non passive left hand revelation

[beth]

:) have had a lovely revelation after a conversation i had with alan evans yesterday  - who is a fantastic wealth of experience, information, knowledge and ideas, and also a very thought provoking fellow, and he mentioned the idea of having a non passive left hand ( or right hand if you are left handed) It was in the context of punching letters with small punches and my frustrating inability to do it well..  he said how important it is to be mentally and physically engaged with both hands for this, so not just hold the punch passively and forget about that hand, but actively hold it and proactively hold the punch Down onto the work, thus making it very much harder for the punch to skid jump etc. this may well be obvious to most of you pros, but for the other novices out there like me, it might turn a light on -  acting on that advice has made SUCH a difference today, and i wasnt even punching letters - i was veining leaves, which is normally a bit of a mess and struggle for me, but i found it infinitely easier once i had conciously engaged my left hand. it was a revelation not just with that task in particular, but every last thing i have done in the workshop today :) i also think that above and beyond the physical help youre giving the work by employing both hands conciously and properly, having a strong Intention with anything your doing helps it in leaps and bounds. thanks mr evans :) a true gem you passed on there - for me anyway!

[Glenn]

It often helps to analyze how your hands work by switching hands.

 

This causes the brain to try to instruct the hands, as to what to do, and how to do, a job. The hands do not always cooperate and the brain must translate and relearn how to work with the hands. 

[Frosty]

Bingo Glenn! Each hand and foot is controlled by a different part of the brain so switching off helps train your brain to do more with what you have. There are some tricks passed along by friends who drove in England. In the US we drive on the right side and our vehicles reflect this. In England it's the reverse so things like shifting gears manually can be a problem.  . IF a person thinks about it and TRIES. Just do it, the left arm naturally works in a mirror of the right in this situation.

 

For example not requiring a backwards auto, try signing your name with your off hand. Try to do a good job and see how poor it looks. NOW look the other way and just sign it. If  you're like most people your signature will be backwards but recognizably YOUR signature with only about average bobbles. Just like your normal signature but backwards.

 

sometimes I find it easier to hold a punch, chisel, etc. in my right hand because it's steadier and aligned with my dominant eye I strike it with my left but use a large hammer for the larger face and heavier weight. More weight less swing, larger face less chance to miss. After a few blows I'm in the groove and just do it. Works a treat.

 

Frosty The Lucky.

[beth]

i didnt really mean quite that guys :) i am not talking about getting the less dominant hand up to the speed of the other, but the point was being more CONSCIOUS of the hand that is seemingly less active, and paying more attention to each hand separately within the whole job your doing, regardless of wether its your dominant hand or not. it is too easy to overly focus on one hand in a task, to the point where the other hand, who has just as important a role, left hand or right, dominant or non dominant, is in the background and therefore needs to be brought to better conciousness. i may only be speaking for myself of course :)

[Bentiron1946]

Many years ago when I was doing drafting I started doing some tasks with my left hand and got almost as good at them as with my right. It sure made life easier when inking a long line and sheet of paper 48" wide to be able to just shift the pen from one hand to the other. It's all kinda unnecessary now that CAD does the drawing but even in my jewelry making these days I try to split up my tasks between hands. During the Vietnam conflict a friend of mine was a very good pistol shot, he lost his dominate hand, he became and even better shot with his non dominate hand after his rehabilitation, he took even more game than he did with a rifle. It didn't slow him down much to switch hands in life. In one of my art classes we had an elderly stroke victim and she had also been a right hander and was transformed in an instant to a lefty and her work was wonderful, she out shown most of us younger ones. Sometimes it is good to explore the other side of our being.

[Bentiron1946]

Many years ago when I was doing drafting I started doing some tasks with my left hand and got almost as good at them as with my right. It sure made life easier when inking a long line and sheet of paper 48" wide to be able to just shift the pen from one hand to the other. It's all kinda unnecessary now that CAD does the drawing but even in my jewelry making these days I try to split up my tasks between hands. During the Vietnam conflict a friend of mine was a very good pistol shot, he lost his dominate hand, he became and even better shot with his non dominate hand after his rehabilitation, he took even more game than he did with a rifle. It didn't slow him down much to switch hands in life. In one of my art classes we had an elderly stroke victim and she had also been a right hander and was transformed in an instant to a lefty and her work was wonderful, she out shown most of us younger ones. Sometimes it is good to explore the other side of our being.

