Is a knob a handle, or is it simply a knob as named? What is
a handle? We use words thoughtlessly in one way, as it should be. Learning is
the process of the transformation of the self-conscious into the unselfconscious,
creating a zone of thoughtlessness that allows other more complex, more subtle
matters to be entertained. Consider learning to play the piano or to ride a
bike: experience becomes finer and richer, so that eventually one is able to
play Beethoven with all of its intricacies and innuendos, and develop skills
and stamina to ride in le Tour. With time and some wary rational reflection,
familiar words often appear puzzling, as strangers. The experience is somewhat
like the questioning of the spelling of a common word that suddenly appears
doubtful when isolated by the query and enquiry. Why do we call anything a
handle - indeed, a knob? What characteristics might something have to offer for
it to be labelled a ‘handle’? The clue could obviously be in ‘hand’ - le; that
it has something to do with the hand and the handling of things. ‘Handling’ is
an interesting word that seems to be close to ‘handle,’ but it doesn’t help
much with our question about the characteristics of a handle.
The dictionary frequently is a good place to start
dismantling words: the ‘unpacking’ of the idea/concept is the latest jargon
phrase for this analysis. The idea seems to hold the same sense as the
unpacking of a parcel, to see what is inside. On ‘handle,’ the dictionary records a wide-ranging set of meanings that extends the simplistic notion of a
physical hand:
HANDLE
handle
han·dle
noun
1.
a part of a thing made specifically to be grasped or held by the hand.
2.
that which may be held, seized, grasped, or taken advantage of in effecting a purpose: The clue was ahandle for solving the mystery.
3.
Slang.
a.
a person's name, especially the given name.
b.
a person's alias, nickname, or code name.
c.
a name or term by which something is known, described, or explained.
4.
the total amount wagered on an event, series of events, or for an entire season or seasons, as at agambling casino or in horse racing: The track handle for the day was over a million dollars.
5.
the total amount of money taken in by a business concern on one transaction, sale, event, or seriesof transactions, or during a specific period, especially by a theater, nightclub, sports arena, resorthotel, or the like.
Relevant Questions
verb (used with object), han·dled, han·dling.
8.
9.
to manage, deal with, or be responsible for: My wife handles the household accounts. This computerhandles all our billing.
10.
to use or employ, especially in a particular manner; manipulate: to handle color expertly in painting.
11.
to manage, direct, train, or control: to handle troops.
12.
to deal with (a subject, theme, argument, etc.): The poem handled the problem of instinct versusintellect.
verb (used without object), han·dled, han·dling.
15.
to behave or perform in a particular way when handled, directed, managed, etc.: The troops handledwell. The jet was handling poorly.
Idioms
16.
fly off the handle, Informal. to become very agitated or angry, especially without warning oradequate reason: I can't imagine why he flew off the handle like that.
17.
get / have a handle on, to acquire an understanding or knowledge of: Can you get a handle on whatyour new boss expects?
Origin:
before 900; (noun) Middle English handel, Old English hand ( e ) le, derivative of hand; (v.) Middle Englishhandelen, Old English handlian (cognate with German handlen, Old Norse hǫndla to seize); derivative ofhand
before 900; (noun) Middle English handel, Old English hand ( e ) le, derivative of hand; (v.) Middle Englishhandelen, Old English handlian (cognate with German handlen, Old Norse hǫndla to seize); derivative ofhand
Related forms
han·dle·a·ble, adjective
han·dle·a·bil·i·ty, noun
han·dle·less, adjective
o·ver·han·dle, verb (used with object), o·ver·han·dled, o·ver·han·dling.
pre·han·dle, verb (used with object), pre·han·dled, pre·han·dling.
Synonyms
14. sell, vend, carry, market; hawk, peddle.
14. sell, vend, carry, market; hawk, peddle.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2014.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2014.
Cite This Source
|
Link To handle
Collins
World English Dictionary
— n
|
|
1.
|
the part of a utensil, drawer, etc, designed to be held in order to move, use, or pick up the object
|
2.
|
( NZ ) a glass beer mug with a handle
|
3.
|
slang a person's name or title
|
4.
|
a CB radio slang name for call sign
|
5.
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an opportunity, reason, or excuse for doing something: his background served as a handle for theirmockery
|
6.
|
the quality, as of textiles, perceived by touching or feeling
|
7.
