I have three fingers on my right hand that are numb and I have no problem with either of these products ONCE you do it two or three times, they open up and are easy to squeeze together. The red-e-edge is heaven sent. It uses less space than pins and far less chance of throwing off my head timing if I accidentlally hit it. Pins are a disaster for the timing. I try not to use them anywhere and when I do I count them to make sure I have taken all of them out of my quilt. Like many of you, I almost threw them out the first time I used them. Now I cannot live without them.