9 Hands
Practical skills with your hands: tying knots, using basic tools, sewing, assembling furniture and changing a tire.
Principle 9. Learn the correct method for everyday jobs, because one small wrong step is often what makes a job fail.
All 18 Hands lessons
In Manual order
9.1 · HandsTying shoelaces that stay tied
9.2 · HandsHow to wrap a present
9.3 · HandsAddressing an envelope
9.4 · HandsTying a square knot (reef knot)
9.5 · HandsHow to tie a clove hitch
9.6 · HandsReading a tape measure
9.7 · HandsHammering a nail in straight
9.8 · HandsHow to fix a separated zipper
9.9 · HandsSewing on a button that stays on
9.10 · HandsTying a bowline
9.11 · HandsHow to remove a stripped screw
9.12 · HandsHanging a heavy picture securely
9.13 · HandsTying a four-in-hand necktie knot
9.14 · HandsHow to put air in tires
9.15 · HandsHow to change windshield wipers
9.16 · HandsChecking the oil and other fluids under the hood
9.17 · HandsAssembling flat-pack furniture
9.18 · HandsChanging a flat tire
Hands topics
All topicsPrinciple 9 and its rules
Numbers are fixed, so you can cite them9. Learn the correct method for everyday jobs, because one small wrong step is often what makes a job fail.
Small details decide whether a job holds. In lab tests that used small weights to speed up failure, a shoelace tied with a “granny knot” came undone in every test, against 8 of 15 tests for the balanced version, and the fix is one change of direction. Furniture is similar: tall pieces that are not anchored can tip over onto a child, which is why the US Consumer Product Safety Commission asks people to anchor furniture and TVs to the wall.
- 9.1Tie knots that hold: start your shoelaces in the opposite direction to the bow, tie a square knot right over left then left over right, and use a bowline for a fixed loop.
- 9.2Read a tape measure to the nearest 1/16 inch or 1 mm and measure twice before you cut, start a nail with light taps, and match wall hardware to the weight it must hold.
- 9.3Count every part and read every step before you build, and anchor anything tall to the wall.
- 9.4Pull off onto flat ground and set the parking brake before you start, loosen the lug nuts before you raise the car, and never put any part of your body under a car held up only by a jack.
- 9.5Keep your clothes ready to wear: sew on a button with a thread shank, and learn one necktie knot before the day you need it.
- 9.6Write an address in the order the post office reads it, with the city, state or province, and postal code together on the last line, and put your return address in the top left corner.
- 9.7Fix small things before they become big ones.
- 9.8Learn a few more knots and folds for everyday jobs.
