Hammer thread

scrteened porch said:
This is the only one of these I've seen (the one without the claws). Maybe for electricians? It's handy in tight spaces.

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I actually made a hammer like that for use inside concrete forms. I just bought a cheap import 16oz. and cut the claw off. Cheap import steel is easy on hacksaw blades. I don't do that work anymore but I've still got the hammer around here somewhere.
 
Great responses.

I reached out to some of my contracting buds.
The consensus is that it could be a modified cross peen hammer.

It was suggested that it could've been used to shoe horses.
Horse shoe nails are pulled out with a with a curved plier.
There'd be no need for a claw in the striking instrument.

Just throwing thoughts out there for consideration.

:)
 
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AttilaTheHun said:
That's a pre-1840 clawless hammer piece of museum you got yourself here.
According to "A Natural History of the Screwdriver and the Screw" by Witold Rybczynski:

"Pulling nails exerts heavy pressure on the handle, which risks being pulled out of its socket, or eye. Medieval English claw hammers sometimes had two metal straps that reinforced the connection to the handle. An American was responsible for the modern form of the claw hammer. In 1840, a Connecticut blacksmith, inspired by the adze, added a tapered neck that extended down the hammer handle, resulting in the so-called adze-eye hammer, which survives to this day. "
I found this very interesting and hope other do, too.

Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/When_was_the_claw_hammer_invented#ixzz26rU4sztB
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I can buy that, but, why flare out the head in the back?
Why not just manufacture it straight up? It seems like an unnecessary step
(unless there are some engineering benefits to it that I don't know).
 
scrteened porch said:
Here are a couple more pictures, but then maybe we should each assume we're right until proven wrong to our own satisfaction. I don't think we're going to change each others' minds.

I think a rectangular eye like the Vaughan could not be ground into this shape, but a teardrop eye like the the big Chinese hammer could.

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Thanks for the pics. :)

Am I the only one who sees an arc in the back of the
clawless hammer and an indentation at the bottom?

Look like from that point up, the finish is different.

Also, the grain of the wood is a good indicator of the age of the hammer.
A much tighter grain would put it way past what used since mass production
began (not to mention, type of wood for the handle as well). It definitely looks
vintage without a doubt (my definition: early 1900's, maybe late 1800's).

webys%20003_zpsdba924de.jpg
 
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scrteened porch said:
Joints and tendons question:
For those of you who use a hammer enough to hurt yourself with the all-steel, do you have an opinion whether the problem is weight, or balance, or vibration, or shock, or something else?
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In my personal opinion, the overwhelming majority of people who use hammers to make a living don't know how to swing one.
Those who do are trained on how to use one. The angle of the strike, the position of your arm, your grip, where you hold the
hammer all come into play. Any hammer can cause damage to one's arm if not swung correctly (like any tool basically).

I personally have never hurt myself with a steel hammer. When we say a "2 1/2 lb steel roofer's hatchet", let's be clear:
that's not a head weight. That's a total weight (including the handle), so the head weight would actually be less than that.

From what I've come to understand, shock is the biggest enemy to a joint when using a hammer.
This is why Titanium hammers (for example) are far preferred and safer than wood handeled steel hammers.

All steel Estwings for example have a thick rubber handle. I've found them to be more comfortable than wood.
This could be pure placebo effect on my part, but it's always been okay for me. Then again, I'm a Roofer so my
experience might be different from a Framer or a Drywaller or a General Carpenter.

BUT! Even "with" a bad hammer, I know how to swing it so's to minimize shock to my arm.

Anybody (I don't care how good one is) can be hurt by any hammer. I'd say most injuries come from a slip up or
an accident of some sort where for one split second, that perfect symphony of swinging a hammer is lost and one
strikes his target of balance of at the wrong angle. I suffered a Lateral Epicondylitis incident (Carpenter's Elbow)
from a pure injury (had all my body weight + a roll of material hanging from a ladder with ice on it when I slipped...
a total of 325lbs being held up by my arm).
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
Isn't that more evidence of it actually being modified, then?
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My teardrop eye?
I had thought that all claw hammers were rectangular-eyed. Based on that, I thought a look at this eye proved it couldn't be modified, because you'd grind through the socket before achieving that narrow back ridge.

Then someone said it looked like a Hart, I googled Hart, I saw the teardrop eye and remembered the Chinese one in the bottom of my hammer chest.
I now think it could be done, which makes it likelier that it was done, but I'll never know for sure.

If it is a mod, the modder took great pains to remove everything he didn't want and smoothe out what was left. He must have taken great pride in his tools and he must have treasured this one. So either way it's a treasure. Not that any of us are going to get rich on used hammers.
 
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scrteened porch said:
My teardrop eye?
I had thought that all claw hammers were rectangular-eyed. Based on that, I thought a look at this eye proved it couldn't be modified, because you'd grind through the socket before achieving that narrow back ridge.

Then someone said it looked like a Hart, I googled Hart, I saw the teardrop eye and remembered the Chinese one in the bottom of my hammer chest.
I now think it could be done, which makes it likelier that it was done, but I'll never know for sure.

