Conceptual Design Approach for Woodworking Chisel Handle

Abstract

Design of hand tools is an age-old activity associated with the human species as ̳makers‘ of artefacts. There are evidences of tools manufactured by even pre-historic proto-human species that have been discovered all around the world. Knowledge of tool manufacturing has been seen as the pre-cursor to all the major technological discoveries in the history of the human species. Evidences of primitive tool making and use are also associated with some other animal species such as crows and chimpanzees. Therefore, it could be claimed that continuousimprovements in tool making distinctly distinguish human species from all the rest of the animals. The chisel is one of the most primitive tools that was manufactured first by proto-humans and later improved upon by the present-day humans. Woodworking chisels find a special place in any Maker‘s toolkit and have been essential in the creation of numerous utilitarian and aesthetic artefacts we are surrounded by today.

There are two broad categories of value additions that can find place in sophisticated versions of basic hand tools. Firstly, value could be added to a hand tool in terms of increasing or improving its technical functionality. Concepts such as productivity and efficiency are two common measures used in validating such value additions. Such measures can on most occasions be objectively measured. Secondly, the other important kind of value addition to a tool design is in terms of improvements in the specific experiences associated with it - which is the primary concern of this research work. Comfort is one such positive experiential phenomenon. Comfort is a multidimensional experience and is highly subjective in nature. There could be different sources of comfort, and they are investigated primarily by conducting psychometric investigations. Aesthetic qualities of a specific product experienced through different sensory modalities leads to specific emotional responses in a user. This interaction affects the comfort experience of a user. It should also be noted from the past research that apart from pure psychological factors, there also exist physical factors that affect comfort experiences – especially a factor such as the'fit‘ of a product with a human user. Misfit of hand tools to a user‘s hand is a common cause of injuries and musculoskeletal disorders. Apart from physical dimensions of 'fit‘, there also exist psychological dimensions to the concept. An appropriate'fit‘ of a product to a user can be judged by a user by sensory experience and a'fitting‘ product has greater chances of being picked up for purchase as well as being retained by user or being purchased again.

The present work aims to investigate experiential and comfort related factors associated with the design of wood working chisel handles during the early concept design phase of product development cycle. The methodology used in this study utilizes modes of analysis and validation centred on investigating subjective visual and physical experiences with products images and actual products. This research involves collecting information on field survey, analysis of hand anthropometry and grip strength data, understanding of manufacturer and user perceptions about design of tool handles and development of user comfort centered methodology for conceptual design of anatomically shaped inline chisel handles. Design directions from this work could be implemented as such or with specific tailoring in designing better chisels for regular wood working professionals in India and elsewhere.