The purpose of this study was to describe and quantify measured hand forces during floor to knuckle lifting of various loads. Hand forces of five subjects were measured with a strain gauge apparatus for normal and fast speeds of lifting at 1, 4, and 8 l/min. The pattern of hand force over time exhibited peaks in force in the shape of a spike for all fast lifts, indicating that subjects did not lift smoothly. For normal speed of lift, only one of the five subjects executed some lifts smoothly, indicating that it may be possible to lift smoothly, but most lifters probably do not. Peaks of horizontal and vertical components of hand force were tabulated by speed of lift, frequency, and load.