If it is a mod, the modder took great pains to remove everything he didn't want and smoothe out what was left. He must have taken great pride in his tools and he must have treasured this one. So either way it's a treasure. Not that any of us are going to get rich on used hammers.
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No I had meant the whole adze-eyed hammer history comment. Adze-eyed in the context of the quoted article was not in reference to the actual shape of the eye so much as the collar that extended the eye for increased wood-to-steel bonding. Such a collar is found on adzes.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
No I had meant the whole adze-eyed hammer history comment. Adze-eyed in the context of the quoted article was not in reference to the actual shape of the eye so much as the collar that extended the eye for increased wood-to-steel bonding. Such a collar is found on adzes.
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Gotcha. Still found on most claw hammers, too. Apparently before Mr. Maydole's contribution, claw-hammers looked more like this (from Eric Sloane's Museum of Early American Tools):

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I highly recommend the book, by the way.
 
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Eric Sloane is awesome. The first book of his I read was "A Reverence for Wood" when it was still out of print. Glad his works have been back in print for a while now--it would have been a shame for them to have been "lost."
 
scrteened porch said:
Agreed on the patina. I'm prepared to accept that it's probably an old and excellent user mod, especially since the only guy who says he's seen another made it himself. So unless I see one in an old catalog--

Tinsmith is a good guess. I just used it for the first time to drive a picture hook way up close to a cabinet-bottom, and it was good for that too.
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It would be very good for installing cabinets. I bet if you asked on a antique tool collecting forum you would learn more, maker ect.
 
scrteened porch said:
Joints and tendons question:
For those of you who use a hammer enough to hurt yourself with the all-steel, do you have an opinion whether the problem is weight, or balance, or vibration, or shock, or something else?
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Shock,vibration. Don't take my word for it though. When ever you get a chance just swing a wood and a metal handle of the same head weight side by side. The harder the object is that you hit the more pronounced the difference will be between the two. I will never own one. Hate rubber grip also.
 
You could always send a pic to the Davistown Museum and see what they think. They're quite knowledgeable about old tools.
 
Alrightee then...

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This thread got me to diggin' through my gear.
I used to have a collection of about 20
(until they were confiscated by a thief).

My favorite is the 14oz Stiletto.

Here's what I've come up with:

Hammers:
  1. Stiletto Musclehead 16oz Framing Hammer
  2. Stiletto Titan 14oz Framing Hammer
  3. Estwing 20oz Claw Hammer
  4. Estwing Shingling Hatchet
  5. Estwing Drilling Hammer
  6. Plumb 20oz Claw Hammer
  7. Rubber Mallet
Nail Pullers:
  1. Stortz Slate Ripper
  2. Estwing Roofer's Bar
  3. Stiletto Claw Bar
  4. Vaughn Cat's Paw


Untitled_zps04ac3078.jpg
 
SR69 said:
Titanium is a much lighter metal, yes, but transfers a lot less shock to the user.
I won't pretend to know the science behind it, but speaking from the experience
of actually using it for years, I can sink a 16D nail with less swings than a steel
hammer. It really is an amazing evolution of the hammer. It's lighter so one
develops more speed within the same swing, it's easier to control, easier to
focus the hit on the nail and again, the overwhelming majority of the blunt
force goes into the nail instead of back into the user's arm.

The drawbacks are that it's a softer metal so the milling (if you prefer milled faces)
wears faster, but it's not anything that any intelligent user can't re-mill with a file.
Plus, because of the extensive use of pneumatic nailers, one doesn't use it near as
much as one would if they were just hand-banging. There's a learning curve at first
(just as there is with any new tool), but once you get passed that, it's a dream.

If you use one, you won't know how you ever worked without one. While they average
at $100., you can occasionally find them on promotions. I paid $100. for my 1st one,
but my 2nd Stiletto I got on a promotion where I took my apprentice to a local tool
store (Western Tool) to surprise him with one for his birthday, and the clerk told me
about a promotion where I could get a 2nd hammer free with a trade-in. So, I went
to my truck, picked up a beater hammer (probably $5. brand new) and turned it in.
BOOM! I got both Stilettos for $100. Gave him one and kept the 14oz for me.

There was just a promotion where they had a package deal worth over $300. for
about $120. or so which included 2 Stilettos, their Stiletto Claw Bar (an 8 ounce
Cat's Paw that is incredible to use), 1 hand-wrap for a handle and a Stiletto branded
Framer's Tool Bag. So, if you come across one of those promotions, it's worth a look.
Or, even if you buy one at full price (I've seen them as low as $80.), you can easily
sell it if you don't like it and get back at least 2/3's of your money on it. Vaughn and
Dalluge also make really beautiful examples.

Of course I still love and use my Estwings, but The Stiletto is my go to tool now.
The Estwing is when I want something indestructible. Besides, any real craftsman
knows you can't have "too many" tools!

:D



[video=youtube;4i45jTqZuu8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4i45jTqZuu8[/video]

[video=youtube;YfDN4X9g6bQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfDN4X9g6bQ[/video]

[video=youtube;p1Vk2hMO0ME]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1Vk2hMO0ME[/video]
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They are a long ways from one hit to set the nail and one to sink it. Which is what you get with a 32oz California style framing hammer or a rigging axe. And you can move things with those heavy hammers. For instance nailing down a wall to the sub floor. If the bottom plate isn't all that straight a toe nail will move it. Not so much with a light hammer.
 
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