Ergonomic Handles

was at Bed Bath Beyond. cant believe all the OXO stuff. they the only player left? went looking. most everything else is crap. but calls itself Ergonomic. some of OXO’s stuff isnt so ergo either. its like toothbrush handles. all that overmold but still slippy as hell. doesnt seem like anyone tests these. maybe its just the U.S.

anyone seen really nice smallwares handles? maybe European? please. no Graves.

You may not know this but oxo’s ‘large handle’ design is great for the elderly and people with arthritis. Actually their original designs came out of the idea of designing products for the elderly (circa late 80’s.)

The reason they are not labeled as such is who would want to buy an ‘old person’s product?’ Many of those who need it don’t want to admit to ‘getting older’ and needing assistance… even if its just a big handle on their pizza cutter.


I personally haven’t understood why oxo has yet to address the storage issue with the large handle kitchen tools. These items fill up a drawer quickly.

i’m aware. also aware it took few years for them to catch on. designers wondering why back then. one example of poor oxo design: can opener. the elliptical crank hard to use with slippy hands. too smooth. too rounded. nice look. bad ergo.

Universal Design has been a buzzword for years. why not more good handles? thats my surprise. again. look at toothbrushes. i just bought a Crest. loads of overmold. worse than simple plastic stick from 20 years ago. something wrong dat.

so where are the good handles?

I have the answer why…$$$

Yes it all boils down to $$. Just like when Sam Faber initially contacted Smart Design to develop the handle idea to help his arthritic wife. He was continually told that no one would pay more for a vegetable peeler than what was already on the shelf, and the only way to sell more product was to cut the cost. All to often in this economy the small and midsize companies (less than $500 million) still have this mentality. “If it aint broke don’t fix it.” I have seen this time and time again through out my consulting career.

At least three time a month my firm is contacted by such companies to help them develop a new and “innovative” product for their line. Then when we are finished with the initial meeting and layout our development plan to them they always say “But we would have to sell the item for the same amount, and we were hoping to sell it for half of what the current item is selling for.”

Do you actually use one? I have never had a problem with the elliptical crank slipping out of my hands. Actually I find it to be the best can opener crank I have ever used.

By the way-- what’s with the sentence fragments?

own one since release. some cans hard to open. when cooking and hands slippy i have to push inward. makes no sense. more texture would help.

fragments? too much CAD. communication over grammar. hands hurt. no fragments in proposals tho!

gripsoft grooming tools

whats so good about gripsoft?

what’s so bad about it?

to my knolwedge it is the only grooming device that was researched and developed for the ergonomic needs of a groomer. It was the first range of grooming products to incorporate rubber into the handle; now you can’t find a grooming tool without overmolded rubber whether it’s ergonomic or not. and all of this was done before the oxo handles

so in a nutshell that is what is so great about gripsoft

also

a universally ergonomic handle is pretty much impossible

you need to account for the range of hands out there from the smallest to the largest then you take the 80th percentile and you design towards that.

now even that will be skewed because within a specific size range you still have many other variables, to account for finger vs palm size, strength, etc.

my point is, you will never have a 100% universal ergonomic handle unless the item is custom fitted for each user or it is somehow adjustable.


so get to work and design me and adjustable handle.

just asking. guessing you designed it. didnt say it was bad. chill. i’ve done handles for electrics. no lesson needed. but thanx anyway.

question is: is it the best NOW.

no i didn’t design it at all, but in the grooming field it is still ergonomically the best, however it is not at all the top seller.

good info. appreciated. thank you.

…but OXO hasn’t redesigned their stuff for at least 4 years…like mentioned earlier, probably due to lack of competition.

…Kitchen Aid has a good line-up that is functional and much more flare. I recently bought the two sets, upgraded form the old OXO products I bought 4 years ago.

Big Red. which sets? KA’s Pro-Line? noticed some KA stuff month or two back in circular. interesting them digging up old designs and reusing. some info on their site. thats cool.

looked at KA handheld stuff. nothing special there. i miss something? can-opener crank decent, but chromed is slippy too. didnt like handles. i do like the pizza cutter design tho.

havent found much on handles. been looking. some decent things. the anti-vibration hammers are nice. few of those. Fiskars Powergrip utility knife still nice. always liked it. Quickie has interesting new(?) cleaning handles. dont know about them. patented? look just like Ergo Twist screwdrivers i found online.

still looking. educational update for me.

surprised so few responses.

have been researching. learned some interesting things. i dont read much Design theory. of course know human factors reference. but not much ID with anthropology. want to know if my conclusions match others. anyone recommend good books matching ergonomics to history and to manufacturing?