

>

Re: plastic saw handles anyone?

Chris Scholz

>Sure, why not?

Are you thinking of a rigid handle that combines engineering plastic with stainless steel and is covered by strong, lightweight magnesium alloy panels? Handle is ergonomically shaped and positioned to sustain the woodworking tradition of excellent holding comfort and sure-fire operation. The bulbous grip and rubber skin further contribute to excellent holding comfort, and a black satin finish heightens the look of elite quality? (Source: Canon EOS 10D SLR, with slight modifications)

Re: plastic saw handles anyone?

Edward in Vancouver

>I dunno... a straight injection molded hunk of junk that immitated a finely crafted handle would turn me off. Key operative word, immitated. Now on the other hand a properly designed one, with soft rubber grips wouldn't be such a bad idea. The main thing is the price and the blade, if the blade is crafted properly and the handle is O.K. I can live with it and if I whine about looks rather than function, then I have no excuse to make my own wood handle.

I wouldn't buy a plastic handled saw

dave brown

>

my list of reasons

dave brown

>1. It doesn't feel right in the hand

2. It doesn't age properly like wood or metal

3. I can't scrape the finish off and oil it

4. It takes petroleum products or other chemicals to make

5. It's just not natural

6. Look at the Millers Falls Buck Rogers planes to see how attractive plastic can look

PS Where's Alan and who slipped us the Body Snatcher?

Re: Hmmmm....

dave brown

>If it cut the cost by 50%, I wouldn't buy it.

Re: my list of reasons

Todd O. Cronkhite Maine Native, Presently Away

>Look at the Millers Falls Buck Rogers planes to see how attractive plastic can look.

Not sure if you're just being sarcastic or not Dave, but I can tell you that I don't find these attractive, and based upon the number of these that you don't see on the used tool market I feel that the craftsmen of the day when these where brand new didn't either. In my opinion the only reason that the Buck Rogers are so collectible is that they are merely so radically different.

T.O.

Re: plastic saw handles anyone?

L. Hanson

>I've often thought of the possibility... I can't say that I see anything wrong with it at all. Disston did it...

I've also thought that maybe a leather wrapped handle might be nice in some instances.

The key would be comfort (good performance is a given). If a handle isn't comfortable - be it wood, plastic, or bamboo - it isn't a good tool. Today, plastics have more or less come into their own, much more than before. think of what they've done with cordless drills - the first cordless drill I owned was a Makita, and the handle felt like a brick. Heck - I've used a power drill and gotten blisters by the end of the day, I don't think that would have happened had I had my latest cordless drill.

Aesthetics would be especially important - it would have to be very pretty to stave off the immediate response of "Oh my - it's PLASTIC!". It would have to be sexy enough that it just screams "PICK ME UP!", then deliver on it's promise.

There would always be some who like the traditional wooden handle, but there are just as many that like fancy, shiny things too. How else can you explain Festool?

;-)

I think a good, inexpensive saw with a well formed handle might sway some folks.

Leif

www.norsewoodsmith.com

Re: plastic saw handles anyone?

paul womack

>Now our experience with plastic tool handles is generally bad, I agree. But that's just because the manufacturers' are clueless. Beautifully sculpted handles resembling my hand made saw handles could be injection molded to produce all the complexity and detail for a fraction of the cost of a wooden handle.

Good grief - I find myself in agreement with Adam! (an interesting viewpoint for him, given his recent objections to Lee Valleys spoon bit on grounds of authenticity)

related comment from Oldtools, 1999

BugBear

Re: apology

paul womack

>(an interesting viewpoint for him, given his recent objections to Lee Valleys spoon bit on grounds of authenticity)

My memory is failing me; the person raising the objection was Stephen Shepherd.

Adam didn't even appear in the thread.

http://www.woodcentral.com/cgi-bin/handtools.pl?frames;read=114148

Humble apologies for slighting Adam.

BugBear

Re: my list of reasons

dave brown

>Yeah, I was being sarcastic. I wish there were an easy way to connote sarcasm in text messages. I'm reeaaally not a fan of plastic in hand tools.