Original appearance

The Becker Lock Grip hand ([where to order, technical info]) ships with a sandpapered smooth but uncoated bass wood body. For my purposes that is just about the best thing that can ever happen to me – wood, a surface that can be carved, stained, painted, sprayed, covered with plastic shells or modified in any other way. It is the best possible material ever. Let me exaggerate – it is bone hard, feather light, dirt cheap and very beautiful. Plus, it’s organic (any Californians reading this?). There is no better understanding of the condition that I am in.

So I wasn’t going to let it stay like that….

Dark brown glossy wood stain / dark blue leather sleeve and cutting up tomatoes:

I reformatted the looks of the Becker hand to a dark brown glossy wood stain – in combination with a dark blue leather sleeve. It really fits into a wooden panel equipped Jaguar car, it matches your ebony black shiny surfaces and it looks extremely luxurious.

People complimented me on the dark brown but something was too dark for me.

It felt like it sucked up my energy to make it look like some type of ornament, a luxus item. The dark wood stain is looking just as if it is wood, it looks wooden – which makes me something like Pinocchio. That color represents wood – which is fine – but it does not transcend anything.

I ultimately felt thrown back into a 1:1 representation world, one where things were labeled and easily matched with known things. “Here, take it – wooden hands”.

After that experience I figured that this type of realistic representation is not for me. I then realized that I need transcendental parts, stuff that permeates existing perceptions.

Red Becker Hand

Seeing the Red Becker Hand in action lets you enjoy the Captain Future appeal.

I also added some sleeve covers that allows a faster change of appearance than always having to paint / repaint the parts:

How people react

The red Becker hand has a lot going for it. More than you think, maybe.

With the cosmetic glove and the Otto Bock hand, some kids would get really scared and some adults would get really nervous. The hook was OK but did not offer any emotional ease for the innocent bystander.

With the red Becker hand, the same kids now felt relaxed enough to touch it and to comment on it freely. Even one adult laughed and immediately grabbed it when she saw it – and so by and large reactions are very positive.

That hand looks and feels approachable while offering an umprecedented degree of functionality.