A Great Hammer Needed!!

[mattw]

i'm trying to source a reliable hammer!!

i have been using cheap hammers up until now but i'm fed up with them packing in a few months down the line!

also i've not found one i'm really comfortable with just yet so i want to spend some money on one to see the difference.

its a core tool in my tool box and is used LOADS!!

please help! recommend me a great hammer!

cheers

 

[coshhassessor]

Lump, claw, ball pein, sledge, warrington, panel beating?

Go on, give us a clue

My Stanley ball peins seem pretty good, fwiw.

M

 

[mattw]

i'm a 'general' user. it needs to be good for most things, not really for panel beating or shaping though.

matt

 

[Hitachimad]

My Snap on fibreglass shaft bp is nice, but so to are the snap on panel hammers with polished heads and genuine hickory handles

 

[mattw]

My Snap on fibreglass shaft bp is nice, but so to are the snap on panel hammers with polished heads and genuine hickory handles

which do you prefer handle wise? the wooden or fibreglass?

i've heard bad things about the estwing leather handles, have you ever used one of these, because they look real nice!

matt

 

[Hitachimad]

Fibreglass, for metalwork anyway, you can beat hell out of something and you get hardly any shock through the handle. And when using punches etc the f/glass hammers dont bounce off as much, so you get a more positive hit.

 

[Thermo]

i have been using cheap hammers up until now but i'm fed up with them packing in a few months down the line!

What exactly are you doing to a hammer to ruin it in a few months. Ive got some cheapo hammers, some old ones of my fathers and a couple of more expensive ones. Some i use for different jobs because of the feel of them, but none of them have ever "packed up"

 

[mattw]

What exactly are you doing to a hammer to ruin it in a few months.

i'm mainly pulling nails when the hammer 'breaks'.

i don't wear them in to the ground though. when i say pack in i mean the head becomes loose and wobbles. i don't feel comfortable with this though with a hammer that isn't stable!

what are the most expensive ones that you have Thermo, and what features do they have that you like?

matt

 

[Thermo]

most expensive ive got is a stanley one that cost about 20. very comfy and fairly heavy. cant think of the name of it at the moment but iw ill let you know. if the head comes loose then use some wedges to resecure it

 

[mattw]

wedges? does that stay secure for a long?

£20 is fairly reasonable for a hammer isn't it!? let me know about the stanley hammer. what sort of features does it have that you're into? is it real comfortable?

matt

 

[coshhassessor]

Wedging has been the main accepted way of securing hammer heads for more or less as long as there have been hammers or wedges - meaning, no-one has come up with anything much better! Obviously, you need to check the wedges regularly, though.

I was taught not to pull nails with the claws on a claw hammer, but to use a nail bar - which led me to wonder what the claws *were* for Still, I'm about the world's worst carpenter, so what do I know?

M

 

[mattw]

i also heard that you shouldn't use a hammer to pull nails but instead use a nail bar.

but like you say what is the claw for? i want a hammer that will take this strain, i don't want to carry an extra tool back in my bag.

surely this is a reason to get a hammer with a steel shaft?

 

[Hitachimad]

Yes, a single forged hammer, head and handle all in one, like the Estwing ones. Pick up for around £25.
http://www.lawson-his.co.uk/scripts/products.php?cat=Claw Hammers Curved

 

[mattw]

great link cheers!!

there are loads of hammers on there! do you use the estwings? what exactly do you like about them?

matt

 

[andy]

I was taught not to pull nails with the claws on a claw hammer, but to use a nail bar - which led me to wonder what the claws *were* for Still, I'm about the world's worst carpenter, so what do I know?

M

i once used my old hammer to lift a floorboard. was in fairly tight. bent the hammer tryin to get it up...