# How long should a man's fingernails be? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 4, 2005, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-should-a-mans-fingernails-be/306817 "2005-06-04T01:27:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2005, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-should-a-mans-fingernails-be/306817/21 "2005-06-04T15:22:21Z")
Short is my personal preference. Long nails on guys skeeves me out, for some reason. ---
**Author:** ![Sofis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Sofis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofis)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2005, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-should-a-mans-fingernails-be/306817/22 "2005-06-04T17:19:52Z")
I find that for that white part to be about one centimeter is ideal. Longer than that, and the chance of breakage increases quite rapidly (and then you have a short, uneven, ugly nail instead). Shorter, and you can’t use it properly for all the little practical things that come in handy, like picking up hot things. There are some people who will react negatively to me because of them, of course, but I suspect these are mainly people I wouldn’t really want to hang out with anyway. And there are other people who compliment me on them (sometimes with envy :)). ---
**Author:** ![Lisa-go-Blind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Lisa-go-Blind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lisa-go-Blind)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2005, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-should-a-mans-fingernails-be/306817/23 "2005-06-04T18:22:55Z")
The white shouldn’t go beyond the tip of the finger. Longer than that and you start to look Howard Hughesian (the later, crazy Hughes, of course). ---
**Author:** ![Geobabe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/geobabe/32/3908_2.png) [@Geobabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geobabe)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2005, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-should-a-mans-fingernails-be/306817/24 "2005-06-04T19:18:18Z")
> [@GingerOfTheNorth](#): > > Short is my personal preference. Long nails on guys skeeves me out, for some reason. Same here. As a guess, I’d say that longer than about 1mm is too long for me. ---
**Author:** ![sleestak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@sleestak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleestak)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2005, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-should-a-mans-fingernails-be/306817/25 "2005-06-04T19:49:33Z")
Guitarist checking in. On my left hand I keep all the nails just a tad shorter than the tip of my fingers. On the right all of the nails except the pinkie are just a little longer than my fingers. The pinkie nail is kinda long, but I use it alot for strumming. Slee ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2005, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-should-a-mans-fingernails-be/306817/26 "2005-06-04T19:52:42Z")
> [@GingerOfTheNorth](#): > > Short is my personal preference. Long nails on guys skeeves me out, for some reason. Ditto. And CLEAN. They should be clean. ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2005, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-should-a-mans-fingernails-be/306817/27 "2005-06-04T22:45:33Z")
Gods, yes. They gotta be clean. ---
**Author:** ![Podkayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Podkayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Podkayne)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2005, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-should-a-mans-fingernails-be/306817/28 "2005-06-04T23:12:31Z")
Short is best. If they’re going to be long, they should be broad and blunt. I know a guy who wears his fingernails long and shaped and tapered, and it’s just too damn _girly_. It’s very unattractive to me. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2005, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-should-a-mans-fingernails-be/306817/29 "2005-06-04T23:23:39Z")
Trimmed. Not bitten, but trimmed. > [@](#): > > The pinky nail is for digging earwax out of your ears. > > What? Come on, you do it too! That’s precisely the reason my father keeps his pinkie nails long. He has such a sly sense of humor. He likes to paint, and once he painted a picture of a woman sitting up in bed with a transparent shirt on. When asked by one of his friends, “How’d you get her to pose for that?” he replied I told her to put her shirt on. I love my dad. Hijack over. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2005, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-should-a-mans-fingernails-be/306817/30 "2005-06-05T00:37:28Z")
> [@Dr. Kenneth Noisewater](#): > > They get in the way on the left hand (fretting hand). Having them on the picking hand (for fingerstyle) is neat but not incredibly useful. I wish I could grow decent nails on my right hand. They may be no good for most popular styles, but they are absolutely essential for playing classical guitar. My own guitar playing lacks a certain bit of snap because I don’t have any nails whatsoever; stuff like Bach or Villa-Lobos doesn’t sound right without a bit of nail. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2005, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-should-a-mans-fingernails-be/306817/31 "2005-06-05T01:07:40Z")
> [@Mr2001](#): > > Sadly, the only way to follow this advice is to ignore it. That was laugh-out-loud funny. A good ending to a bad week at work. I would say 1-2 mm and the reasoning is that you don’t want to dig into another man’s hand when shaking hands. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2005, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-should-a-mans-fingernails-be/306817/32 "2005-06-05T01:25:58Z")
Who cares? Just keep them as long as you want! But CLEAN! Toenails should be clean, too. ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2005, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-should-a-mans-fingernails-be/306817/33 "2005-06-05T02:09:18Z")
As a pianist, I keep mine short enough that when I hit the keys, I never, ever hear the sound of nail hitting ivory. And as a guitarist, I keep them short enough that on my left hand, the nails never touch the fretboard, in other words, I get full finger contact. I don’t pick with my nails…wait, do I? No, I don’t think so. But it would look very strange to have nails on one hand longer than on the other. So, relatively short, and above all, clean. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2005, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-should-a-mans-fingernails-be/306817/34 "2005-06-05T06:07:33Z")
I keep mine very short; the white part is never more than a millimeter. They’re easier to keep clean that way, and I can do all sort of nifty things when giving a massage without worrying about nicking the recipient. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2005, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-should-a-mans-fingernails-be/306817/35 "2005-06-05T20:58:23Z")
[What is this “white” of which you speak?](http://home.earthlink.net/~ahunter/Upload_Download/nails.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![beckwall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b487fb/32.png) [@beckwall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beckwall)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2005, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-should-a-mans-fingernails-be/306817/36 "2005-06-05T22:14:01Z")
Another vote for trimmed and short. And clean. If you’re going to keep them on the long side, then get a good nail brush and clean those babies every single day. Ewwww. Yellow jagged edged toenails. I won’t sleep tonight. ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2005, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-should-a-mans-fingernails-be/306817/37 "2005-06-05T22:27:58Z")
> [@beckwall](#): > > Ewwww. Yellow jagged edged toenails. I won’t sleep tonight. Even worse is when it catches the sheet as you get into bed…like nails across a blackboard! ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-should-a-mans-fingernails-be/306817/38 "2005-06-06T12:19:07Z")
I’ve never seen a man with long fingernails. More than a mm at least. Mine never get longer than that. I couldn’t even if I tried. I’m a programmer, but I do enough manly man ™ type stuff that they stay short pretty naturally, anything longer than about 1 mm, and I’m sure to catch it on something and rip it off. ---
**Author:** ![Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/779978/32.png) [@Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amazon_Floozy_Goddess)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-should-a-mans-fingernails-be/306817/39 "2005-06-06T12:44:11Z")
For some reason long nails on guys FREAK ME OUT. There’s something about the marked contrast between masculine hands and feminine nails that’s just…ugh. Creepy. Sometimes my husband gets a little lazy in cutting his, and when they start to ever come close to his fingertips, I clip them myself while he sleeps. I won’t stand for long nails on no guy o’ mine. ---
**Author:** ![auntie\_em](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@auntie\_em](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/auntie_em)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-should-a-mans-fingernails-be/306817/40 "2005-06-06T13:32:05Z")
> [@Phnord Prephect](#): > > The pinky nail is for digging earwax out of your ears. > > What? Come on, you do it too! My dad kept his long pinky nail (and I quote) “to get boogers”. So really, it’s a multi-function tool. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-should-a-mans-fingernails-be/306817.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-should-a-mans-fingernails-be/306817.md?page=3)