Marcus remembers his first big wire pull. Three hundred feet of 4/0 aluminum, feeding through conduit by hand. By the end, his palms were raw, his fingers cramped, and he understood why the old-timers wrapped their hands before heavy pulls.
"Nobody told me," he says. "I showed up thinking I was tough enough to muscle through anything. The wire taught me otherwise."
The Hard Way
That first job cost him three days of painful hands. Every tool he gripped reminded him of the pull. Every wire he handled felt like sandpaper on his damaged skin. He worked through it because apprentices don't call in sick over sore hands.
The journeyman he worked under noticed his struggling. Tossed him a roll of self-adhering tape. "Wrap your pull hand before, not after. This job will eat your hands if you let it."
Fifteen Years Later
Marcus is a foreman now. He keeps a case of Guard-Tex in every truck. New apprentices get the talk on day one: this trade will test your hands every single day. Protect them before they're damaged, not after.
"I've seen guys leave the trade because their hands gave out. Carpal tunnel, chronic pain, skin that won't heal. Most of it was preventable. You just have to start protecting early."