Comments on: 30 Days to a Better Man Day 23: Learn a Manual Skill

By: How to Change Your Motor Oil | The Art of Manliness

How to Change Your Motor Oil | The Art of Manliness — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 03:25:54 +0000

[...] feel manly. Nothing will boost your manly confidence like learning a manual skill and doing a job yourself. The satisfaction you get after changing your oil is way more fulfilling [...]

By: Toolmanship Basics: How to Handle a Hammer | The Art of Manliness

Toolmanship Basics: How to Handle a Hammer | The Art of Manliness — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 02:57:19 +0000

[...] self-reliant, you’ll save money, and you’ll enjoy the supremely manly satisfaction of working with your hands. To help the generation of men who never got around to learning how to use tools, we’ll be [...]

By: Derek

Derek — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 20:35:36 +0000

I find this an interesting subject for the first comment I make here. I do each and every thing on this list. I have built cars by combining wrecks, I weld, solder, and braze. I build furniture, often without the aid of a single tool that has a plug. I repair, rather than replace electronics, appliances, corded tools, well, anything that breaks actually. When I found I hadn’t the skills to craft my own Masonic ring in silver ( after a number of hilarious failed attempts) I created one of hardwood. I had a grandfather who used to say; “If you don’t know how to fix it, you don’t deserve to have it” I thought him a hard man, but can now see the wisdom in the ethic he passed down.
I find that in our consumer driven world, if it isn’t new, it is of no use or value. That is, the very last thing I believe.
I have taught woodworking to people who have never been near a shop, and can see a common thread to their apprehensions, that is the fear of the first cut, or the first mistake. One of the first things I teach is the art of throwing. It is a wonderful relief to pitch whatever you have just buggered across the room, and realize that if that was the worst, it it time to jump back in and give it another go. The confidence to make a mistake, to take something apart to see how it works, to experiment. We can all use that spark of curiosity rekindled within by getting up to our elbows in something that, on the first attempt, we are in over our heads on. From there it is all downhill… and fun.

By: Valerio

Valerio — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 00:26:10 +0000

Hi Brett,
I’m Valerio from Rome (the one in Italy ).
Theese days i’ve painted my mother’s room, and i loved it.
I loved it so much that now i want to paint the other rooms, and my dad home too, since he is so busy at work.

Next things i want to practice are leatherwork, and blacksmithing, but i think it would be a little bit complicated here in italy, there are not so many artisan’s school.

Ciao
Valerio

By: Art of Manliness Weekly Link Roundup: Cake and Mates of State Edition | The Art of Manliness

Sat, 25 Jul 2009 16:54:49 +0000

[...] According to a survey of British women, mechanics have the manliest occupation. Hmm… maybe it’s time you learn a manual skill. [...]

By: Christopher Hutto

Christopher Hutto — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 05:30:08 +0000

Im new around here so starters hello, I wanted to add an idea for crafting that seems to becoming more and more popular and also accessible than one would think Blacksmithing not a farrier(someone who shoes horses) but blacksmithing artisan work or tools even. There are lots of resources online and in books for beginners, there are even some schools. Besides what could manlier than working with fire hot enough to melt steel, not much, tell that to your girl on your first date Speaking of farriers though if you know one or know a farm with horses nearby ask them for old shoes that they don’t need good starting material to work with and its generally free. also check out the John Campbell’s folk school in North Carolina http://www.folkschool.org/
another side note some farriers are also artisan blacksmith also check out A.B.A.N.A http://www.abana.org/

By: 30 Days to a Better Man Wrap-Up

30 Days to a Better Man Wrap-Up — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 00:53:20 +0000

[...] Day 23: Learn a Manual Skill [...]

By: Kitchen & Bathroom Remodeling

Kitchen & Bathroom Remodeling — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 18:49:05 +0000

Nice heading 30 days to a Better Man its cool , i love reading this blog looking for more.

By: The Art of Manliness « the anxiety of influence

The Art of Manliness « the anxiety of influence — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 16:31:32 +0000

[...] reading Hemingway and Thoreau have a certain masculine quality but it’s not the same as, say, learning to fell a tree or doing a Marine corps [...]

By: 30 Days to a Better Man Day 23: Learn a Manual Skill

30 Days to a Better Man Day 23: Learn a Manual Skill — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 05:32:37 +0000

[...] a lot handier than we are. Sometimes I imagine what would happen if there was a terrorist attack or click for more var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : [...]

By: Geoff

Geoff — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 23:36:22 +0000

As food for thought, here is a link to PM’s “100 Skills Every Man Should Know”

By: Darrell

Darrell — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 21:44:06 +0000

Wow. I’ve got some work to do.

By: Brian

Brian — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 18:54:44 +0000

Oops, I meant Brett, not Brent – sorry!

By: Brian

Brian — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 18:41:56 +0000

I, like many of the other men who’ve posted, have acquired many of the manual skills of our fathers during my adult life. When I got married I couldn’t do much of anything, but over the years I’ve acquired these skills with the help of my father, my father-in-law, my older brothers, and friends. I can proudly say that I’ve done almost everything on the list except for the bookcase; I’m not a good enough finish carpenter yet to tackle that one, but I did build my son a train table.

I think a great way to build your skills is to buy a house that is a “fixer-upper”, whether it’s to rent out, work on and flip, or live in – my wife and I have owned two of them, and I learned a lot by working on them myself, including kitchen remodeling, roofing, plumbing, framing, and drywall. Like Brian, we built a new house a couple of years ago, and I did almost all the finish work, including hardwood floors, vinyl siding, the deck, hanging doors and trim, all the light fixtures, electrical outlets (3-ways switches are such a pain!) etc. This summer I’m tackling our unfinished basement and starting to restore a 1966 Mustang that will eventually be my 11-year old son’s first car. I hope it will make many memories for him of his “handy dad”.

There are few things more satisfying than being able to look at something tangible and think “I built that”. Also, manual labor just helps us get away from all the other stuff that clutters our lives and helps us learn to think differently, since you have to visualize how to make or fix something. I’m a 37-year old university professor, and many people I talk with are amazed that I have other skills than just my profession. Another great article, Brent!

By: CoffeeZombie

CoffeeZombie — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 18:34:11 +0000

I’ve been recently learning to do more work “around the house” so to speak. My latest foray has been into my cars; so far, I’ve changed the oil on both cars, replaced the front (disc) brakes, replaced the cooling fan radiator switch (which also involved draining and refilling the radiator), and my next task is going to be replacing the wheel hubs on my car.

Not only am I theoretically saving money by avoiding labor costs, I’m getting a better handle on how the car works, and how to figure out what’s wrong when it doesn’t. My goal is to do as much as the manufacturer has left open to me to do (which is, surprisingly, a lot) at home, and only take it into the shop when necessary. Even if I don’t meet that goal, I think I’ll at least learn enough about the car that I can have a good idea of what’s wrong before taking it in and being charged to replace a part my car doesn’t have (not that this has happened to me, but I’ve heard stories).

The only thing I can say about this is that I really wish I’d started doing this a long time ago. My grandfather made a living out of working on machines, starting with his bicycle as a kid, graduation to cars (still as a kid) and moving on from there. I enjoy talking to him about the cars, but I think both of us wish I’d been interested in this back when he was still in good enough health to get out there under a car with me and show me the ropes.

Of course, there’s also learning to roast your own coffee. The only thing better than freshly (as in, roasted in the past few days, and stored properly) roasted coffee is freshly roasted coffee that you roasted.