A hand lever in particular for actuating a butterfly valve or the like in pipelines includes an outer lever portion which encases an inner lever portion and is movable in longitudinal direction thereof relative to the latter. At its forward end, the inner lever portion is fixedly connected with an element, such as an operating shaft which is operatively connected to the valve. The outer lever portion is provided with projections which are engagable in a stationary toothed wheel supported by the shaft. The movement of the outer lever portion for engaging in or disengaging the projection from the toothed wheel is obtained by a control grip which is swingably mounted to the inner lever portion and acts on the outer lever portion via a nose.