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the total amount of a bet on a horse race or similar event
|
8.
|
informal fly off the handle to become suddenly extremely angry
|
— vb
|
|
9.
|
to pick up and hold, move, or touch with the hands
|
10.
|
to operate or employ using the hands: the boy handled the reins well
|
11.
|
to have power or control over: my wife handles my investments
|
12.
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to manage successfully: a secretary must be able to handle clients
|
13.
|
to discuss (a theme, subject, etc)
|
14.
|
to deal with or treat in a specified way: I was handled with great tact
|
15.
|
to trade or deal in (specified merchandise)
|
16.
|
( intr ) to react or respond in a specified way to operation or control: the car handles well on bends
|
[Old English; related to Old Saxon handlon (vb), Old High German hantilla towel]
|
|
'handleable
|
|
— adj
|
|
'handled
|
|
— adj
|
|
'handleless
|
|
— adj
|
|
Collins English Dictionary - Complete
& Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
handle
O.E. handle, formed from hand in the sense of a tool in the way thimble was formed from thumb. The verbis O.E. handlian "to touch or move with the hands." Akin to O.N. höndla "th seize, capture," Dan. handle"to trade, deal," Ger. handeln "to bargain, trade." The commercial sense was weaker in
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010
Douglas Harper
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Cite This Source
Slang Dictionary
handle definition
1.
n.
a person's name or nickname. (Western jargon and then citizens band radio.) : My handle is Goober. Youcan call me Goob.
2.
n.
a way of dealing with something; a grasp of a problem. : As soon as I get a handle on this Wilson matter, I'llgive you a buzz. |
Dictionary of American Slang and
Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw-Hill Education.
Cite This Source
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw-Hill Education.
Cite This Source
FOLDOC
Computing Dictionary
handle definition
1. A simple item of data that identifies a resource. For example, a Unix file handle identifies an open fileand associated data such as whether it was opened for read or write and the current read/write position.On the Macintosh, a handle is a pointer to a pointer to some dynamically-allocated memory. The extralevel of indirection allows on-the-fly memory compaction or garbage collection without invalidatingapplication program references to the allocated memory.
2. An alias used intended to conceal a user's true identity in an electronic message. The term is commonon Citizen's Band and other amateur radio but, in that context usually means the user's real name asFCC rules forbid concealing one's identity.
Use of grandiose handles is characteristic of crackers, weenies, spods, and other lower forms of networklife; true hackers travel on their own reputations.
Compare nick.
[ Jargon File]
3. domain handle.
(2004-07-20)
The Free On-line Dictionary of
Computing, © Denis Howe 2010 http://foldoc.org
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases
handle
In addition to the idioms beginning with handle, also see fly off the
handle; get a fix (handle) on.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of
Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
The complexity of the term is clearly exposed. The defined
clarity of the diversity of contexts and meanings is a little surprising. While
one might have thought of associating something like a drawer handle or a
handle on a mug with the idea of the name, there are numerous other ways in
which the word can hold meaning. Some of these seem to use the word as an
analogy, or a metaphor in ordinary speech, adapting and expanding the sense of
holding onto something with a handle: getting a grasp on things, anything. This
usage, though interesting, can be put aside because the first question is
asking about the form of a handle and any other designated properties that
might be needed in an object or a section of it, for it to be categorized as
the ‘handle’ part or portion.
While it is all about words and ideas, the phrase, ‘Getting
a handle’ on some notion, does still help us understand some characteristic of
the concept. It has to do with managing some idea, comprehending it,
controlling it; doing something specific to or with it. In the sense of an
object, the first two meanings seem to be the most inclusive:
1.
a part of a thing made specifically to be grasped by the
hand.
2.
that which may be held, seized, grasped, or taken advantage
of in effecting a purpose.
In the context of our considered drawer, one has to ask why
a certain form of grip is called a ‘knob’ rather than a ‘handle’. What is a
knob that it seems so different to a handle as to have a different name? If
designers are to understand anything, they need to know about these differences
because they could have significant implications beyond mere appearance.
Turning again to the dictionary for this ‘unpacking’, we
read:
knob
knob
noun
1.
a projecting part, usually rounded, forming the handle of a door, drawer, or the like.
