Excuse my inexperience...proper forum for advice on a warhammer?

E

Elbows

Joined
Apr 18, 2010
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2
Hi all,

Been collecting some "emergency" equipment as I've got the budget to do so right now. However, with a change of job imminent, my desire to purchase an American Kami McHammer (ie. modern warhammer) is becoming more and more unrealistic.

Looking for a warhammer style item for strapping to one of my emergency bail out bags. I have a Stanley Fubar for bigger, more serious things, but would like a good hammer for quick work, something which I could stow on a belt. So, are there any alternatives to the sexy McHammer from AK? Or can someone show me some good hatchets with a hammer end on them. I'm looking for a blade/hammer combination.

Thanks in advance - I know this may not be the proper forum to ask about such an item. Any advice would be appreciated. I could stretch my budget for a McHammer, but I'd be more comfortable in the $150-300 range. Few of the "tactical" hatchets I've seen have a hammer option.

Cheers guys.

PS: I know very little about knife talk, so edge and material "lingo" may well go over my head. ;)
 
"Brand names" in a BOB never really made sense to me I'd never spend over 200 on something unless it was a gun or something that quality mattered with.... Go out and buy up some CS stuff cheap and good quality.
 
Just buy a normal steel shaft HW store framing hammer. It will be just as effective, more comfortable, much cheaper, and will not draw any attention.

n2s
 
not2sharp said:
Just buy a normal steel shaft HW store framing hammer. It will be just as effective, more comfortable, much cheaper, and will not draw any attention.

n2s
Click to expand...

Pretty much what I was thinking. A geologist's hammer with the spike length shortened might work to:
EST322P_l.jpg
 
RoyalM said:
Pretty much what I was thinking. A geologist's hammer with the spike length shortened might work to:
EST322P_l.jpg
Click to expand...

beat me to it. or a brick masons hammer by Estwing would be handy too. the thin edge could be shoved in a crack around door to help get access.
 
I had definitely considered doing precisely that - thought I wanted the additional utility of a blade on one side. Just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing any available models. Its a nearly impossible Google search. Thanks.
 
I am geologist I have had the same estwing geologist pick since I was 10 or 11 years old and I am now 52. That says alot for that hammer.
 
If you want to keep cost down, make what you want. For example, take a hammer and adjust it into the style you are looking for. If something happens to it you are not out a lot of money. I took a large claw hammer, shaped into a hawk like blade, bent the claws a little. It will hold up to a lot of abuse, as well as defend you in a pinch.

I also have a truckman's axe that is very good if you want a store item.
 
The CS warhammer could work well for you. However, I think for a BOB I would much rather have something that was a bit more PC and available at Home Depot or Lowes.

Will draw far less attention and still serve you very well. I have the CS warhammer and really like it, but unless the zombies are at my door I don't see me using it.

Sometimes it's good to buy a used item at the local pawn shop. Shows wear and stands out a lot less than the new one.
 
I'd buy a small cross-peen hammer. I did something similar, then removed the haft and replaced it with a nice looking--but substantial--walking stick.
 
I'll bite, what on Earth are you thinking? And I mean that in a very serious way.

The McHammer looks like a "Mall-Ninja" weapon. I've never owned their products, so I'm not knocking the quality... but it honestly does not look like an effective "hammer" in any way shape or form. It looks like (and really honestly and truly probably is) a very blunt and expensive Tomahawk. If you want a weapon, and this strikes your fancy then go for it. But how practical is it for a BOB?

The face is thinner than my smallest hammer, and probably significantly lighter (16 oz, 1.25 OD face). The mass doesn't look concentrated as well as a real hammer, and I imagine that fact combined with head weight means you would have to swing really hard (or swing a lot more) to get the same job done. And I would imagine with less accuracy due to the thin face. All of this is assuming use as a real hammer at any rate.

My thought, and this is just an assumption, is that the BOB bag is an excuse to buy a really cool toy.

But realisitcally how easy will it be to fix or replace? How easy will it be to maintain? Do you have the tools/skills to sharpen it? Will the screws stay tight? Or will they loosen? Do you have extras? Do you have the training to fight with it if you have to? Will it make you a bigger target for theft? I could go on...

A 16 oz hammer is cheap, easy to maintain, and there are probably literally millions of them, and once you know how to use one you pretty much know how to use them all. The most common problem with the wood handled ones is handle shrinkage, and that can be fixed by soaking in water. I'd wager the head will hit just as hard and the spikes will be just as deadly if ever necessary. (They're also probably going to last longer without chipping or bending.)

I don't know you, or any of your answers to the questions I posed; but it just doesn't seem to make sense. If you have sound reasoning I'd like to hear it. It's entirely possible that I'm missing something, and if so, I'd like to know.

Oh, and I recommend not buying any impact tool that uses a steel tube for a handle. I've used 3, and bent three. Wood handles are my preference. I've broken a few, but they're easier to replace in my opinion.
 
RoyalM said:
Pretty much what I was thinking. A geologist's hammer with the spike length shortened might work to:
EST322P_l.jpg
Click to expand...

Leave the spike--it could come in handy! Another advantage with the Estwing is that you can get a leather belt sheath for it.
 
Dude...just get the CS Warhammer...that's what im looking into :D

Who cares about obscurity when it is TEOTWAWKI???!? Not me...bring on the THUNDERDOME!
 
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