What is handmade?

[dwasifar]

To be called handmade, does something need to be made using only hand tools? If not, is any kind of power tool OK, or are there limits? Like say, using a power drill is still handmade, but using a planer isn't?

What's your opinion of what makes a piece "handmade?"

 

[whateg01]

I don't know about that. I suppose it varies based on who you ask. Ask 10 different people; get 15 different answers.

I want to know who's home all these stores selling homemade ice cream are making their ice cream in!

 

[The Cobbler]

handmade to me would be more hands on rather than shove the lumber into one end of the machine & at the other end of the machine it has popped out a widget . but it does pose for a vary random line of interpretation .

 

[Fixr]

To be called handmade, does something need to be made using only hand tools? If not, is any kind of power tool OK, or are there limits? Like say, using a power drill is still handmade, but using a planer isn't?

What's your opinion of what makes a piece "handmade?"

Ask us an easy one, like "why 42?"

 

[Fixr]

To be called handmade, does something need to be made using only hand tools? If not, is any kind of power tool OK, or are there limits? Like say, using a power drill is still handmade, but using a planer isn't?

What's your opinion of what makes a piece "handmade?"

More seriously, that's a binary question on a subject that can't be answered "yes" or "no". It's more "How handmade?" And there are lots of further complications, because humans.

 

[kaymccampbell]

To be called handmade, does something need to be made using only hand tools? If not, is any kind of power tool OK, or are there limits? Like say, using a power drill is still handmade, but using a planer isn't?

What's your opinion of what makes a piece "handmade?"

Lots of things. You choose. If the tree was cut down by a chainsaw, then how can the final product be considered handmade? Can a blouse be handmade if the silk it's made from was woven on a loom that had machine produced metal parts? Where do you draw the line? Where don't you?

I make a line of laser cut items. Are they hand made? I did the original artwork. I drew them up in the laser software. I painted them. I assembled them. Well?

I also make a line of turned and sawn wood items. I use a chainsaw, tablesaw, lathe, angle grinder, sander, and bandsaw, among other power tools. I also finish and assemble them. Well?

 

[Jay__Dub]

Perhaps, "homemade", can be separate from, "handmade", with many of these items. As in, not factory made, but made in your home shop, or whatever.

 

[Meursault74]

I don't know.

Footmade seems easier to define

 

[johnre]

I'm not sure if I can define it, but I know it when I see it.

Apologies to Potter Stewart.

 

[karoc]

I always wonder this myself, but could also use these terms in different way. As we struggle with wanting to be a woodworker and sell what we make. Do we advertise home made or hand made? Does one bring in more money than the other? I guess you could say that “home made” is made by amateur and “hand made” made by professional? The world may never know, but how many licks does it take get to center of tootsie pop?

 

[LeeG]

I did a search on it, and as a legal term, there are a variety of definitions.

• Handmade means made by the exhibitor and can include the use of tools and machines as needed.
• Handmade means a product that conforms to all applicable state and federal consumer health and safety laws and is made by the vendor in the primary residence of the vendor, so long as the vendor’s sales of handmade products generate less than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) per year in revenues

There are a few others, but they read similarly.

 

[4x4Pete]

Handmade to me means, the item would have had to be assembled by hand. Tools to help assembly are allowed, machine manufactured parts are allowed, but no assembly can be done with an automated type machine. Now, with that said I could see partially handmade items using the "handmade" name to help sales. Really there aren't many things completely handmade anymore. Besides artisan type stuff, usually much more expensive than the factory offerings. Some musical equipment like guitars and amplifiers are sold with "handmade" being a symbol of quality, which usually shows that much more care and thought went into the construction. This is sometimes evident in the feel, look and sound of the instrument. Small manufacturers and business like to tout the "handmade" moniker on their products, it's up to the purchaser to decide how important it is and how realistic it is. I would choose handmade over factory made if it fit a specific purpose and I wanted the perceived quality that it provides. Hammers don't need to be handmade, but it probably would make for a really nice hammer.

 

[RoninB4]

"Handmade" is yet another marketing label from the shills in advertising, similar to "billet" describing aftermarket metal components for motorcycles/cars. Handmade used to mean something when applied to split bamboo fly fishing rods or musical instruments, sometime it might still mean a better quality product. Hand scraped machine way are considered superior but that's only if done properly, same applies to everything else. Handmade can also mean the maker couldn't afford machinery for more consistent product tolerances. Handmade could also apply to the last sandwich you had for lunch. Like 4x4Pete posted above, you'll have to use your own judgment on authenticity and the inherent worth of something that claims to be handmade. That's just the opinion of a retired machinist/toolmaker that's cut down large trees with an axe to create "handmade" items.

