Stiletto Ti Hammer?

I have been framing houses (tract housing) for way too long now, but my opinion is pretty unbiased and straight foward. I have used just about every different type of framing hammer imaginable. I first started out with a standard 22 ounce wood handle hammer that the foreman gave me on my first day on the job at 16 years old. This thing was so freaking old and beat up, that I was afraid the head was going to fly off the roof and kill someone. The thing lasted a few months until I decided to buy my own new one. I purchased another wood handle with the axe bend in it. The bent handle was nice, but I ended up going back to the straight handle hammer. For the past year or so, I have been using what I consider to be the best framing hammer for a bigger arm like myself, and it is a 24 oz straight handle stanley with a fiberglass handle. Nothing compares to the feel and comfort you get from the rubber grip and fiberglass. The rubber on it is some kind of special rubber it said on the tag (kraton or something rather). Going around from crew to crew like I have for the past 3 years, I have used so many different brands and types of hammers. I used one that looked like a ducks head (sucked), a bunch that were one piece steel construction (hurts), two different titanium including the stiletto (weak). You name it, and i've tried it. I have always thought that if you feel the need to use a hammer that costs more than 50 bucks, then you shouldnt be in the line of work that requires a framing hammer.

The biggest drawback about the titanium hammers (to me at least) is the fact that it takes 1-2 more strikes to set a nail compared to a steel head. Anything that takes more than 2-3 strikes to set a nail, will throw off the rythym. Setting a nail with only two hits is great. Not so much for the novelty of it, but more for the speed and flow of work. Titanium hammers are great for the novelty and to show off to other guys, but its all a bunch of crap to me. If steel hammers hurt your arm or wear you out, then I suggest going to college to be the guy that tells people where and how to swing their hammers (steel and titanium alike)

peace.
 
russtang said:
Even if one didn't believe that titanium was more efficient at transfering energy, or absorbing shock or recoil, you cant argue about the weight savings.
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One more time: you can make a steel hammer head any weight you want. There is no need to go to titanium to make a hammer head lighter.
 
Cougar Allen said:
One more time: you can make a steel hammer head any weight you want. There is no need to go to titanium to make a hammer head lighter.
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That is another reason why the titanium concept makes no sense to me. Replaceable strike plates is something I like though. The waffle heads on all my old hammers go to crap after a few weeks anyways. They are nice for a while, but after a few weeks you have to "deal" with it I guess.


EDIT>>>>>>>

I originally replied to this discussion right after reading the first post, after replying, I went back and read through the few pages of talk......

wow. Is it just me, or is there a little too much disccusion going on about who makes a better.........HAMMER. It's stuff like this that makes me wish the internet was never invented. Now I have a couple of web pages opened up to different titanium hammer makers and trying my best not to convince myself I should get one just to see if I should give the titanium another go..... Hmmmmm.....I do love titanium, I do not "love" hammers, but I suppose me having a nice hammer is alot like some office workers getting themselves a nice cordless computer mouse, or custom pen you know?
 
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i ain't no hammer scientist. you set a nail before you strike it to sink it. being lighter, the nail tends to "bounce" with the plywood. you really got to concentrate to prevent this from happening. also, try sinking a 16d spike with a 14 oz. hammer!:eek:

mostly the younger carpenters buy and use these shiny new tools. they think it will help them be better nailers. all i can say is practice makes you better. so someone who practices will be a better nailer (in theory).

i've been a production framer for 20 years. i teach rough framing at hcc. when someone shows me their fancy tools i just say "cool". will it help them take my jobs anytime soon? NOT!

if a $130 hammer makes you feel good, by all means, more power to you. like i said in a previous post, most framers i know all use what they want. and ones skills with that tool will determine your productivity.

the real test is 20 years from now, will lycosa still be a carpenter? and if so, will he still be using a stilleto? by that time i will be retired!:D
 
Cougar Allen said:
I am convinced there can't be 30% of the energy going to waste when you use a steel hammer -- if that were true it would be obvious and very easy to prove objectively.
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Let me amplify that: a triphammer is a very simple machine. Most of them are built for heavy use but it would be easy to build one to test carpenter-size hammers. You could even build it to test two hammers at once, side by side. Set it to work with two hammers, identical except that the head of one is steel and the other titanium -- if there is a 30% difference in the effectiveness the difference will be easy to measure. Do a demonstration like ginsu knives, only without the slight of hand, and every professional carpenter who sees the enormous difference in performance will buy your titanium hammer and you will get rich quick. Go for it.

If you don't know how to build a triphammer head on over to Shop Talk and they'll explain it to you.

Of course the kind of difference woodsrover and some others are talking about is much more subtle. Enough difference to notice over a whole day of work -- that might be 1/2 of 1 percent.
 
i liken all this to "a $800 busse combat knife will NOT make me rambo":D

do i still buy that $800 knife? HELL YEAH!.:eek:
 
1kimo4u- i hear what you're saying about the nail tending to bounce when setting a nail into sheathing.

jk904jk- i believe the "ducks head hammer" you are referring to is a japanese framing hammer. again not something i'd likely switch to, but i like trying out new tools.
 
The Amish carpenters around here love the titanium hammers. Here's what they tell me; "If we could afford them, we'd have them!"
1kimo4U---Yup! I like your Busse analogy. High-Sign.
Here's where I'm at---I'm selling my Sebenza and keeping my Stiletto!
 
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