Sturdy Wooden Clothespins – Kevin’s Quality Clothespins
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I love the smell of laundry fresh off the line – but I don’t love cheap, flimsy wooden clothespins. They launch themselves off the line in pieces or drop wet items on the ground below the line.
Since our laundry line is on our elevated deck, when laundry drops, it really drops, falling over ten feet down. Back in 2014, I was hanging clothes and thinking, “It sure would be nice if someone started making heavy duty wooden clothespins again.”
Ask and ye shall receive, because the next time I checked my inbox, there was a message from Hilary of Kevin’s Quality Clothespins. They sent me a sample of their heavy duty, American made wooden clothespins for review.
7 Reasons Why Kevin’s Quality Clothespins May be the Best Wooden Clothespins You’ve Ever Used
- Kevin’s Quality Clothespins are hand-crafted from solid maple hardwood, specifically end pieces from a local mill that supplies wood for guitars. I like that they are able to re-purpose what would otherwise end up as scrap. The wood has a light colored grain and will not bleed tannin onto clothing.
- The clothespin springs are heavy duty stainless steel from an American manufacturer, so there’s no rust or corrosion. They are much larger and stronger than standard imported clothespin springs.
- Kevin’s Quality Clothespins are made in America with materials sourced from local suppliers.
- Each clothespin is treated with natural linseed oil before assembly to help them resist weathering. You won’t find any treatment on the nekked cheapo clothespins.
- These clothespins are big enough to go where other clothespins can’t. They are large enough to tackle heavy rugs and quilts on a standard clothesline. They can even open wide enough to accommodate a 1/2 inch dowel. No more items slipping off drying racks.
- No slip grooves at the end of the pins make it easier for the user to operate the clothespin.
- These pins are crazy strong! I tied up a 5 pound weight in an old sock and tacked in on the clothesline with one of Kevin’s Quality Clothespins. It hung there like a boss – no slipping or sliding. I didn’t even attempt hanging the weight with the imported pins out of fear for the windows located right near the clothesline.
Clothespins That Last
I had a bin in my junk drawer dedicated to holding parts of dead clothespins. Every so often the boys would go through and try to piece them back together.
The thing is, once the springs have been stretched, they never work quite as well. Usually they ended up right back in the junk bin after the next load of laundry. Since I switched to Kevin’s Quality Clothespins, that bin only gets working bag clips and clothespins, not broken ones.
As long as you take them off the line when you gather the laundry, these clothespins should be around to hand down to your children and grandchildren. These wooden clothespins are made like things used to be made – to last.
They are more expensive than imports, but less expensive than similar clothespins in a Mother Earth News article. (Those pins were also out of stock when I checked the website.)
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These clothespins are nice enough for gifts, especially if you paired them up with something like wool dryer balls or a handmade clothespin bag.
Buy Your Own Set of Heavy Duty Wooden Clothespins
You can buy your own set of Kevin’s Quality Clothespins here.
*Update May 2021: Sadly, Kevin passed away, but his wife has taken up making wooden clothespins.
I received no compensation for this review, only a set of clothespins. I liked them so much I bought more for myself and some for friends.
Update: This review was originally posted in October 2014. It’s now December 2023, and I’ve used these clothespins for over 9 years. They still work great, and not one has busted.
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This article is by Laurie Neverman. Laurie grew up on a small dairy farm in northwest Wisconsin, and now lives on an 35 acre homestead in northeast Wisconsin.
She and her family combine the best of old and new for more sustainable living. They use solar water heating and line drying, root cellaring and freeze drying, annual gardens and permaculture. There’s always more to explore!
Last updated in 2023.