[yves]

Sometimes, punching, my left hand shakes as it holds the punch. As I notice this, I swear at myself (first) and (then) consciously assign the job of holding the punch to that hand. I look at the hand, I hold the punch, I look at the punch, stabilize the whole unit hand-punch and hit. The shaking does stop. 

 

I did this the other day when I center punched 64 holes. On the first hit, the punch ran away and hid in the little scrap pile I keep. I gave the hand the job of holding the punch and to my eyes the job of looking at the punch (its like tennis and baseball : look at the ball!) and all the other holes were marked squarely, efficiently with one blow. None of these little taps we use sometimes to  ... what? make sure and then hit.

 

I must say that having lost the use of my right hand on a bench saw for three months last winter, my left hand which, up to that moment I had thought to be usefull only to help keep balance when we walk, suddenly became much more productive.

 

It all comes down to being conscious of what we do and what our body is doing and what it ought to be doing. And in my case still being able to stabilize that hand ...

[thingmaker3]

Geronimo Bayard used to call the dominant hand the "dumb" hand (even a dummy could use it) and the non-dominant hand the "smart" hand (have to be smart with it.)

[EGreen]

Daddy was a cowboy. that is what us boys were gonna do also. in 1959 he bought us 3 older boys our first rope. I was 6 then . we learned the 2 basic loops. by the time I was 10 we could catch most any thing that moved. we started competing against each other roping left handed. I cracked some ribs in 83 on my right side on the ranch I was on at the time. I was having to rope a lot of calves to tag for registration purposes. I could still rope pretty good left handed after 20 plus years.

[Frosty]

i didnt really mean quite that guys :) i am not talking about getting the less dominant hand up to the speed of the other, but the point was being more CONSCIOUS of the hand that is seemingly less active, and paying more attention to each hand separately within the whole job your doing, regardless of wether its your dominant hand or not. it is too easy to overly focus on one hand in a task, to the point where the other hand, who has just as important a role, left hand or right, dominant or non dominant, is in the background and therefore needs to be brought to better conciousness. i may only be speaking for myself of course :)

 

 

We understood what you meant Beth, it just goes a little farther than you commented about. Being more conscious of and using our off hands for more is more than a good thing. Our off hand side is a LOT closer to  being the equal of our dominant side, we're generally jut too lazy to put it to work for us. As this thread reflects a lot of us have lost use of our dominant side for various reasons ad discovered how quickly and well our off hand side does the job.

 

Frosty The Lucky.

[Quarry Dog]

Does anyone else have the issue of supposedly being "dominant" with one hand, but the only thing it's better at is writing, or really fine work?  I can't catch or throw with my "dominant" hand, although it's good at blocking, I can still kinda write with my "off" hand.  I can do most things with both hands, but my "off" hand seems better at most.  I surprise a lot of people when I beat on steel right handed, switch hands when I'm tired, and then go full lefty when I have to write something.

[GRiley904]

Jerome you are what we call ambidextrous it depends on the job as to witch hand takes the lead.i dare say you could work equally well with either hand one is simply more comfortable.

[Frank Turley]

Somebody has said on the forum, "The tong hand is Management; the hammer hand is Labor."

 

I've been a practitioner of chi kung for a few years, and we practice deep breathing. Holding a tool in place for striking is a place where some folks tense up, grit their teeth, loll their tongue, and hold their breath...all of which is wrong. As Beth said, it is good to bring your attention to the holding hand. Then BREATHE. It is better to exhale on the down swing than to inhale on this kind of work.

 

In playing pool, the player's resting hand makes a bridge to support the cue.The fingers spread out in a support mode. When holding a small tool like a center punch, a similar sort of bridge can be used to steady the punch.

 

Something to avoid is the dinky tap before the real hit. What happens is that you've just hit it twice and you should have only hit it once. With some people, the dinky blow is ingrained into their psyche. It's habitual. Get over it! It needs one blow to make the impression. If you're setting a nail into wood, you may use the dinky blow for that. But we're blacksmiths. We have a hammer in the hand much of our lives, and we're working with metal. When you use the extra dinky blows, you'll be wasting energy and using the hammer too many times before you go into the grave.

