6 Ways to Make Pottery Handles: Expert Tips and Handle-Making Wisdom
Today, let’s talk about handles. Not instagram handles, or gamer handles, or hacker handles… but the loop that extends from the side of a piece of pottery and which most often exists for gripping and holding and sometimes just exists for decoration.
Hold on… Before I get into all things pottery handle making, a brief reflection inspired by a booth visit three years ago:
Allow me to set the scene.
The high-ceilinged hall buzzes with activity, filled with art vendors and the hum of conversation. On a table set with a crisp white cloth, a wooden rack shows off rows of some of my mugs and cups. A purple scarf wearing individual approaches and exclaims with surprise, “oh wow, look, a mug with no handle!”
Said individual is impressed by the novelty of that, shows a friend, and walks away…
I wish I could have asked this person a few follow up questions, because suddenly, I was having a pottery philosophical moment (which I naturally then brought to my classroom of teens the following day to see if they could help me get a handle on this conundrum):
What makes a mug a mug vs. a cup?
Is the mug identified by shape, size, and handle?
Does a mug need a handle to be a mug?
Or is a mug a mug for what it carries?
But wait, if a mug has no handle, could it be a tea bowl? What if I drink coffee?
Let’s say a mug is a type of cup (cup being the umbrella category here) designed for drinking liquids, usually hot ones like coffee, tea, or hot chocolate. My guess is that our purple-scarved art appreciator identified my cups as mugs because they are made of ceramic material, which is great for handling heat (I know you are loving these puns!).
The take-away: While a handle is not a necessary addition to a cup in order to enjoy a warm bev, handles do come in handy for those wanting to avoid getting their hands hot — though personally, my favorite way to hold a mug is to cup it… don’t you just love the English language?
Now, Let’s Make Some Handles
Onto the main topic!
Once one has decided to put a handle on a piece of pottery, the question is: what kind?
Sampling of different handle techniques.
While some handles are purely ornamental, I think that all handles, even the functional ones — like those attached to cups and pitchers for example — have a degree of ornament because they impact the overall look of a piece. I’ve never heard a professional potter describe one of their handles as “uh, whatever, it just does the job doesn’t it?”
There is artistry in handle-making!
To help you on your creative pottery handle journey, I’ve divided this post into a few sections:
Making Handles: I will introduce 6 techniques to make handles out of clay. While there are more than 6 ways of making handles, these are good to start with.
Shaping Handles: I will discuss 2 methods of shaping handles.
Attaching Handles: I will introduce 6 ways of attaching handles.
Additional Handle Wisdom: Finally, I will share some handle wisdom and links to further resources.
Making Pottery Handles
Technique #1 - Extruded Handle
If you have access to a hand-held extruder (like the one pictured above from Shimpo), you can make consistently sized handles by extruding them with your chosen die shape.
Want to create your own die shape? If you have access to a 3D printer, you can make your own!
For some additional resources, check out this 6.5 minute video by Old Forge Creations on how to extrude a handle.
This post from Pottery Crafters also goes into further detail on how to use a handheld extruder to make handles and includes videos as well.
While this is an efficient way to make a lot of consistently shaped handles, make sure to budget time for cleaning the tool out after use.
Technique #2 - Hand-rolled Coil Handle
Coiling is a standard pottery technique (often adored by littles — so many snakes!).
To roll a good coil, apply even pressure while moving back and forth from palm to finger tips. Your coil could be uniform with consistent thickness, or carrot shaped. That’s up to you!
I like to make carrot shaped coils and then slam them down onto a non-sticky table surface to flatten them out a bit.
You can also take coiled handles to the next decorative level by twisting two strands, braiding three strands, etc.
Technique #3 - Slab Built Handle
Want consistent thickness for your handles and to make them in efficient batches? Consider slab building them.
First, I will roll out a large slab. Since I have a smaller home studio, I use this slab roller for most slabs, but I’ve also rolled them by hand with a wooden rolling pin between 2 square wooden dowels from Home Depot to get consistent hight. Personally, for larger functional mugs I don’t really recommend handles thinner than 1/4”. My preferred thicknesses for mugs are 3/8” and 1/2”.
Then, I will cut out my handles in the desire width and length using a fettling knife (which comes in the basic Kemper Toolkit).
My go to handle width and length is 6” x 0.75” — which are the measurements of an adult tongue depressor (ask for a couple at your next Dr. visit! No need to buy a whole box). I just use the tongue depressor as my cut out guide and I can make many handles at once.
Once the handles are cut, I will take a small damp smooth textured sponge and smooth out the edges to soften them and round them out because, well, sharp edges aren’t fun to hold on to.
You can also imprint the handle with texture using a textured rolling pin or stamps. I discuss imprinting in this blog post.
Pictured is a set of two wheel-thrown cups with slab-built handles cut out to the shape of a tongue depressor. These mugs demonstrate the wax resist technique discussed here. Laguna 80 clay with Marine Blue Mayco Underglaze and Amaco Blue Rutile glaze on top.
