It’s kind of a wonder that Adam Savage didn’t build his own set of metal claws but that doesn’t take away the fact that they’re impressive all the same. Taking a close look at the articulated metal hands that he was sent by someone that had done the work for him, Gary Fae, it’s impressive to think how meticulous Gary had to be in creating the hands and how each digit had to be so fine-tuned that it would work as it needed to and not bind up at the wrong moment. Despite being amazing to look at the hands are still kind of creepy in the best way since they bring to mind nightmares the likes of which a lot of us have probably seen in the movies and possibly in the worst dreams we’ve ever had. There’s just something about long, tapered fingers that says danger, evil, and that yes, the creature they belong to will eat children for sport, recreation, or just because they’re bored. It’s definitely something that’s right up Adam’s alley since the construction had to take a while and it had to be exact in order to make the fingers work as they do. The idea of how long it might take and the knowledge needed to make it work properly is something that might be beyond a lot of us since when you think of how your fingers work and then try to replicate it with any given material, a lot of people are going to be stumped right away. Looking at the mechanics of it though and slowing down enough to think of how one piece is critical for another piece to work is definitely a start.
This is something that would lend itself well to a Halloween costume, the make and origin undetermined but obviously something meant to be scary since when a person looks at pop culture there are very few characters that have long, tapering fingers that aren’t either creepy or horrifying. A few examples would be The Babadook, as Adam mentioned, or Jafar from Aladdin, who has long, tapered fingers, or even the werewolves from The Howling, who have long, bony fingers. One could also use E.T. as an example of a character that’s not evil or demented but is still unknown and therefore a little creepy to some folks. The point, no pun intended, is that long, tapered fingers are considered to be inherently terrifying and even used to denote that a character is either suspicious, scary, or all-around bad in a way that paints them as the villain or at least a problematic character in pop culture. E.T. and a few others might be the exception, but otherwise long fingers, especially when they’re nimble and tipped by claws, tend to represent something very, very bad. If you were thinking of Freddy Krueger at all during this video it’s pretty normal since the famed serial killer wore a glove as well, though thankfully he only had the one.
Watching Adam’s face light up with joy when he opens the package is kind of fun since this guy obviously gets into what he’s doing and loves to see new creations that are rolled out for inspection. You can’t really blame him for his excitement since the mechanical hands are something very interesting to look at, and the fact that they move in tune with his own hands is a work of genius. Just thinking of the time, the constant measuring, and the technical skill that went into their creation is something that makes a lot of people tired just through the act of contemplation since it’s a great deal of dedication that goes into such a creation, though the end result is most definitely worth it. It’s a wonder if Adam could possibly make a set on his own since he can break down the whole idea and structure of the hands pretty easily and has no problem trying to sort out just how Gary pieced the hands together. It’s interesting to think though that if Adam did do this that he might come up with another design that might be far different than Gary’s but no less impressive. Maybe Adam would create a set of claws for each hand, something lightweight enough that didn’t tire out the fingers that quickly but could still be a part of a costume or seen as a type of weapon. The weight of such a thing though might actually be too much since thinking of the needed durability and the desired look might force a compromise in the design.
It would still be fun to see someone try such an idea, if only because it would possibly create the need for another video and show off yet another feat of engineering that is worth paying attention to.
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