Things that are sneakily right-handed

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Most “sidewinder” style circular saws are sneakily left-handed. The blade is mounted on the right side of the motor, so that you left-handers can see the blade as it chews downwards into the workpiece. Right handers have to tilt their torsos and crane their necks to see over their own arm in order to see the cutline.

Until recently the only exceptions were worm-drives that weigh and cost more (but are also more powerful, so there’s that), but now there are sidewinders with the blade on the left side, which are often (confusingly) called left-handed because they are the opposite of the traditional layout, which is assumed to be right-handed because that’s normal, right?

The left-bladed (right-handed) sidewinders (I have the Porter Cable one) reverse the direction of the blade spin, throwing stuff in your face and requiring the blade nut to have a left-handed thread. They are OK once your arm gets used to the difference in the way the torque is generated.

Basically, left-handers can get cheaper, better circular saws than right-handers.

Chainsaws mostly have the blade on the right, too, but it’s not a problem because you look down over the top, not from the side.

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Took awhile to find a deal on it but I do not regret buying the PC 743.

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I’m curious what “flow” you mean. I find it most effective to knit both directions, especially when doing a colored pattern. You never have to turn the piece around, and you carry a different color in each hand which helps keep the tension even. Mind you, I’ve only done two-color patterns; for a Fair Isle, I might have to get lessons from @anon29631895’s sister.

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I doubt that she can do it anymore, but in her teen years there wasn’t much that she couldn’t do with her monkey-toes.

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We must be related—my family also have fun monkey-grip action toes! One of my brothers, in his teen years of course, learned to smoke with his toes. Though he never did manage the lighter.

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There was a time when I could solve some of Rubix’ puzzles with my feet. This one was the easiest to do with my toes:

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Do a 7x7x7 cube next!

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I’m not sure when it’s set for life, but it’s looking my creature (I mean toddler) is going to be left handed. This thread has been interesting.

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Pretty much at birth, IIRC. Congrats on the southpaw, a more unique sprog than most!

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I’m a weird mix. I write left handed (I can get by with my right but it looks like a 5 year old’s handwriting). I type on my phone left handed. I shoot with my right hand. I catch with my left. I’m ambidextrous with scissors, most tools, and computer mice.

I generally identify as left handed, though.

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I think most of us have had to adapt to tools that are “backwards” for us (see the comment above about the lefty can opener), such that there’s not much of a chance to be a pure lefty. In my family, my sister is also left-handed, but she’s much more left-handed than I am. I can throw with either hand, I can bat either way, and I shoot pool lefty but will switch to righty instead of shooting behind my back.

It’s funny – when I was a kid, that’s how I knit, but when I re-learned as an adult, I learned from a book, and the book’s instructions were right-handed. I do knit the continental method, which seems to use both hands more equally. I haven’t learned Fair Isle because I don’t think I have the patience. I’d rather just make socks.

For crocheting and knitting, since you’re only holding one thing, I found it worth my while to learn left-handed because holding a shuttle or a hook in my right hand made me cranky. It was really rough going for tatting, but I eventually figured it out… mostly. I need to get back to it sometime.

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Can do everything with left hand as right hand but backwards. And since it is less practiced as my right hand the left handwriting is like my elementary school cursive (in the mirror). Can write and draw with both hands simultaneously but they have to mirror each other.

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Ooh, neat! I can do mirror writing, but only with my left hand. My right hand’s writing looks like a 1st grader’s.

I was just reminded today that I’m using something sneakily left-handed right now – a computer keyboard in Qwerty layout. Long live subversive lefty dominance!

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She’s also got a third nipple

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Always thought Scaramanga would work really well as a girl’s name. Just putting it out there, but it’s not too late to add it.

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Terribly sorry, but my daughter has the most perfect name already.

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So did my grandpa!

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I’m trying to buy a new mouse and it’s super frustrating trying to find a five-button mouse that’s left-handed and doesn’t cost $200. Amazon is no help, because like the “skirt with pockets” search, “wireless left-handed mouse” returns a shitton of mice that are clearly not left-handed.

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