Technique #4 - Extruded with a Handle Maker
Another way to get consistent handles is with a handle maker (also sometimes called a handheld clay extruder, not to be confused with this hand-held clay extruder discussed in technique #1).
Diamond Core Tools (which I write about in my review of trimming & carving tools) makes a series of handheld extruders ($52) with various handle designs, from concave shapes (left tool in image above) to u-shaped, and grooved.
Diamond Core has a whole article on what handheld extruders are and how to use them. New shoppers to Diamond Core Tools can use code WELCOME25 at checkout for a 25% off discount.
Looking for a more budget option? Kemper makes a simple one ($9.07, middle tool in image above) and there are these Therwen brand ones on Amazon ($17.99).
Pictured is a Laguna 65 clay wheel-thrown & hand-carved mug with handle made with concave handheld extruder. Learn more about why I carve here. For a review of carving tools, click here. This piece was carved with a FP1 Fine Point U Tip 1 mm X 1 mm Carving Tool. The glazes used are Amaco High Fire Coral Gloss and Amaco High Fire Baby Blue.
Technique #5 - Folded Handle
This technique is fun if you like wrap-around texture on your handle.
To make a folded handle, you want to roll out a thin slab (about 1/8” thick) so that it’s about 1/4” when folded. Add texture to one surface if desired. On the picture above, I used a rolling pin from MKM Pottery Tools, which I discuss here.
Cut out the slab to the desired length and double the desired width of the handle. Score and slip the non-textured side of the handle then fold over each long edge of the slab into the center of the slab. Make sure the edges meet or overlap a little bit at the center (notice the seam on the photograph below). Press gently to allow the slip to move into the scratched surfaces.
Pictured is a hand-built ceramic basket with a folded imprinted handle. This piece was textured with a textured rolling pin. You can read more about imprinting here.
Technique #6 - Pulled Handle
I’ve never milked a cow, but I imagine it’s very similar to pulling handles?
Pulling handles involves shaping a piece of clay into a long, tapered form using water and consistent hand pressure.
A handle can be pulled off the side of a piece or it can be pulled and then attached to a piece. Check out this video by Florian Gadsby on Youtube to learn how (the whole video is great, but if you just want to see the handle pulling, you can stop at 5:30).
Because handle-pulling is responsive (you have to adjust your pressure to the shape the clay the way you want), pulling handles takes patience and practice.
While pulling handles may feel a bit intimidating, it’s a technique worth trying.
Pictured is a wheel-thrown and hand-carved mug with a pulled handle. A small oval shaped piece of clay was attached and blended to the top of the handle for a thumb hold. Laguna 80 clay with Amaco High Fire Baby Blue glaze. This piece was carved with a FP1 Fine Point U Tip 1 mm X 1 mm Carving Tool. For a review of carving tools, click here.
Shaping Pottery Handles
Method #1 - Using Forms
If you want your handles to have a consistent shape, you can use forms.
Forms can be scavenged: paper towel tubes, a 2x4 plank of wood, a canvas-covered water bottle.
Forms can be made: shaped and fired bisque-ware, carved foam, specialty cut wood blocks.
Forms can be bought, like this 12 piece set from Amazon for $8.99.
The long rectangle form and the large classic-curve shaped form (both pictured) are my personal go-tos.
Method #2 - Free Form
This one is more self explanatory. Before attaching, you can shape the handle on its side on a table or hanging off a table edge, or you can shape the handle right onto the piece. While the clay allows, you can play around with the form. Look at the handle from all angles. Find the style that works best for your piece. Play!
Not sure which handle shape fits your pottery piece?
Experiment. Here are some ways you can try out different designs:
You can make various handles and hold them up against your piece to see what fits best.
You can trace the silhouette of your piece on a piece of paper and then either draw different handle shapes or take a clay coil and try different shapes right on the paper to see what fits best.
You can place your piece into a clear plastic bin (something like this) and use a dry erase marker to draw different handle shapes onto the bin.
Attaching Handles
While there are many ways of attaching handles onto a piece of pottery, I am going to go over 6 ways. All of these involve a basic pottery technique called “scratch & attach” or, as I was taught in high school, “slip and score.” Some methods also involve blending.
Before you can attach a handle however, you must evaluate the level of wetness of your piece and your handle. Anything beyond leather hard is going to have a very low success rate. Best time to attach is when the clay is firmer (can hold shape) but still a little wet, as in it has a little bit of stickiness to it when touched.
Technique #1 - Scratch & Attach:
Some potters rely on water or slip alone to attach their handles, and that may work on some clay bodies, but if you want a more secure way to attach handles (don’t want those popping off now, do we), I recommend scratching and attaching.
Scratching and attaching involves first scoring the sides that are going to be fused together roughly with a needle tool (think a lot of x marks), a scoring tool (like this double ended need and scoring tool from Xiem, which is my favorite), or a serrated steel scraper.
