Hammering out a hammer
Has anyone bought a hammer recently? Did you research which one to buy?
I’m a good enough hammerer that I can consistently hit the nail – and hard. If I’m lucky I can drive a spike in 3 swings. But much of the time I must hit the nail off-center or something, and the nail bends. That’s annoying. This happens especially when I’m driving the nail at an angle.
My 3 hammers all suck. I blame the tool, not the man. Mine are traditional claw hammers, all between 16 and 24 ounces. One has a wooden handle, one a steel handle, and one fiberglass. I hate them all. I think the main problem is that these hammers have a smooth strike that’s rounded over quite a bit. So if I hit the nail off-center, it tends to slip and push the nail in the wrong direction. I’ve noticed that framing hammers tend to have a grid pattern on the strike that perhaps lends more “grip” when the nail is impacted.
I want a new hammer for framing. But I don’t know what I’ll like best: long, short, light, heavy, newfangled or old-fashioned. Any ideas on what’s good?
6 Comments
Aaron·September 14, 2005
Nick, guys post about hammers all the time over on Taunton’s Breaktime forum all the time. Some of them practically have a fetish!
They seem to frequently mention Estwings (the vintage ones via eBay, even), Douglas (but $$$), Vaughn, and Hart.
Maybe I’ll research hammers some this weekend as the topic for next week’s Tools-day… ;-)
kim·September 14, 2005
I have an Estwing. It’s very heavy, so it’s good for framing, but not much else. I’ll make a trip to the tool room for it only when faced with a particularly pesky task.
My favorite all-around hammer is the Stanley> Anti-Vibe. The cush handle _really_ makes a difference.
Overall, for framing, I’d recommend a (air) framing nailer. ;) Or maybe one of these> things. (It’s like pushing a nail through butter. )
kim·September 14, 2005
Ack! Sorry, didn’t realize html in comments was a no-no. You’ll figure it out… :)
Brad Bachelor·September 15, 2005
I’m one of those grumpy old men traditionalists and when a friend told me to try his estwing hammer, I reluctently tried it. It works!! Once I start missing I usually miss until I let out a yell the whole family can hear. Have’nt had to yell much with this wierd looking thing.
Here’s a link to what it looks like:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0002JT0GE/ref=gw_de_a_smp/103-2616856-8843049?v=glance&s=hi&n=507846&vi=pictures&img=14#more-pictures
Nick·September 15, 2005
Kim - I’ve got a DeWalt framing nailer, and I have used that quite a lot. It likes to jam though, and that’s worse than bending a nail. For the framing I’ve been doing recently though, swinging iron seems to be faster than setting up the compressor.
Brad - That Estwing looks sexy! I think I’m gonna have to try one of those!
bill·September 17, 2005
I really like the craftsman hammer I got. It has the thin neck for slicing through the air *i think thats what its for. Regardless I have really noticed a difference between that and the old wooden ones my dad has that I used. I used it a lot for demo too, so the one piece design was good assurance it would live up to the battering it takes. Well worth the 25 bucks I felt I overpaid for it at the time.