A Tool Shopping Guide for Left-Handed People

About 11% of the world's population is left-handed. This means that a majority of tools and equipment are designed and manufactured for right-handed people. In many cases, tools like hammers or screwdrivers are ambidextrous and can flip from one hand to the next with ease. In other cases, left-handers have to make adjustments or changes to hold tools.

Avoid discomfort and build a toolbox full of tools geared towards left-handers. The shopping guide will go over differences in specific tools and what to look for to avoid common annoyances and pains.

Utility Knives & Safety Cutters
Utility knives are used to cut boxes, small pieces of material, and certain wires. Left-handers need to either hold the blade in the opposite direction or have the blade button adjustment press into the palm of the hand while cutting. A lefthanded utility knife faces the blade in the proper downward position and the adjustment button aligns with the left thumb.

The comfort makes it a lot easier for someone to make accurate cuts with the blade. You do not need to take extra time to adjust your grip and can reduce delays while you work.

Tape Measures
The same problem found with utility knives is also found through tape measures. When a left-handed person uses a tape measure naturally, all of the numbers will appear upside down. You may take longer to get proper measurements or be forced to use the right hand as a dominant hand.

A left-handed tape measure reverses the whole design of the tape measure. With the clip on the opposite side, you also have the ability to easily place the tape measure on your left side and grab the tape measure when needed. The tape measures are often labeled as lefty versions so you do not mix them up with other tools in the house.

Industrial Scissors
One of the more uncomfortable right-handed tools to use is a pair of scissors. When the blades do not face the correct direction, you either end up cramming fingers into a thumb hole or using the scissors upside down. A pair of lefthanded industrial scissors give you accurate cuts and complete comfort for the left hand.

Industrial scissors can cut through basic materials like paper or stronger materials like thick plastics and metals. When you shop for left-handed scissors, check out the garden section for other left-handed cutting tools. Left-handed garden shears feature a comfortable grip and reverse blade to cut through weeds, roots, and plants.

Tool Box
If you live with other people in your home, it's a good idea to keep your left-handed tools in a separate tool bag or box. This way, you will not have to mix up the tools or accidentally grab the wrong tool. The separation also prevents right-handers from grabbing the wrong tools. Left-handed tools create discomfort for right-handers the same way regular tools do for left-handers.

Find a way to designate the toolbox using specific colors or labels. With everything in one spot, you have easy access and can build your collection through the years.

Left-Handed Drill Bits
As you shop through a hardware store, one item that may stand out are left-handed drill bits. The bits may have a left-handed label but are not actually made for left-handed tool users. The bits refer to the way they are cut. Left-handed bits are cut in the opposite direction and used to help remove bolts, screws, and nails that are stuck, worn, or stripped.

The drill bits are not an essential part of a left-handed tool kit, so you can skip out on them when building your collection.

Browse the thousands of tools we have to offer at Koontz Hardware. We can help you find tools catered to left-handers and power tools that work the same no matter what your dominant hand is.