ALL HANDLES ARE CAREFULLY GRADED & SORTED LINK's experienced timber buyers grade log quality. They are looking for logs that are heavy and defect-free.
When the logs are sawed into squares (or blanks), the squares are graded. After the squares are turned into handles, they are graded again.
PRIMARY LOG QUALITY FACTORS Some of the factors used to determine quality include:
STRAIGHTNESS OF GRAIN
MOISTURE CONTENT
DENSITY
FREEDOM FROM DEFECTS
WOOD COLOR NOT A QUALITY FACTOR Color of the wood is not a factor in determining the quality of hickory handles. The best hickory handles may be all white, red-and-white, or all red.