In 2009, the last American-based clothespin company closed its doors in Montpelier, Vermont due to the economic advantage that overseas companies had when it came to labor and materials.
However, as a result, this traditional American style clothespin has simply not been the same quality as it once was. I’m setting out to change that…
Howdy! I’m Landon. The one man operator of this clothespin business. Making clothespins might seem like a strange thing to do, but then, I also raise a herd of purebred Nigerian dwarf dairy goats, build custom heirloom furniture, and have a gourmet Garlic Farm on my family’s country homestead, soooo….
My curiosity for clothespins began from my love of woodcraft, that, and my love of working with my hands to create something so much better than what was mass produced…something that proved both exceedingly difficult and easy as pie in the case of clothespin crafting.
Finding ideas to improve upon the quality of the standard box store clothespins…That was easy! (If you have used those clothespins as I’m sure you have if you’re reading this, you know exactly why!)
Bringing my ideas to fruition and figuring out the milling process. Definitely not easy.
Everyone has a cause that inspires and motivates them. Mine is to bring back the American handicraft that was once cherished and a part of everyday life in bygone America (I love the old ways!) while simultaneously encouraging a better US economy by bringing the production of common everyday tools back to our own shores…and I’m doing just that; one clothespin at a time.
How Fantastic Clothespins Are Made…
I chose to use hard maple for making our clothespins for several reasons:
1) Maple will not stain clothing by leaching natural tannins onto your laundry.
2) Hard maple is incredibly durable and wear-resistant.
3) It machines relatively cleanly compared to other woods, which are prone to burn marks and fuzzy edges.
I hand pick every rough-sawn board specifically with the thought of making superior clothespins in mind. Next, I begin the milling process by planning and jointing the lumber flat and true before the wood is band-sawn in half across its width, then the wood is again planed on the band-sawn surface to a precise 3/8″ thickness. After that, the wood is cut into 3 1/2″ lengths. Next, I head for the router table to take each of these blanks through a series of cuts to accomplish most of the necessary shaping and create grooves for your fingers to grip and the spring arms to rest in.
The only part of the shaping process that isn’t done on the router table is the large flat bevel that makes up the area inside the clothespin and between where your fingers grip at, which is done at the table saw using a customized jig. From there, each clothespin blank is ripped one at a time on the table saw into each of the hundreds or even thousands of clothespin halves that are then tumble sanded and coated with their finish to add many years of protection and beauty.
After that, each half is carefully inspected for flaws before the final and most tedious step (but also most rewarding), assembly… one at a time, by hand, using a simple jig to hold the spring still. It takes an average of 30 seconds to assemble each pin and give it a few squeezes to make sure the jaws align properly without significant side bite. That’s more than 80 hours spent on this one single step to make 10,000 clothespins.
And there you have it! That is how I take a pile of rough sawn lumber and turn it into a work of fully functional art and work horse that will be cherished through the generations!
The Lifetime Guarantee That I Provide…
I feel very confident in the quality I can provide, as such, you get a lifetime warranty with your purchase of my pins.
Should one of your clothespins ever break due to a fault in my materials or craftsmanship, simply send me a picture of the broken pieces and I will be happy to mail you a replacement free of charge.
If you have questions or need to contact me to get a replacement, please use my contact page.