Hand Tools: A Study of the Perception of Domestic Users and Woodwork Professionals

Abstract

The use of some hand tools, utilized within the process of manufacturing wood products, is already popular in the activities of maintenance and setup in domestic environments, which creates groups of users with distinct repertoires, as well as differentiated frequency and kinds of use, with equal mastery of judgment and shopping decision. In the moment of the decision process leading to acquisition, the visual sensorial modality is the most important one. And, sometimes, information about such tools is acquired in catalogs, virtual shops and packages that provide interaction exclusively at the visual level. In order to know the perception of users about some hand tools, parting from visual interaction with them, subjective opinions were collected through: inquisition about the process and criteria on selecting tools, semantic differential tests and evaluation of the perception of comfort through the pair comparison method. Among the results obtained we can highlight that: the aspect “safety” is considered by both user groups as the most important in the moment of selecting the tool; and some users, both domestic and woodwork professionals, relate tool handling with difficulty of use and discomfort.

Keywords: visual perception, semantic differential, importance ordination, hand tools.

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe100775