Information below on this page is copied from the Whitechapel Foundary website found at http://www.whitechapelbellfoundry.co.uk/hbsize.htm. It describes the sizes of handbells that are available in the different octaves.
Note the Table's presentation order is the reverse of intuition, i.e., the bass bells are at the top, Octave 2, and the treble bells are at the bottom, Octave 8.
Middle C is located in what is called "octave 5," and thus referred to as C5 (C in octave 5). Thus, anything in the next octave down (octave 4), and below are commonly referred to as Bass bells. As you go down in pitch, the bells get bigger, heavier, and cost more. Note that in Whatechapel's chart, their octave 2 does not even go down to C.
A common three (3) octave set of handbells would be octaves 6 - 4.
A common five (5) octave set of handbelss would be octaves 7 - 3.
The list of weights, sizes, and notes of handbells given below are numbered both with the traditional English handbell numbering system and the International octave notation.