 

[CraigStu]

How about the Bojangles 'hand breaded' chicken nuggets that are illustrated in the TV ad in a metal basket being cycled back and forth by a machine?

 

[lilredex]

I prefer the term "shop made"......then anything goes.

 

[Yankeefarmer]

If I design a custom, one-off jewelry box for my granddaughter, complete with her name engraved or as a raised feature, using CAD and a 3-d printer, then glue a velvet lining in it, is it handmade?

 

[Jay__Dub]

Etsy had a description for sellers claiming items were handmade, but I have not been on that site in some time. Handmade, or homemade, not unlike, "organic". Buyer beware.

 

[KansasArt]

Could the answer also be determined by the product in question? Some products can’t be made without tools. Knives come to mind. Or glass blowing.

 

[Boogerman]

Meaning depends on your market, and your perceptions.

If it's a selling point for a mass produced item (like organic, the term is intended to have a connotation of simpler, lower environmental impact, supporting grass roots efforts) then handmade is essentially a marketing term for items that look like they are made by individuals, not factories. More descriptive of the marketing approach than the product.

If someone is selling items themselves, usually means they attach a particular lifestyle or work approach to the production, using simpler tools; may be home shop made using complex mechanical equipment, but not mass produced by a factory and multiple employed workers.

To me, I grew up in a poverty environment. The words homemade or handmade have a connotation of makeshift things poor people do because they can't afford top quality production items, and have to cobble together their own.

 

[Jeff Ivers]

Perhaps think in terms of how many hands are involved - one pair of hands (as of Kay) is definitely handmade. Hundreds or thousands of hands involved (as in space shuttle) is definitely not handmade even though the product is produced in very little quantity with lots of manual labor. I personally think the types of tools used are irrelevant.

 

[Junkdrawer Dog]

It annoys me when restaurants tout their "handcrafted sandwiches" or "handcrafted cocktails." How the hell else are you gonna make them? With your feet?

 

[whateg01]

It annoys me when restaurants tout their "handcrafted sandwiches" or "handcrafted cocktails." How the hell else are you gonna make them? With your feet?

I would rather they use their feet than to stir my drink with another appendage!

 

[Viper98912]

I normally think about it as someone used their hands extensively to make the product, regardless if they used tools. For example, if you're on a manual mill or lathe and you were constantly turning the wheels and/or holding the chisel, etc, I see that as handmade, regardless that you were using a machine to help you do the work. If you simply were popping the raw material into a CNC, hitting the green button, and then coming back later to remove the part out of the vise, that's not hand made.

Bigger plus if you're using manual tools, without a machine, that's even more handmade.

As for handcrafted, I see that as someone is making you the drink or sandwich with a bunch of individual ingredients, and not just taking a pre-mix and putting it into a cup or opening a bagged sandwich and putting it into the microwave.

 

[pcmeiners]

Tito's vodka is handmade....maybe....

Lawsuit: Tito’s vodka isn’t actually ‘handmade’

Austin-based Tito’s Handmade Vodka has been hit with a lawsuit alleging its signature product isn’t actually made by hand.

www.statesman.com

 

[acer66]

I think it was a Continental but do not quote me on that one that said on a MTB tire handmade in Germany.

Sounds like pulling a lever or such makes it “handmade”.

 

[karoc]

This thread keep drawing me back to it due to all comments of what handmade, homemade really means to others. Finally it hit me, and brings to mind a guy that work at same place as I. But before I go into details of his hidden talent, I need to tell you about him.
This guy fits my definition of outlaw, he was gang leader in one of the motorcycle gangs in Houston area, and he look part. I can’t imagine what he was like in his younger days. Give idea he had a big tattoo of bull head on chest with nose ring going through ******. This is long before body piercing and tattoos were popular. Sonny would wear T-shirts that was as tight as pantyhose’s so you couldn’t but notice ring on his chest. His physique was similar to Mr T but bigger. We meet up for lunch talk about anything other than his past, but as we shake hands I couldn’t help but notice the scares on knuckles and size of his hands. He was just huge guy but not tall. I always notice that he was always looking around and watching door. I guess that kind of life you made enemies so had watch your back. Well you should get picture about Sonny now so on to the amazing part.
Sometimes wife and I would visit flea markets just wondering around not really buying anything. Guess who we ran into, yes Sonny. He had booth selling hand made jewelry, some out of silver and some out of gold. Here’s what was amazing, he was there making glass figurines. Some very small and some about 2” in diameter like dancing princess with details. I don’t know nothing about glass blowing nor did I ever imagine someone with big hands and being hell raiser would be making glass items and jewelry. He was really nice guy, but I didn’t want to see other size of Sonny. Long gone, but I’ll never forget him

 

[RPH]

Lots of things. You choose. If the tree was cut down by a chainsaw, then how can the final product be considered handmade? Can a blouse be handmade if the silk it's made from was woven on a loom that had machine produced metal parts? Where do you draw the line? Where don't you?