You then apply a little bit of clay slip (from the same clay as the body of the piece and the handle) onto one of the scored surfaces. The effect is essentially like Velcro, in that the surfaces will fuse together, and the slip will slide into the messy mini crevasses you’ve scratched and then firm up, connecting the pieces to each other more sturdily.
Slip tip! Consider adding vinegar to your handle attaching slip. Why? Because the acidity of the vinegar breaks down the clay a bit, improves plasticity, and makes it stickier.
Technique #2 - Blending:
Blending impacts aesthetics and helps add a bit of extra security to your hold (see Method #6 below for a blending-less option). One can blend the attached sides of a handle directly into the pot (using a finger, the rounded edge of a wood modeling tool, a small damp smooth textured sponge, or a rubber tipped wipe out tool). Sometimes, blending may included a small added coil at the joins for extra security.
Important notes about attaching handles!
Ideally, your piece and the handle are the same degree of slightly tacky wet. If one of the elements is more dry than the other, the piece will dry unevenly and is more liable to crack. If your clay isn’t wet enough, you may be able to blend the coil or handle in, and it may look good for a bit, but when it dries, the blended area will likely crack off the edges of your piece. So remember: You want the body of the piece you and your handle to be equally wet — not “I’ve added a little spray of water to the surface of this dry piece” surface level kind of wet, but really, truly, a tad sticky to the touch on it’s own kind of wet.
When transporting pieces before they have been fired, handle them with care! Do not hold the piece by the handle, even if feeling sturdy at the leather hard stage. There’s a high chance the handle may pop right off…
6 Ways of Attaching Handles to Pottery
Method #1
Scratch & attach the handle to the wall of your piece and blend the part of the handle angling down.
While the sides and top of the handle don’t need a full blend in this method, I recommend taking a slightly damp smooth paintbrush and going around the seems to seal them shut. We don’t want any cracks to appear.
Sample of attachment method #1.
Method #2
Prep the handle by widening out the ends (either pinching them or pushing them onto a flat surface to spread them out) to create fine bell-bottom shaped edges that can then be blended onto the surface of the piece. This is my preferred method of attaching handles.
Sample of attachment method #2.
Method #3
This handle attachment is a union between methods 1 & 2!
Sample of attachment method #3. Notice how the handle angles sharply on the bottom.
Method #4
This is a variation on Method #1 with added coils blended into the sharp angled parts of the join to backfill the gaps.
Make sure that the coils are small, and that they are properly scratched and attached and blended to the piece and the handle.
The bottom part of this handle is a sample of attachment method #4. To reinforce the handle, a very small coil was blended into inside edge where the handle meets the pot.
Method #5
This method involves using blended coils (sometimes two coils, sometimes one coil as a ring around the joint) to give the handle extra support.
Sample of attachment method #5. Looks very similar in results to attachment method #2.
Method #6
This method relies on a good scratch and attach, and a good amount of pressure at the join.
The handle should have a good amount of surface area attached to the piece, like the nub featured at the top of this diagram, or the L shape featured at the bottom.
The added bonus of the L shape, is that you can also add extra pressure at the join by imprinting a small stamp (like this wooden stamp from MKM pottery tools). Some potters will imprint their signature stamp (which I discuss here) at the bottom join of a handle.
Sample of part of attachment method #6. The top of the handle uses attachment method #1.
Additional Pottery Handle-Making Wisdom
Fins instead of handles?
Fins can look beautiful as decorative bits, but I find them impractical functionally. Have you seen cups like these with fish-fin like nubs instead of handles?
While artistic looking, I find fin handles very challenging to use. Perhaps because I’m too nervous to rely on my thumb and pointer finger pinching to carry the weight of the drink? Or that the whole precious vessel will just slip out of my fingers?
How far should the handle extend?
For functional ware, following the aesthetic rule of thirds, some potters teach that a handle should not extend out more than half the diameter of the opening of the piece (meaning the final length of a piece would be 1.5 times the diameter of the piece when the handle is attached). I find this to be sound advice, personally.
While a super large handle like the one on this mug may look visually striking, they require a firmer grasp to keep the liquid balanced. And a handle too close to the body of the piece (say, so close that fingers couldn’t fit through) would just not work now, would it…
Interested in the science of handles?
Check out Old Forge Creation’s exceptionally thorough post on How To Make Comfortable Mug Handles.
The article contains helpful in-depth discussion on size, shape, and center of gravity. The discussion of the physics of handles is really fascinating and worth the deeper dive!
Looking for some videos?
Bring out your favorite popcorn in your favorite handmade pottery bowl and check out this 10 minute attaching handles tips and tricks video by Jonthepotter on Youtube or this 16 minute video on 8 decorative handle designs by Little Street Pottery.
Alrighty! That’s a wrap for now. Feel like you have a handle on all things handles?
A few of the links above are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate and a Blick Art Materials Affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Your purchases help me with creating my own art, and I am super grateful!
