April 22, 2006

The naked carpenter.

Percy Honniball. (Love the name!)
He told officers he stripped before crawling under the client's house to do electrical work because he didn't want to soil his clothes, police said.

Honniball said Thursday that working in the nude gave him a better range of motion and that a skilled craftsman can work clothing -- and injury -- free....

Honniball was caught working naked in Berkeley three times in the last six years and put on probation for violating a city ordinance.
Oh, come on. You're allowed to do things like that in Berkeley aren't you?

But really, naked carpentry? It sounds dangerous -- though somehow I'm not getting a mental picture of the precise accident I'm afraid of. And I'm not believing the cleanliness argument. He's got to put his clothes back on to leave the job, right? And he's not showering on the job, presumably. So he's just getting the insides of his clothes dirty. If you're going to say then he preserves the appearance of his clothes by keeping the outside clean, the simplest solution is wear the clothes inside out on the job.

Oh, my lord, I'm thinking way too much about the naked carpenter!

15 comments:

knox said...

Awful prissy for a handyman.... If I personally had to climb under someone's house, into some nasty crawlspace, the last thing I'm worried about is getting my clothes dirty.

All the unpleasant things you could encounter down there--bugs, dead animals, LIVE ANIMALS, snakes, spiders--why would you want to be vulnerably naked, with all your most vulnerable parts exposed? Aiii, I've freaked myself out just thinking about it!

J said...

Naked carpentry is odd, but unauthorized electrical work crosses the line - the homeowner did the right thing having the guy arrested before his house burned down. In any case, it would be a good idea to warn customers about this particular "technique" in the future.

Gaius Arbo said...

How about naked blogging?

I hasten to add that I am fully dressed. Honest.


And I actually can't post the verification word. It's very funny but would be taken the wrong way entirely!

Anthony said...

Oh, my lord, I'm thinking way too much about the naked carpenter!

Someone needs to get dating again.

SippicanCottage said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
reader_iam said...

You know how sometimes contractors just randomly leave a project and disappear?

This way, you could keep their clothes as collateral--if they wanna leave, they gotta finish or drive naked to their next stop.

How were our ancestors dressed when they did manual labor?

I'm finding the idea of nude carpentry rather appealing. How old is this guy, anyway? In what kind of shape?

LOL.

DH's reaction was to say, "well, if he's not strapping that down he's crazy," but other than that and wearing safety glasses, it's not necessarily any more dangerous than having too loose of clothing. Plus he mentioned the "easier to clean skin than clothes" thing.

Hmmm. The possibilities.

reader_iam said...

Sip, you could still wear one of those leather tool belts, you know.

Naked carpentry ... and leather ... naked carpentry ... and leather ...

Heh.

Ann Althouse said...

Anthony said...
Oh, my lord, I'm thinking way too much about the naked carpenter!

Someone needs to get dating again.

11:42 AM, April 22, 2006
John Jenkins said...
Someone needs to get dating again.

Or perhaps just hire the right "handyman."

12:29 PM, April 22, 2006
Joe said...
I would mostly fear splinters and bug bites...


Yes, dating is harrowing. Afterwards, it's all tweezers and cortisone cream.

Unknown said...

Perhaps, a little plumber's crack will take your mind off it.

knox said...

"Yes, dating is harrowing. Afterwards, it's all tweezers and cortisone cream."


!!!.... ?

Ann Althouse said...

Knoxgirl: It's was Joe's concept ("splinters & bug bites").

Old Dad: When your comment -- "Perhaps, a little plumber's crack will take your mind off it" -- came through on the Gmail, here are the ads that came with it:

Concrete Crack Repair Kit
Guaranteed Permanent Solution for cracks in basements, pools, tanks
www.crackseal.com
DIY Crack Injection Kits
Repair concrete cracks like a pro and save a bundle.
radonseal.com
Basement Crack Repair
Crack Injection Information and Solutions for Stopping Leaks
www.concretenetwork.com
Foundation Crack Repair
Crack Repair Systems by Webac Professional D-I-Y Home Repair Kits
www.webac.com


So I had to think not only of the plumber's crack, but, and at the same time, "crack repair," "crack injection," etc. Horrifying!

Unknown said...

Ann,

So sorry, but I'm sure you must have also gotten "absolutely best prices for plumber's crack."

We must take recompense in small things.

Icepick said...

No, he won't get the insides of his clothes dirty. He can use a garden hose to wash everything off before getting dressed. Come on, people, this is all perfectly logical!

AllenS said...

Carpentry is hard and dangerous work. I'm afraid that Percy Honniball at the end of the work day, might be Percy Honni.

Robert Holmgren said...

That sounds like my friend 'Woody'.