Rural Missouri - March 2022 - 15

briars out to get near them, " Kenny says. " This old feller,
he helped me drag them out but he said, 'you can't take
them home until I show you how they work.' "
That was a problem, Kenny soon discovered. The elements
had been hard on the machines, which were rusted
solid. It took three days for Kenny to tear them down and
rebuild them enough to operate once again.
" Before I left down there I knew how they worked, "
Kenny says. " I brought them home and started making a
few handles. Then I bought a lathe here and a lathe there.
Finally, about 30, 35 years ago we started buying
factories, everything. "
William retired in 1976 and lived long enough
to see Kenny move the operation to 35 acres of
land between Cassville and Exeter that is served
by Barry Electric Cooperative. Here Kenny's son,
Chris, joined the operation and helped it greatly
expand to its present status. " We ship more handles
in one day than you could fi t on one of them
trucks, " Kenny says, comparing House Handle
today to the peddling his father did in his time.
The company's employees make more than 100 styles of
handles, ranging from hammer handles in multiple sizes
to handles for axes and tools as obscure as corn drags and
ditch blades. Most of these are available in No. 1 and No. 2
grades based on the quality of the wood.
The products are made from hickory, ash or white oak
depending on what works best for the handle type. For
example, hickory works best for the shorter handles used
on striking tools, while the straighter ash is used for long
handles such as those for shovels.
The biggest demand is for sledgehammer handles, particularly
those 36 inches long Kenny says. Right behind
that are axe and shovel handles. Most of the handles go to
farm supply stores such as Tractor Supply and Buchheits.
Kenny says repeat orders often come in before the previous
order is shipped.
The business also sees a lot of walk-in traffi c from
individuals who can't fi nd what they need elsewhere. " We
are in business to sell handles, " Kenny says. " I tell people
I'll sell you half a handle, but I'm going to charge you full
price. It don't make any difference to me. "
Mark Meadows is one person who found what he
needed at House Handle. " Living at Cassville, I naturally
had heard mention of House Handle Co., but my only
encounter with it was a few years ago when I was in the
post offi ce. Kenny House came in with an armload of
handles, not wrapped, but each simply with an address
tag. This past year I came across two old hammer heads in
the junk of my workshop. I thought it would be fun for my
wife and me to stop in at House Handle, thinking that we
might fi nd a handle for one of them, but both? Not likely,
as they were so diverse - a full-size claw hammer and a
child's hammer.
" When Chris House led us back to the warehouse, we
Cassville
were totally astonished. What an unbelievable sight. Thousands
or maybe millions of pristine, shiny wooden handles
of every shape were all neatly stored in countless bins.
Chris went straight to one bin then another and
handed me two handles that fi t my hammer heads
perfectly. I didn't even have to shape them. "
There are just a few things in the House
Handle catalog that aren't made on-site. " I've
got plow handles. I do not make plow handles, "
Kenny says with a smile. " Them and
walking canes I don't make. "
Handle catalog that aren't made on-site. " I've
It's not that he didn't try. Kenny devoted
weeks to making cane bending jigs. He steamed
them, bent them and put them in the jigs to dry. " I made
like 60 or 70. I might have had 15 that weren't broke. I
said this ain't for me, " he says.
The handles he does make are " turned " on handle
lathes that may have made the handles William House
sold in his early days. The oldest machine has an 1865
patent date and a lot of them aren't much younger. Many
were made by the Defi ance Machine Works which stopped
making woodworking machines in the early 1930s.
They begin life as precut blanks of hickory, ash or white
oak supplied by sawmills in eastern Missouri. Depending
on the style, the wood blanks might be rounded in doweling
machines. Then they go to the lathes, which cut the
rough shape using a series of cutters that remove shavings
as the blank turns. From there another machine makes a
perfect shape to fi t the tool's eye, then it is sanded smooth.
The fi nal step is to dip it in a water-based lacquer.
There aren't many businesses left like House Handle. It
provides an essential service for those who work with their
hands. Whether ordered online or picked up in person, the
handle will fi t what it's supposed to and the service will
leave you wishing every business was family owned.
House Handle Co. is on Highway 86 west of Cassville.
For more information, call 417-847-2726, send email to
sales@househandle.com or visit www.househandle.com.
Below left: The handles go through several steps before they are fi nished. This machine, operated by a chain drive similar to the one on a bike,
makes a perfect end to match the eye on an axe head. Center: After being sanded the handles are dipped in a water-based lacquer, then hung to
dry. Right: Kenny sorts handles that are ready for purchase. Customers can buy in person at the factory or have handles shipped.

http://www.househandle.com

Rural Missouri - March 2022

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