I make a line of laser cut items. Are they hand made? I did the original artwork. I drew them up in the laser software. I painted them. I assembled them. Well?

I also make a line of turned and sawn wood items. I use a chainsaw, tablesaw, lathe, angle grinder, sander, and bandsaw, among other power tools. I also finish and assemble them. Well?

Kay,
Where can we see your work? And possibly purchase items.
Vbr, Randy

 

[niget2002]

I typically refer to the stuff I make as 'home made' and so does my wife. Rarely do we get asked about 'how' our stuff is made.

What gets me are all the booths at markets these days selling 3d printed trinkets. I've yet to run across a booth where the people design any of the stuff they sell. They purchase the designs and print a gob of them, then sell them.

 

[NORTON'S SHOP]

Tito's vodka is handmade....maybe....

Lawsuit: Tito’s vodka isn’t actually ‘handmade’

Austin-based Tito’s Handmade Vodka has been hit with a lawsuit alleging its signature product isn’t actually made by hand.

www.statesman.com

I chuckle every time I hear their ads.

 

[dchawk81]

Homemade and handmade are right up there with "vintage" with respect to useless adjectives.

 

[dchawk81]

Handmade to me means, the item would have had to be assembled by hand. Tools to help assembly are allowed, machine manufactured parts are allowed, but no assembly can be done with an automated type machine. Now, with that said I could see partially handmade items using the "handmade" name to help sales. Really there aren't many things completely handmade anymore. Besides artisan type stuff, usually much more expensive than the factory offerings. Some musical equipment like guitars and amplifiers are sold with "handmade" being a symbol of quality, which usually shows that much more care and thought went into the construction. This is sometimes evident in the feel, look and sound of the instrument. Small manufacturers and business like to tout the "handmade" moniker on their products, it's up to the purchaser to decide how important it is and how realistic it is. I would choose handmade over factory made if it fit a specific purpose and I wanted the perceived quality that it provides. Hammers don't need to be handmade, but it probably would make for a really nice hammer.

My Honda was handmade because the robots don't start until someone uses their hand to turn on the power.

 

[4x4Pete]

My Honda was handmade because the robots don't start until someone uses their hand to turn on the power.

I guess if that's your thought process. In that case everything is handmade to you.

 

[ichabod]

Wife: it's home made jelly, do you like it ?
Me: Home made, yea it taste like it was made in a home, if you know what I mean.

 

[BigGarage]

I always wonder this myself, but could also use these terms in different way. As we struggle with wanting to be a woodworker and sell what we make. Do we advertise home made or hand made? Does one bring in more money than the other? I guess you could say that “home made” is made by amateur and “hand made” made by professional?

To my knowledge all pocket billiard cues are "hand made" in their final process. Lathes, CNC machines and other tools are used in the making of the pieces (points, inlays) but they are glued up, painted, coated by hand. If a cue has a wrap they are hand-installed but not hand-made. This is a labor-intensive and time-consuming process.

This cue below took the maker 4 months to build in 1999 and cost me $1900 which was an excellent price. Due to health reasons he retired from cuemaking earlier this year. His shop is in his basement so his highly desirable cues are handmade and homemade

 

[dchawk81]

To my knowledge all pocket billiard cues are "hand made" in their final process. Lathes, CNC machines and other tools are used in the making of the pieces (points, inlays) but they are glued up, painted, coated by hand. If a cue has a wrap they are hand-installed but not hand-made. This is a labor-intensive and time-consuming process.

This cue below took the maker 4 months to build in 1999 and cost me $1900 which was an excellent price. Due to health reasons he retired from cuemaking earlier this year. His shop is in his basement so his highly desirable cues are handmade and homemade

I just used the warped free ones at the bowling alley.

 

[Magnum440d100]

Ask us an easy one, like "why 42?"

That’s easy. Because 7 8 9

 

[dchawk81]

That’s easy. Because 7 8 9

I remember that joke.


"Why is 6 afraid of 7?"

"Because 7 8 9!"

We were so innocent. Nowadays 9 would be in love with 7 and 6 would be jealous. Because we're perverted now.