CHAPTER 11HAND TOOLS
IT’S GOOD TO approach a technical subject like tools by examining how they relate to human beings. Viewing tools as an extension of the human body is the humanist approach to the subject. It puts tools into perspective. Fingers can grasp things but a pair of pliers can do it with more force. A fist can pound on a tabletop, but please don’t try that with a nail! Your fist lacks certain qualities like hardness and leverage. Tools are a mechanical process developed and refined over time. Fists became rocks, rocks became hammers, and hammers became pneumatic nail guns. Tools are how we manipulate the world around us, harnessing the motions of our bodies to transform materials into creations. This chapter discusses a bewildering ...
