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Paper Towel Holders....

Stuart Ablett

Stuart Ablett

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15,917
Location
Tokyo Japan
My wife has taken to buying paper towels now at Costco, full sized Kirkland brand paper towels, just like you all have over there. They are NOT common here in Japan.

She now needs/wants a paper towel holder, one that the paper towel roll stands on end, and there is a stick that you pull the towel against to rip the towel off.

paper_towel_holder_zpscec96a01.jpg

Like this.

Does anyone have any comments or advice on this?

It looks to me like the base should be a bit bigger than the paper towel roll, and the tear-off stick should only be about half as tall as the roll, and located in a spot that is just outside the size of the largest diameter of a new roll.

How does that sound?

Cheers!
 
Hey Stu, we didn't care much for the tear off stick. It worked ok for the first half of the roll or so, but after that it had a tendency to tear into the middle of a sheet as you tore it off. And we too played with the base size, but never reached a happy medium between steadiness & aesthetics. We settled on this, hung on the wall. Just my 2¢.
Pic001.JPG Pic002.JPG
 
Just a thought. I agree that the base should probably be a bit larger as I can envision it tipping when tearing off a sheet, requiring holding the top of the roll to prevent that. Alternatively, I could envision a "handle" that is the same thickness as the base, but projects outward (like a peninsular) say ~4" to provide a means of holding onto the holder while tearing off the sheet. Also, instead of a dowel-like stick, perhaps a diamond shape stick to facilitate the tearing. The edge of the diamond could have a small radius to it, and because of its diamond shape could serve to tear off a sheet from either direction in case the roll was put on from the opposite end. Just my .02. Regardless, I like the project.
 
I made one on special order for a friend last year. Sorry I didn't take pics (or just can't find them). She was fed up with the holder moving every time she grabbed a towel. I made one that fit between her counter and the cabinets, spring loaded like a toilet paper roll holder. Turned a conventional base in Bloodwood, larger than the largest roll and put an ebony spindle just outside the largest roll diameter as a tear post. Made the post in the middle out of Cocobolo and inserted a spring that forced the top against the cabinet base. She said it worked like a charm and is still going strong. Just another consideration if you have low hanging cabinets over your counter. If you have a smoke wrench, I'd also consider cutting a base out of some heavy steel plate scrap and bolting a wooden post to that...it sure wouldn't move much...or even scrounge a weight lifting plate.
 
Or you could put suction cup feet on it, as my son suggested to me when I mentioned this thread. I really think you guys are overthinking this. As a home cook, I have no problem with the simple roll holder I am using.
 
I hated that tear off bar. I passed the whole thing off to Salvation Army. I liked the vertical arrangement and the fact I could place it in the kitchen wherever I was working, However, now that my kitchen is small, perhaps like a Japanese kitchen (remembering photos from your aparto reno), portability may be a non-issue. I have mine back on the wall in the motorhome. Not enough counter spce to give over to this. That said, Glenn has the best idea. Weight the sucker.
 
Thanks for the feedback everyone!

I too worry about the tearoff stick being too far away from the roll to be effective after half of the roll is used.

We don't have any wall space to put a holder on, nor do we have any under the cabinet space to speak of, besides the ability to go mobile is desired. Often the kitchen table is used for food prep, so the paper towel holder need to be able to travel.

Ted, I like the idea of cutting out a largish chunk of steel and weighting the base with that, not too much or it will be a bear to move around, be something.

OK, I'm thinking of some kind of a base that has a tear-off arm that is on a very light spring, so it stays in contact with the roll at all times.....

Going to have to look at this....
 
Yep, while reading your post I was thinking of a slot for the tear off bar and hadn't gotten around to how to keep it adjusted. Instead of a flat bottom, a hollowed bottom with an anchor for one end of the spring, the tear off post on the other end of the spring and it moves on its own and stays beside the paper towels.
 
"OK, I'm thinking of some kind of a base that has a tear-off arm that is on a very light spring, so it stays in contact with the roll at all times..... ...[/QUOTE]

Well now you cooking with gas. We have one of the metal types like this for pretty much same reasons as yours. I dislike it very much because fundamentally I find it does not work well at all. Well not with one hand and then go change the roll type from one manufacturer to another and boom you have an issue all over again.

I think you on the right path with weight in the base and definitely an adjustable in more ways than one arm to hold the paper for tear off. BTW Costco does have great paper so your wife is on the right path too. ;):thumb:
 
We have had one of these for a few years. It's great as the arm hold the paper towel role so it doesn't spin and you can rip off a piece one handed. Also, the top has a divot that makes it easy to pickup and move, kinda hard to see in the picture as for some reason they didn't push the roll all the way down.

I could see that arm being made from some steam bend wood spring.

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/sto...-Holder/1013982325?Keyword=paper+towel+holder
 
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