Final answer:
The most common grip used to hold a hammer when driving a nail is the power grip. The power grip allows for forceful and controlled hammer strikes. Gripping a nail with pliers while hammering can prevent the nail from bending by providing stability and spreading the force endures by the nail.
Step-by-step explanation:
The grip most often used to hold a hammer when driving a nail is known as the power grip. This grip involves wrapping all of your fingers around the handle of the hammer and placing your thumb along the side of the handle for added stability. The power grip gives you the ability to exert a great amount of force necessary to drive a nail into a surface with efficiency and control.
An old carpenter’s trick to keep nails from bending when pounded into hard materials is to grip the center of the nail firmly with pliers because this adds stability to the nail. It essentially acts as an extension of the nail, preventing wobbling or bending by providing additional support. This technique capitalizes on the principle where nail tips create tremendous pressures due to exerting a large force over a tiny surface area - when the force is spread over the length of the nail held by pliers, it reduces the chances of the nail bending.