Replacing a Wok Handle
May 4, 2020 10:13 AM Subscribe
I am the owner of one of these woks. On a long-ago move, I lost or mis-placed the wooden handle that screws into the wok. How can I buy or create a replacement?
Option A at this point is to try to find the handle online (or in a hardware store) where I can buy just the handle. The basic design is a long metal rod that feeds through the wooden handle and screws into a threaded hole on the piece of metal connected to the wok.
Option B is to try to get the Wok Shop to send me one.
Why isn't the easy thing Option A? Well, I emailed them. I very quickly (like, within an hour on a Sunday afternoon) got a super helpful response saying they would be happy to mail me a handle and I could just mail them a check for $5 after I received the handle. Since then, I've heard nothing from them. I waited ~2 weeks and emailed a follow-up inquiry and have heard nothing back (it's been about a week since the follow-up email).
I'm not above just buying an entire new wok from them to get the handle, but this seems like overkill.
Option A at this point is to try to find the handle online (or in a hardware store) where I can buy just the handle. The basic design is a long metal rod that feeds through the wooden handle and screws into a threaded hole on the piece of metal connected to the wok.
Option B is to try to get the Wok Shop to send me one.
Why isn't the easy thing Option A? Well, I emailed them. I very quickly (like, within an hour on a Sunday afternoon) got a super helpful response saying they would be happy to mail me a handle and I could just mail them a check for $5 after I received the handle. Since then, I've heard nothing from them. I waited ~2 weeks and emailed a follow-up inquiry and have heard nothing back (it's been about a week since the follow-up email).
I'm not above just buying an entire new wok from them to get the handle, but this seems like overkill.
Best answer: I'd be wandering around my neigbourhood until I found somebody with a clump of bamboo growing in their yard, and ask them to cut me a piece. Then I'd go to the hardware store and find an eye bolt and washers the right size to make a replacement handle fixing.
posted by flabdablet at 10:20 AM on May 4, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by flabdablet at 10:20 AM on May 4, 2020 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Why isn't the easy thing Option A?
Do you mean Option B?
Sorry, what I meant to say is, "Why aren't I trying the seemingly-easy thing (having the Wok shop send me a handle) first?"
posted by Betelgeuse at 10:21 AM on May 4, 2020
Do you mean Option B?
Sorry, what I meant to say is, "Why aren't I trying the seemingly-easy thing (having the Wok shop send me a handle) first?"
posted by Betelgeuse at 10:21 AM on May 4, 2020
Two weeks, at the moment, from a shop in San Francisco doesn't seem too surprising. Personally, I'd go with an old napkin or wash cloth and some package tape while waiting. Unless you're keen on learning woodworking.
posted by eotvos at 11:15 AM on May 4, 2020
posted by eotvos at 11:15 AM on May 4, 2020
Best answer: Seems worth getting the right handle from the shop. In my one experience, they were not super responsive on email, but calling worked.
posted by zennie at 11:49 AM on May 4, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by zennie at 11:49 AM on May 4, 2020 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I think you could go to Home Depot, buy a dowel that they cut to length and ask them to drill a hole through it that fits the eye bolt.
posted by AugustWest at 11:53 AM on May 4, 2020
posted by AugustWest at 11:53 AM on May 4, 2020
Best answer: Do you know what the thread size is? Maybe try some bolts of known size so you at least know what to go buy.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 12:06 PM on May 4, 2020
posted by Huffy Puffy at 12:06 PM on May 4, 2020
Best answer: Re: Option B. I ordered a wok from The Wok Shop about a month ago. Crickets for two weeks, during which my order was listed as "invoice printed." Then I had a late night email from Tane telling me that the wok I wanted was out of stock. There followed a 15-message email conversation about replacement options. Then crickets. Then I checked and my order had been cancelled, as I had requested, so I submitted a new order and two days later my new wok showed up.
I think they just have very bursty focus for communication and don't always close the loop. Too, based on the difference between my two serialized order ID#s, they're handling over 250 orders a week during lockdown, so it's probably pretty hectic down there. Which isn't to say you shouldn't MacGyver your own handle, but an official replacement part could still happen.
posted by mumkin at 4:59 PM on May 4, 2020
I think they just have very bursty focus for communication and don't always close the loop. Too, based on the difference between my two serialized order ID#s, they're handling over 250 orders a week during lockdown, so it's probably pretty hectic down there. Which isn't to say you shouldn't MacGyver your own handle, but an official replacement part could still happen.
posted by mumkin at 4:59 PM on May 4, 2020
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Do you mean Option B?
posted by zamboni at 10:17 AM on May 4, 2020