Static damage to a chip may not result in an immediate failure. It may manifest as lessened performance, unreliability, or a shortened lifespan. I've seen this demonstrated in training videos for the electronics industry. (I think EEVblog has a static demo up on YouTube).
The semiconductor industry (i.e., the companies like Intel that made the parts on your circuit boards) spends many millions, if not billions, of $ a year on static-protective mitigations. They're pretty smart folks and also very cost-conscious. They would not be spending all this money if it were pure voodoo.
However, parts mounted on a circuit board are much more resilient than loose chips. I, too, use the "touching metal" method but am very careful about it.
The semiconductor industry (i.e., the companies like Intel that made the parts on your circuit boards) spends many millions, if not billions, of $ a year on static-protective mitigations. They're pretty smart folks and also very cost-conscious. They would not be spending all this money if it were pure voodoo.
However, parts mounted on a circuit board are much more resilient than loose chips. I, too, use the "touching metal" method but am very careful about it.