2.
a rounded lump or protuberance on the surface or at the end of something, as a knot on a tree trunk.
3.
Architecture . an ornamental boss, as of carved work.
4.
a rounded hill, mountain, or elevation on a ridge.
verb (used with object), knobbed, knob·bing.
5.
to produce a knob on.
6.
to furnish with a knob.
7.
(in stone cutting) to knock off (excess stone) preparatory to dressing; knobble; skiffle.
Relevant Questions
Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English knobbe < Middle Low German
1350–1400; Middle English knobbe < Middle Low German
Related forms
knob·like, adjective
Can be confused: knob, nob.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2014.
Cite This Source
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2014.
Cite This Source
|
Link To knob
Collins
World English Dictionary
— n
|
|
1.
|
a rounded projection from a surface, such as a lump on a tree trunk
|
2.
|
a handle of a door, drawer, etc, esp one that is rounded
|
3.
|
a round hill or knoll or morainic ridge
|
4.
|
taboo ( Brit ) a slang word for penis
|
5.
|
informal ( Brit ) and the same to you with knobs on , and the same to you with brass knobs on the same to you but even more so
|
— vb , knobs , knobbing , knobbed
|
|
6.
|
( tr ) to supply or ornament with knobs
|
7.
|
( intr ) to form into a knob; bulge
|
8.
|
taboo ( Brit ) to have sexual intercourse with (someone)
|
[C14: from Middle Low German knobbe knot in wood; see knop ]
|
|
'knobby
|
|
— adj
|
|
'knoblike
|
|
— adj
|
|
Collins English Dictionary - Complete
& Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
knob
1373, knobe, probably from a Scand. or Ger. source (cf. M.L.G. knobbe "knob," O.N. knyfill "short horn").Meaning "knoll, isolated round hill" is first recorded 1650, especially in U.S.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010
Douglas Harper
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Cite This Source
American Heritage
Science Dictionary
knob (nŏb) Pronunciation
Key
A prominent, rounded hill or mountain. |
The American Heritage® Science
Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Simply, a knob is a rounded protrusion; but the dictionary
is useful in answering our question about the difference between a handle and a
knob: a knob is ‘a handle of a door or drawer . . that is rounded.’
Ah, so a knob is just a rounded handle: it is a category of
‘handle’ - a type of handle. What other types might there be? ‘Grip’ is another
word that might come under the broad spectrum of ‘handle’, as might ‘pull,’
‘lever,’ ‘control’ and ‘switch.’ Think of a camera ‘grip’: a handle with
specific form and texture to ensure the easy and certain handling of the
equipment. Considering a ‘switch’ as a small handle that allows the on/off
control does appear to take the idea to its limits, as switches are more
operations for the ‘finger’ part of the hand rather than the ‘hand’ itself,
although switches do allow for the total control of a situation.
So we get back to ‘handle.’ Generically it seems to be
something for the hand to manage, to allow the intricate manipulation of some
other item, article or idea. Handlebars on a bike tell the story. These are
bars for the hands to control the vehicle. Door handles do likewise. They are
critical to the safe, easy and comfortable operation of the swinging leaf, as
the handlebars are on the operation of a bike.
When considered as a design item, it is the hand that is the
primary reference for any handle form: the physical termination of the arms:
see - http://voussoirs.blogspot.com.au/2014/01/what-is-design.html The basic question is: what will the hand
have to do in order to achieve the required outcome? How should form be shaped
in order to allow this to occur? To understand the problem and its solution,
one has to ask: How big is the hand? What is the physical operation of the
hand? What are its characteristics and limits? What might accommodate its
comfort? Hands are, after all, physical items - bones, tendons and skin. They
move towards the item selected, to that part of it best shaped for the hand, in
order to achieve a specific outcome. This might be lifting; it might be
gripping; it could be twisting: maybe a bit of everything? There is a complicated
sensing prior to any touching, after which matters gather greater complexity.
Feel and fit are engaged in the one operation: the achievement of the purpose.
So it is that the concept of ‘fitness for purpose’ has an immediate relevance,
with the measure being rooted in the feeling and success of the outcome.
