Flair Signature Handle

I’ve been using my Flair Signature manual espresso machine for four years now. I like it in almost every way, except that the lever arm was designed by an incompetent someone far more concerned with form than function. It’s a sleek, smooth surface that tapers toward the end, making it very difficult to maintain a firm grip; ridiculous for something you need to be pulling hard on for half a minute.

I spent a few months idly mulling ideas like bike handlebar tape, a MTB grip, a T-handle, etc. Eventually I decided I wanted something less janky and more swanky. So off to the garage I went. I looked through my collection of exotic hardwood scraps and picked a piece of wenge. And, as usual for me, I started hacking away with a minimal amount of planning.

Given how much YOLO-ing went into the project I think the result is quite nice. I do wish I’d give more thought to the shape, or at least tried it out before permanently mounting it, as it doesn’t fit as comfortably into my hand as I’d hoped. In my defense, I didn’t want to risk stripping the screw holes by re-using them. Plus after putting in something like eight hours of work on the thing I was tired of the project (and the ROI was hilariously low – at even $30/hr for my time I had spent more than the cost of the Flair).