Where the drawer box or drawer front is made from either Birch Ply or MDF then routed handles are a possibility.

To make the handle comfortable to use the starting size is ideally around 100mm wide by 30 - 50mm high. The handle can become a feature though so the width can be extended.

Routed cutout handle

The routed cutout handle goes all the way through the drawer front.

Birch ply drawer with routed handle cutout

Notes:

  • The internal corners of cutout handles will be radiused as the shape is milled out using a round cutter. Usually the cutter is around 18mm diameter so the internal corner radius will be around 9mm.
  • Routed handle only work with ply or MDF cores as the core will be exposed so it needs to be a material that can be finished with varnish/paint. Therefore drawers made with MFC (melamine faced chipboard) are unsuitable for routed handles.

J-Profile routed handle

The J-Profile handle is routed in the edge of the drawer front. Often manufacturers machine the handle to the full length of the panel but our speciality is to make the handle 100 - 200mm long and create radiused ends.

The J-Profile works with both 18mm and 22mm thick front panels but the thicker panel is preferred because then a larger finger friendly profile can be machined.

Birch ply drawer with routed handle cutout
Birch ply drawer with routed handle cutouts, drawer faces shown back to back

No handle at all (handle-less)

With a drawer runner system such as Blum Movento, you can choose a push to open option (TIPON) so no handle at all is required.

Also with internal drawer packs there is a space between drawer faces through which the fingers can open the drawer.