Hand Tools Design: Are Biomechanical Criteria the Same as Aesthetic Criteria? a Preliminary Study

Abstract

The perception of comfort and discomfort was investigated using a tactile knife-handle sorting task. Sixteen participants (13 males, 3 females) volunteered to perform the study. Due to the preliminary nature of this research the participants were acquaintances of the researchers. The participants were randomly assigned to sorting condition of either Comfort or Discomfort. Multidimensional scaling (MDS) was utilized to examine the structural perceptual equivalence of comfort/discomfort conditions on the sorting task. Results indicate that there is little difference in dimensional solutions for comfort versus discomfort, furthermore post hoc inspection of the dimensions and stimuli suggest the participants are using handle length (Dim 1), handle circumference (Dim 2), and surface texture (Dim 3) to group the knife handles. Support for a more in-depth study of comfort/discomfort incorporating attribute ratings and implications for designers are discussed.