[Mainely,Bob]

For me personally, one of the keys to moving my work up to the next level has been to look at the work being done not as a series of independent steps first but as a complete process, I think first about how it can best flow from the selection of stock to the finished piece sitting either in my hand or on the bench. Once I have an idea of how I intend to dance thru this particular song. I can then break it down like a musician would approach the flow of a song they were crafting. I think about to how I intend to make the transitions and breaks as well as how and what I am going to play through the chorus. Thinking about these things allow a natural flow to take place and make all the difference between having enough energy to get thru the project with some to spare or being worn out half way through and knowing you`re not going to be able to sustain the rhythm and beat thru to the end of the piece.

  How  and where you intend to stand, hand position and support as well as having all you need close at hand yet not in your way makes all the difference when it comes to flow. Training yourself to think like this as well as training to be ambidextrous can also allow you to give one hand/arm a break while you continue to work and preserve the rhythm/ flow through the work.
Speaking from personal experience, it will also contribute to being mentally willing and able to continue even when an injury (sometimes a serious injury or disability) threatens to take you out of the game.

[yesteryearforge]

I'd give my left arm to be ambidextrous

Its mainly a case of the right hand not knowing what the left hands doing. :)

[beth]

nice quote frank :) and yves comment - this is what i mean,  about the importance of directing consciousness at both hands. frank chi kung is something i have learned a lot from myself - it is such a far reaching and interesting set of techniques, (also kung fu for slightly different reasons) the chinese seem to understand this stuff instinctively.

 

today i did all my veining  - no dinky taps, all solid and definite, i was like a zen automaton!! put a vein in and gave more shape to 40 approx 3 inch wide leaves, in about 2 hours - which for me is hugely better than normal. just through being more aware of both hands not just the striking one :) very pleased.

 

thanks alan :)

[Charles R. Stevens]

Openned a can of worms, Beth. Thanks for starting the thread.

[beth]

charles  - Really??? i just thought it was helpful advice so i posted it on here :) and this, like the best value advice, applies to every aspect of life - not just blacksmithing...

[oddtodd]

When I work on cars I use both hands equally. When I forge I switch back and forth. My right hand holds the tongs a lot while I pump the bellows with my left hand. I switch hands depending on the hit I have to make. See I used to be left handed till I almost cut off my left thumb with a circular saw. Since the thumb has healed I can switch back and forth pretty much at will. I can't hold a pen to write with my left hand anymore because of my thumb, but I use both hands for bolts and such when I work on my family's cars. I can also switch hands at will when I am woodworking. My handwrititng is sloppy as all getout though and it didn't used to be.

[Glenn]

Beth, thanks for an interesting thread. Many times we have a dominant hand, eye, foot, etc and do not realize just how limited we are by not training both side of our bodies to work for us.

 

Tools are build right handed many times, scissors, chain saws, and even the threads on bolts. When used right handed, the chain saw keeps the motor between the blade and your leg for safety. Bolts can be tightened more effectively by a right handed person pulling than a left handed person pushing. It gets interesting when they make hammers left or right handed, I even have several left handed pencils and pens. They work great but still missbell words sometimes. (grin) 

[Frosty]

Beth, oft times the simplest things are very complicated at heart. A good question or suggestion is a thing to be cherished and nurtured. the can of worms you opened is a tasty one indeed. It's a wonderfully and valuable discussion Thank you. This kind of thing is exactly why I'll talk to anyone, well almost anyone drunks are loudly boring but you get my drift.

 

My Father was born a lefty in a time that being left handed was being touched by the devil so he was trained to be right handed. It left him pretty ambidextrous, he was good with anything in his hands. He could drive finish nails with one blow of the ball pein side and not mark the wood. AND he could do it with either hand.

 

Father was a living embodiment of what you're saying Beth. Wonderful observation and statement Darlin. Terrific brainstorming material and I LOVE brainstorming. I WILL be using my left hand as the dominant hand more now, just because.

 

Frosty The Lucky.

[beth]

yes frosty - the simplest things are also complex and far reaching - which is why they are such good food for thought :) 

and your father - he sounds cool :)