Guest Posted June 19, 2001 Share Posted June 19, 2001 Thanks to Mr Black's logs, I'm dying to try nail-bending, but I don't have a clue how to start. I don't even know how to hold the nail. Can someone please give me the "Nail-bending for dummies" primer? Stuff like, do I wrap the nail in a towel or something, or cut the point off? The mroe you can tell me the better. I can't watch the videos because they are in some format my computer doesn't recognize. Thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest woody36 Posted June 19, 2001 Share Posted June 19, 2001 Todd, download a free player at, www.real.com/ bottom right hand corner,youll find free downloads. once you've a player you should be able to see vids, thats if this is the problem? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest woody36 Posted June 19, 2001 Share Posted June 19, 2001 Also Tom Blacks website as article on nailbending www.bigsteel.iwarp.com/ another article here at www.naturalstrength.com/history/spike.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Black Posted June 20, 2001 Share Posted June 20, 2001 Probably the best course of action for beginners is to go buy hot-rolled steel, 1/4" thick. Before cutting the steel to length, grab the end of the steel and slowly move your hands farther from the end until the bar feels like it flexes. Cut the steel to this length (bolt cutters work best) and wrap the bar in a 12" washcloth. Have at the thing. You can follow the technique in the article Woody cited, or on my website, although I've been told that my technique is harder than others (It's easy for me, but I've been doing it for awhile). If all goes well you may be able to bend the hot rolled steel about 6"-7" long. 6" hot rolled steel is the same as the Ironmind White. It bends at approximately 200 pounds, and a low 60-penny bends at 250 pounds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rog Posted June 21, 2001 Share Posted June 21, 2001 Tom, your pictures are a good start. I know for me that it would be helpful if you could expand on your description a bit. For example, how you hold the nail with your fingers, what part of the restraining hand the nail bears against as it bends over, the changing position of wrists during the bend, etcetera. I'd rather not reinvent the wheel on technique but get right to developing strength and doing the bends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Danjo Posted June 21, 2001 Share Posted June 21, 2001 The way I first bent a 60d (after 3 months of bending 40d's incidently which is also what Brookfield recomends), was to grip each end in folded over work gloves in an overhand grip. Then, I would brace my right fist knuckles on my left thigh and bend down with my left hand (sort of using my right hand as a vice to hold the nail with) Then, I would take the kinked nail and hold it in my left hand (like a vice) with the outer edge of my fist braced against my left thigh while I bore down on the nail with my right hand. I would then finish it off in front of my chest with my fingers laced together. If this sounds too garbled of an explanation I appologize. The thing to do is experiment with different positions until you can get good leverage. I would practice with the 40d's first though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Black Posted June 22, 2001 Share Posted June 22, 2001 It is rather difficult to explain my technique, but here goes. First, let me stress that my technique is significantly harder than some techniques (like bracing on the leg and pushing down). I believe my technique is more of a feat of hand and wrist strength than the hand braced on the leg technique, but Danjo is right about this being good for beginners. I recommend experimenting with different techniques. First, look at the photos in this short article on my site on Nail bending Note that my left hand is on top of the nail and my right on the bottom, closer in to my waist, see the black and white picture. I think I usually put the head of the nail in my left hand, but it doesn't matter. I've changed my angles of approach from when the black and white picture was taken and my left wrist is straighter now. When I bend I concentrate the force at the center of the nail, using the top of my right index finger as a fulcrum. That part of my hand is really dense, much more so than on my other hand (although I have practiced with my right hand on top, left on bottom to balance my strength). Once the initial force is applied I seem to move both hands the same distance in an arc, knuckles going towards each other. Sometimes my left does not arc as much as my right hand and I've even experimented with holding my left stable and rotating only my right. This is even harder to do because the bending force is all from the right side. As the nail is bent and my hands are moving my elbows go from close to my body to forward and up a little. This can be clearly seen in the first picture in my bend-a-thon. As I noted above, my right index finger is the fulcrum on which the nail bends, I have noticed recently that it is now noticeably thicker than my left index finger. All my other fingers look to be the same size on each hand so it is clearly from the nail bending. My right index finger also appears to be thicker than my left thumb, I have checked many people since discovering this and none have this anomaly, which is clearly caused by my nail bending. I guess I am becoming a freak of nature Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 22, 2001 Share Posted June 22, 2001 Thanks so much for your help. I can't wait to try bending. I'm glad I asked for your explanation, because I would never have thought to bend the way you show. Again, thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest InchDisciple Posted June 23, 2001 Share Posted June 23, 2001 Tom I am a little confused by your description . If your left hand is on top of the nail , and your right hand underneath , would this not mean that your index finger would be on the right side of the nail on the outside ? Left hand down would cause the thumb to be in the middle of the nail . Right hand up would cause the little finger to be in the middle of the nail next to the thumb of the left hand . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Black Posted June 24, 2001 Share Posted June 24, 2001 Sorry about that description, I was relying on the picture to clear up my prose. What I mean by "top" is the "top" of the nail, near the head. When I bend the nails with my arms outstretched the nail is vertical, and my left hand is on "top." I guess that's why I started calling it the top. Maybe a better way to say it would be that my left hand is the hand on the nail furthest from my body. While the picture isn't exactly how I hold the nail now, it's close enough to get the general idea. Sometimes I hold the nail differently to experiment, and I can still bend. Thus, subtle changes are not that critical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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