one handle or two?

[fflo]

Me, I come from a one-handle kitchen faucet family, and I currently have a one-handler, too. I like the ease of use of it and all, and am used to it, but maybe it'd be good to have the two twisters, for things like getting just hot or just cold water. And they look cool. What do ya'll think about one and two handles?

Here's a poll, but please comment, too, if anything strikes you.

[Poll #604558]

And here's some fancy faucets I won't be getting, as they all cost over $500:

Comments

[queerbychoice.livejournal.com]

I grew up with a one-handle, had a two-handle in my last apartment, and now have a one-handle again. My experience with the two-handle is that it just created twice as much difficulty managing to turn the faucet all the way off, so that it would stop periodically dripping slightly. It was a sticky faucet, one that could in theory be turned far enough off to not drip (therefore the apartment maintenance people saw no need to fix it for me), but one that I often had to get out rubber gloves and tug on both handles of at great length before I actually succeeded in completely turning the stupid thing all the way off.

Of course, now that I have a one-handle again, my faucet here isn't sticky in the first place so it wouldn't actually matter here.

[peteralway.livejournal.com]

I grew up in a two-handle house, and I thought that the one-handle thing was a clever 1980's newfangled invention, but maybe just a passing fad.

plural handles that are worth having...

[shmizla.livejournal.com]

...usually cost $500 in this country, and i don't know why. they are the ones which are long enough so you don't have to develop the carpal tunnel syndrome to use your faucet (see pictures above). also, these foreign kinds (usually italian) also assume (correctly) that one would want to wash one's hands without banging them into the sink walls. how strange. i'm never sure why longer faucets and handles are so rare and so expensive. must be one of those *conspiracies that we're not even aware of, i reckon, which should train us not to expect much from living here.

Re: plural handles that are worth having...

[fflo.livejournal.com]

I started to answer you here with a faux rant about how the poor need incentives, like the promise of better sink hardware, to inspire rising above the lazy no-goodnik-ness that is the only reason anyone isn't constantly upwardly mobile here in the Land of Opportunity---but I couldn't bring myself to finish it, even dripping with irony.

[madush69.livejournal.com]

I grew up with a single handle. It was best. I prefer two in the john, and one in the kitchen.

You should come see Cathy's kitchen faucet. It's a nice one-handle Delta.
Maybe I'll find out the model. Check out Delta's website. They have some nice shit.

[fflo.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I'll take a look.

[elmur-fudd.livejournal.com]

I believe that my mother has that exact same two handle in her bathroom and it's the most obnoxious faucet ever. Not because of the double handle thing, but because the damn thing itself sticks out wayyy too far in sink and it's so hard to use. But that's probably because it's in her bathroom and the sink is about half the size of a kitchen sink, so I don't really know. But that's my opinion on the matter.

[lickingtoad.livejournal.com]

I apologize. This is about to get rough.

Five hundred /fucking/ dollars for a /faucet?!/

Color me ... blown aback. Firehosed away, if you will.

[01100001.livejournal.com]

You neglected to consider the no handle option:
http://www.plumbingsupply.com/index-electronicfaucets.html

Or pre-rinse faucets:
http://www.plumbingsupply.com/fisherprerinsefaucets.html
http://www.servu-online.com/Kitchen-Equipment-Kitchen-Supplies/PreRinse-Sprayer-Advance-Tabco.asp

[fflo.livejournal.com]

Ah, Adam---leave it to you to be so thorough!

I like that last one a lot, actually. My brother has something like that for his big dog washing sink. Unfortunately, even if I had the bucks, my sink's clearance is too low. Gotta have room for the microwave on that shelf above. Lo'd knows if I didn't have a microwave I might have to learn how to cook, or make time for cooking for real. You know, and thus eat decently.

[rekraft.livejournal.com]

I say one handle, for purely pragmatic reasons. Having enough difficulty telling left from right as it seems, the potential inability to tell hot from cold might unnecessarily shorten one's life expectancy still further. (And it is always *so* trying, to remember which country one is in, just so one knows whether 'C' stands for 'cold' or 'chaud'.)

[fflo.livejournal.com]

This is a good point! I like to think I will have people from many countries in my kitchen, too.

[vjsmom.livejournal.com]

I have (and like) one handle, but I also really like the look of the two handles with the tall curved faucet. Those tall faucets are great for washing big pots, so I understand.

reply, part I (character limit)

[fflo.livejournal.com]

I'm finding myself quite fascinated by the faucets out there---spent a good hour looking at 'em yesterday. I have a general fondness for the more old-fashioned-lookin' pipes, and I like the bridge ones. This one's cool, isn't it? It's still a few hunnerd, and probably wouldn't work with my multi-hole sink anyway:



Here's a bunch more (providing faucetsdirect.com doesn't get wonky about my modest bandwidth thievery). Which do you like?

  a.>-->   b.>-->   c.>-->   d.>-->   e.>-->   f.>-->   g.>-->   h.>-->   i.>-->   j.>-->   k.>-->   l.>-->

reply, part II

[fflo.livejournal.com]

  m.>-->   n.>-->   o.>-->   p.>-->   q.>-->   r.>-->   s.>-->   t.>-->   u.>-->   v.>-->   w.>-->   x.>-->   y.>-->   z.>-->   1.>-->   2.>-->   3.>-->   4.>-->   5.>-->   6.>-->   7.>-->   8.>-->   9.>-->   10.>-->

Re: reply, part II

[vjsmom.livejournal.com]

j, n, p, z, 3, 6, 10--frankly they're all pretty cool and way nicer than anything in my kitchen, so I'd be happy with almost any of these!

Re: reply, part II

[fflo.livejournal.com]

j & I & k are from the same chicago company---does professional/industrial kitchen fixtures, and claims they hold up well. z i can't figure out---where does the water come out? 6 & 10 are actually relatively inexpensive.

[squirrelykat.livejournal.com]

i'm all over M. wow. so many choices! i tend to like one handle.....

[fflo.livejournal.com]

You must like the sleek, mod ones. I fear I didn't include so many of those.