The Affordable Tool That Will Save Your Fingers From Getting Hammered

There's a "Curious George" episode in which everyone's favorite preternaturally industrious monkey decides to build a treehouse. After gathering materials, George starts assembling what must be the most dangerous structure ever built by a primate. He soon hammers his foot, then is inspired to grab pliers to hold the nail as he hammers. He still drives the nail poorly, and the wall falls on his head. But he gets the hang of it ... mostly. And soon, he has a row of partly sunk, partly bent-over nails holding his treehouse's wall to its floor.

This is not the sort of creature you want to be outsmarted by, so pay particular attention to the pliers. A company called Jelanry did, and they created a better nail-trap for apes, humans, and search engines alike: The Jelanry Nail Holder for Hammering, or if you want to go by its full name, the Plastic Pliers, Home Tool Auxiliary Pliers, Jelanry Secure Nails Anti-smashing finger Joint Pliers for More Safety for Hammering Nails Easy to Position and Keeps Fingers Safe. And even if that product name is somehow too opaque for you, don't write it off, because for $6.64 you get offset plastic pliers that hold nails in seven diameters (you can, of course, always use a hole that's significantly smaller than your nail). The handle has supports that hold it against the workpiece so that you can still get your hand around it to operate.

These pliers keep the nail in place while you hammer it, and they are designed so accommodate both short and less short nails, so that you don't bend them over like George does. It's a bit genius, and it will ensure you do way better than the monkey did. 

Of course, as is the way of products (and intellectual property in general) these days, you can buy the same sort of Jelanry-style pliers from other manufacturers in a variety of colors. And there are many other solutions available, too, from red plastic pliers that look like little crab claws to, you know, regular pliers, which have more uses than are dreamt of in your philosophy. These solutions all fit specific needs, or at least specific psychological conditions. Appropriately enough, the Monkey Business Store (ahem) offers Nail It Pinocchio-shaped nail holders that allow you to hold your nail with a likeness of an unreal boy. You can hammer into Pinocchio's nose, mouth, or various locations on his torso, as you see fit.

Of course, borrowing Alton Brown's enjoinder against uni-taskers, you may find tools that do this job as well as others. The Aspaton angled flush-cutting pliers have a round notch meant to facilitate nail-pulling, but which also does an admirable job at holding a nail while you're hammering. All pliers are naturally adjustable, but locking pliers let you adjust and lock in a very firm grip — vise-like, one might say — in case you're particularly terrible at hammering straight. That said, if you've got the storage space, sore fingers, and want a product specifically designated for this task, Jelanry's product seems like a solid bet.