One might ask: with the exampled drawer, what form might a
handle best take? This thought arises from the experience of using various
kitchen drawers and cupboard handles. There are the ‘D’ handle forms that
provide a projecting link in various shapes and sizes. There are the knobs;
there are the recessed handles that have been routed into the face of the
drawer as in Danish teak detailing; there is also the under-drawer recess
bars in this field too, that offer a recess grip for the fingers to engage and
pull. There are recessed grips that are surface-mounted too - pulls. ‘Pull’ is
another ‘handle’ term: think of drawer pulls. These might be small handles or,
indeed knobs, or other protrusions, D or otherwise, or recesses that allow the
grip of the tug that is needed to establish motion, the withdrawal of the
drawer from its boxed enclosure.
In all of these operations, the fingers play the critical
part. So considering a ‘switch’ to be a handle may not be so extreme a concept.
Indeed, what is a hand without fingers - a fist? Language intrigues with its
intermeshing links and references. It is a little like computer programmes that
offer numerous ways in which to achieve the same outcome. Can a fingerless hand
open a drawer? There are the drawers that require a push before they open when
one can then pull them out. These have no handles, but still require the hand
to establish movement. A fist could achieve this outcome. This circumstance is
a little like the difference between the key on the computer keyboard and the
touch screen. There is a phantom handle or key involved: the hand, well, the
finger, plays the same role but has a specifically designed object for the
finger to engage with only in other circumstances.
So what might be the best form for a drawer handle, or are
handles all ‘equal to the job’ as the colloquial saying goes? One has to go
back to the qualities of the hand to consider this question. When the arms
hanging loosely by the body, the hands dangle beside it, either parallel to the
torso or at right angles to it. The alternatives are sometimes humourously
noted as being the difference between man and monkey: man has his hands in the
same plane as the arc of the swing of the arms, while the monkey has its hands
in a knuckle-dragging location, like those of a swimmer moving in water, but
inactively flagging. Still, it really makes little difference because when
called into play, the wrist can manipulate the hand into various positions of
rotation to suit the intent; this is its connective, universal motion. Consider
raising the hand to the top drawer under a bench. The handle type will
determine the required rotation. Recessed handles means the fingers must point
up, or perhaps down, depending of the direction of the concealed lip; D handles
offer an optional up or down grip depending on one’s habit, location or
orientation; a knob means fingers must point forward ready to grasp and tug -
or grip. ‘Grip’ is something that recessed handles never allow. These ask for a
more delicate, precise fingertip relationship with the hand/body.
But which is the best approach? Maybe it is personal
functional preference; or perhaps the choice has to do with one’s aesthetic
predilection, selecting the appearance that one desires before the grip. There
are various subtle differences involved. The D handle offers an invitation for
the hand to manipulate the drawer without touching the fabric of the drawer, in
the same way in which the handle of a suitcase allows its separate
manipulation; whereas recessed handles make the hand guess at the concealed
grip and make the hand touch what is a part of the shadowy fabric of the
drawer, or to get very close to it. There is an intimacy here - one is asked to
reach into unknown, unseen recesses. The knob is far more explicit. In this way
it is like the D handle, but while the D handle frequently, but not always,
allows the fingers to slide comfortably into a defined gap and to operate in
concert with the easy effort of pulling the untouched withdrawing in free and
open space, the recessed handles make one consider the fit of the fingers into
the hidden space for pulling, and then to sense the unseen fit for fingers.
Both of these finger pull operations are sought to be overcome by the
push-the-drawer ‘automatic’ opening that means that the drawer itself has to be
touched, anywhere. There is no definition of the location for this gesture that
has a blindness even less certain than the recessed handle. The major differences
in handle choices are highlighted when one has, say, sticky or wet fingers.
Drawers can allow for a flexibility in handle choices, by
design as it were - one’s choice/preference - but mugs are another thing. Here
handles perform the important role of allowing hot objects to be handled,
lifted safely. Separation is critical, so the D form is the best. One sees
L-shaped handle forms like little cantilevers, but rarely knobs on mugs. Knobs
are specifically useful for pulling, not lifting. Sometimes, like drawers, mugs
have no handles. Here other methods are used for separation, like the mug
wrapped in a serviette; or, more recently, the double-walled mug that insulates
itself. With these options, the shape of the mug becomes important, as it
becomes, as it were, an integrated handle/mug form.
