Handles

There are basically two shapes for handles of through spindles:
Waisted, and Cylindrical. These are considered below:

Waisted

These have, in order from the face that presses the jaw:
a band,
an indentation,
a swelling, and then
some kind of end.
The location, and the proportion, of each element is characteristic of the maker.

The most commonly found waisted handles are from Rhode Island. I speculate that these influenced other makers.

Waisted Handles, and their Makers
Maker	Example
Aldrich and Hapgood
Bliss, various This handle shows all the usual elements of a Rhode Island handle.
Buttrick
Denney
Gothauer Clamp Co.
Grand Rapids Hand Screw Co.
Hood, and Hood and Rice This is distinguished by three lightly incised lines about midway along the handle. Also, the waist is not so deep as Bliss.
J H Sims The waist is more decorative than functional.
Narragansett This is very similar to those by Bliss. The main difference, as I see it. is the waist is not so pronounced.
Sandusky This has a typical waist, and may be hard to distinguish from other makers.
Sargent

Cylindical

In contrast, these have an almost uniform diameter for most of the handle, followed by some kind of end.

The most commonly found cylindrical handles are from Lowell.

Cylindrical Handles, and their Makers
Maker	Example
This, by Aldrich, has a distinctive shoulder, almost a groove, at the transition to the flat end.
Dodge Manufacturing
Ohio Tool
Rayl's
Stanley
Valley Clamp
This, by Webster and Butterfield, is characterized by the gradual rounding at the end, with almost no "flat" at the end.

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