this post was submitted on 30 Sep 2025
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Growing a moustache is pure genetic luck, and you can learn how to swing a hammer in about thirty seconds.
You cant downplay hammer skills, though. There is almost no skill ceiling with hammers. Put any blacksmith up against an amateur, and you'll quickly see the difference between 30 seconds of training and 30 years.
I'll absolutely grant that hammering is a skill that can be improved upon and that a skilled hammerer is quite the thing to behold. I think of the times I've seen experienced blacksmiths banging away for hours with forearms that look like Popeye's, barely breaking a sweat. So yes, there's a skill tree to be developed.
That said... a lot of people seem to have an idea that using tools, or even more broadly the inherent strength of their own bodies, is somehow beyond their ability, and a lot of the time that's just beginners' jitters. Absent of a particular physical limitation, most people probably can learn how to effectively use a hammer (or a hand saw, or a screw gun, or a crow bar, or any number of useful items) within a couple minutes. It's our collective mistake for teaching people that they haven't got ready access to those skills and strengths.
Generally, most of the tools in the house are considered "mine", and yes I do often break out in a dry sweat when my wife wants to borrow them.
This isn't because I don't think she could learn to use them, but rather because the only time she picks them up is when she's in "get it done" mode in which case a fuck up is costly in terms of time and money to fix... we me usually being the one to fix it. I'm pretty sure she similarly shudders when I grab a needle and thread from her office. We have a truce on laundry and dishes.
Thing is, I've got a shop full of bits and pieces where I fucked something up. BUT, I generally fucked it up on the inexpensive test projects until I was happy I could do a reasonable job, or where the cost of failure was just generally not too high. I don't believe that my wife couldn't similarly become a good carpenter or whatever, but rather experience says that she doesn't have the interest of patience in learning to do so.