Retailer assessment: Baird Brothers

In the runup to Plataea 2022, I found myself in need of several spear handles.  Ten years ago, the cheapest way to get one in the U.S. would've been to order a six-foot tool handle.  Unfortunately, the mail-order market for these appears to be a mess right now, for many reasons I won't go into.  With time running short, I capitulated and ordered from Baird Brothers, a U.S.-based retailer of various wood products.  (Their page for wood dowels is listed under Mouldings.  Here's a direct link.)

The advantages Baird Brothers offer include a good stock, a wide selection of genera (including favorites like ash and hickory), and a wide selection of sizes - you can order dowels up to 12 feet long, and anything up to eight feet can ship by parcel carrier.  They also offer many increments of thickness.  On paper, they are perfect for our needs.

There are two drawbacks:  First, shipping is rather steep - my order of four ash dowels for spear handles and a smaller one for a javelin totaled just over $60 and cost more than half that much to ship.  (On the plus side, delivery to my address in Pennsylvania was pretty quick.)  Second, the company will not select for straightness of grain, not even for an additional charge.

This is the result.  The small dowel and three of the large ones were fine.  The last one had extremely diagonal grain in the first and last third.  This goes far beyond the usual runout seen in cheap tool handles.  A dowel like this is liable to break if subjected to stress.  For the price, one in five pieces turning out to be a dud is very disappointing.  Luckily I still had the handle I'd gotten from Torrington to swap out for it.

Would I recommend Baird Brothers or buy from them again?  Probably - but only because I can't seem to find any other choices in the continental U.S. that aren't more inconvenient.  You can buy tools and learn to make your own or modify the commonly-sold ash spear handles that are too thick, pay even higher prices for martial arts fighting staves, or take a chance with Baird.