Old timer showed me a hammer trick at a flea market in Ohio

Last summer I was at a flea market in Columbus looking at old anvils. This guy in his 70s walks up and watches me test a cross peen hammer. He says 'your wrist is too stiff, you're gonna end up with tennis elbow in five years.' Then he showed me how to let the hammer do the work with a loose grip. He spent 15 minutes with me right there by the table. I changed my whole technique that day and it saved my arm. Has anyone else learned something useful from a random stranger like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

davis.diana22d ago

Wait, someone actually SAVED your arm? That's wild.

gibson.seth22d ago

You saved my arm" - that phrase makes it sound like a hero moment but honestly there's a darker side to it. The doctors probably had to weigh saving the limb against giving her a clean amputation and a prosthetic that actually works. Sometimes saving a limb screws up your quality of life worse than losing it would have.