Hand holes, rope slots and small crate openings can feel fine when you touch them quickly, then catch a sleeve, paper tag or fingertip later. The trouble is usually a tiny splinter or sanding ridge hiding on the inside edge.
A folded paper test is a low-tech way to find those spots. Fold a piece of kraft paper, printer paper or clean shop card into a loose strip, then pull it slowly through the handle cutout and along the inside corners of the crate.
If the paper slides cleanly, the edge is probably friendly enough for ordinary handling. If it catches, tears or leaves a fuzzy trail, mark that spot with a pencil dot and give it a few careful passes with folded sandpaper or a small sanding block.
Do not chase every edge into a big roundover. Most crates and display boxes still look sharper when the outside lines stay crisp. Focus on the places hands, labels, bags or product packaging actually touch.
The same test works after a repair. Once a loose handle block, divider or rail is tightened, pull the paper past the new joint before calling it done. It is easier to soften one corner at the bench than explain a snag later.
Practical takeaway: keep one folded paper strip near the finishing area and use it as a quick snag finder on handle openings, divider slots and repaired crate corners before the final wipe-down.
Crate RepairsFinishingShop Habits