Materials play an important role here. On drawers, one has
any choice of material for a D handle, but options are quickly reduced with
recessed handles, depending of course, on the fashion of the day that will
determine availability. Danish designers used teak for everything. Later,
plastics became available for face and bottom recessed grips, and metal for
lower recessed handle slots. Durability is the core here. On mugs, insulation
is critical; more so on pots and pans where temperatures are much increased,
and may have to survive oven temperatures: dishwashers too. Microwave usage is
another complexity for designers to consider. Durability is important. The
choices for our drawer example all need to consider their resilience. Danish
teak develops a patina around the grip in a way that most D pulls (!) don’t.
Pots and pans are interesting. Lids often have knobs, while
the pan itself has a handle grip projection to keep the hand away from the
source of heat and to allow safe management of the pot when filled. With both
lids and pots, extra insulation is frequently needed with the use of a kitchen
cloth. This makes matters safer with respect to heat, but more awkward with
considered manipulations that require some precision of control.
This is the world of the designer who has to ask: what should a
handle be? A designer needs to ask what anything/everything needs to be:
c.f. Louis Kahn: ‘What does a house want to be?’
Cameras are interesting because the handle has become a part
of the shaping of the whole object, like some mugs. Here separation is managed
by textured grip surfaces applied to the main body where hands and face might
touch. Bodies swell to allow for the mass to be gripped. Handles allow grip and
pull; indeed, on a door, twist and turn too: it is their base nature.
Door handle design is much varied but is basically of two
types - knobs and levers. These are doors with latches and locks. Doors
otherwise use D handle forms for manipulation: pulls and pushes. For handle
design it comes back to the hand. We know about the fit between the hand and
the handle. Just recall the awkward torsion on the fingers with pretty twee
grips on a china tea cup, and compare this to the easy balance and comfort of a
handle designed for the ordinary hand, without the raised little finger.
Handles that form a part of the whole are interesting. Old
Roman objects sometimes have fully integrated handles that are goosenecks or
the like, in functional objects that resemble animals and birds. Such is their
delight, like lizard D handles.
Objects today that are frequently handled, like mobile
phones, have no handles. Like cameras, they are considered, if at all, as an
object in a hand, with allowances made for finger manipulation – sometimes;
sometimes not: one soon discovers awkwardness with the resulting RSI -
repetitive strain injury. Good design overcomes such tensions and stresses; it
accommodates these in its shaping and alignments.
So what is a handle? It is an object or a part of an object
that is meant to be touched by the hand, to allow itself to be readily
manipulated. Handles make an offering; they welcome touch; and having
encouraged the meeting between body and object, they then need to fulfil their
promise and make a fit between fingers, thumb and palm and the forces, stresses
and thermal differences involved to ensure that the object can become an
extension of the body. In summary, the handle extends mans’ possibilities. It
is a critical thing in the matters of this world that allow us to participate
in it in the way we do. A poorly designed handle limits all possibilities;
indeed, hinders them not only with intolerable and unsafe stresses, but also
with blisters, burns, cuts and abrasions.
Handles literally allow us to get a handle on the world in
which we live. They allow us to share in its concepts and ideas - by design.
The fundamental design object is the handle. Once we understand what a handle
is and what it must be, and what it might be, we can then understand what it is
that design is: the mediation between body and function: fitness for purpose -
fitness and purpose. Sullivan called it ‘form follows function; function
follows form.’ In the larger scale of spaces and places, design still involves
the body that has to move through and into these spheres of living and
participate in an ever more intimate involvement with objects and things on a
finer and finer scale of connection and association, developing an ever more
complex relationship between body, mind, feelings and senses all operating in
concert - but this is no theatre for entertainment. The richness grows once one
remembers that bodies have minds and feelings too. Design is never merely the
manipulation of appearances, be these interesting or uniquely different. This
remains only the manipulation of appearances for appearances sake, their unique
differences, that involve egos too, that all seek style and an enhancement of
reputation though blatant advertising: see - http://voussoirs.blogspot.com.au/2014/02/tensegrity-bridge.html This is not design. We need to get a handle
on matters so that the world can be enhanced rather than land-marked with
special pieces created by pseudo geniuses.
28 January 2015
An interesting report from The Sydney Morning Herald:
http://www.smh.com.au/technology/sci-tech/humans-have-been-handy-for-longer-than-previously-thought-study-20150122-12vyhi.html
Date
7 reading
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