Necessity is the mother of invention.
Having been an apprentice Tinsmith (Sheet metal worker) in the early 1960s, I’ve had many years experience using all manner of hand tools. When used over extended periods of time and repeating the same manual motions they can become uncomfortable for the user. I learnt this lesson the hard way!
I found the range of grips to vary greatly in practical terms and often this practicality came at an uncomfortable price. Some featured finger indents, some had forward stops (to keep your hands from sliding along) and some had wide handles: supposedly more comfort.
This experience was the key to the design of our hand crimpers and de-cappers: I wanted a tool that would be as comfortable as possible with no projections that would potentially result in blisters. From my own experience, tools with front profiles designed to stop your hand sliding forward always gave me blisters between my first finger and thumb. Handles with sharp bent corners also gave me blisters and were uncomfortable whilst tool grips with finger profiles never worked for me either.
I found the tools I was using lacked the “one size fits all scenario” – never truly fitting the palm of anyone properly. 90 degree U bent handles scratched the side of my hands which can also cause blisters, and rough textured surfaces make your hands sore.
Ergonomically designed tools with comfort in mind.
I designed our manual hand tools with rounded ‘U section’ handles and a cross
section profile that leans inwards, thus alleviating the problem of scratching and pinching whilst still giving a stable grip.
Width was considered and compromised on, allowing for the range of hand sizes that would be using the tools. The grips are of a straight and smooth finish as this was always the best shape and texture of handle from my own experience; cutting miles of sheet metal with tin snips.
As a tinsmith, I’d polished the handles of my snips and also made some myself as I could see that the practical need for improvement. There are mechanical constraints but the handle travel needed to be sensible and not too far apart at the outset of the levers. A feature that I’ve incorporated into our tools.
I’ve designed our crimpers to be as light weight as possible without compromising on strength and durability. If you’re doing the same action for any length of time then handle comfort is not the only consideration but weight too must be ideal: The tools are well balanced: light but sturdy and solid.
Experience Leads to a Better Product.
These are some of the design considerations that were taken into account when designing our manual hand crimpers and de-cappers. Years of experience went into the development of our products meaning that when it comes to practical application you’ll have the most comfortable experience possible.
Any tool should not only be designed with a job in mind but also the comfort of the person doing that job. At Laboratory Precision we understand this and it makes our tools some of the most effective on the market today.