Thread: Wooden handled hammers? Australia hates them...

Reminds me of the saying “if you can’t fix it with a hammer, it must be an electrical fault”

Many tradies - especially the younger ones - tend to snigger & sneer at my wooden handled tools. Nevertheless, my own personal strategy is justified thus: I'm a Carpal Tunnel sufferer. It's a painful, debilitating condition that is caused primarily by repetitive actions that is particularly exacerbated by impact. Plainly put, wooden handles tend to have innate spring & impact absorption characteristics that synthetic variants don't. My only exception to this self-imposed rule is a fiberglass handled blockbuster that's left out in the weather.

American hickory is a time proven solution that is available by mail order or internet sources both domestically (Oz) & via import. My favourite domestically sourced alternatives are Horizontal (Anelopetalum bigladulosum) & Tas Blue Gum (Eucalyptus globulus). Both offer the "holy trinity" of toughness, spring & resilience in spades, similar to the best hickory.

English Ash (Fraxinus excelsior), spotted gum (Corymbia maculata) & ironbark/silvertop ash (Eucalyptus sieberi) make lovely, usefully tough impact resistant chisel handle/mallet heads which require similar but slightly different characteristics to the others mentioned.

There's 2 caveats in my recommendation: firstly, any handle must be from well-seasoned timber so that it stays put & secondly it's best (as previously mentioned) that the handles' growth rings be perpendicular (i.e at right-angles) to the axis of impact/action of the tool.

Originally Posted by Lappa

Reminds me of the saying “if you can’t fix it with a hammer, it must be an electrical fault”

Bloke I used to work with told the story of water pouring out of a power point and the argument between the electrical and mechanical people about whos problem it was

Originally Posted by damian

Bloke I used to work with told the story of water pouring out of a power point and the argument between the electrical and mechanical people about whos problem it was

Nice one, Damien.

Years ago I was working as an accountant in a client's premises, an abboitoir, when a side of beef came off a hook half way along the processing line. The demarcation dispute then raged as to whether it was the province of the mechanical trades or the butchers. The half carcase sat on the floor while the argument continued until the meat inspectors condemned it, and the problem went away.

Cheers

Graeme

Hi

For my money, you can't beat the Estwing claw hammer. The balance and feel surpasses that of a wood handled hammer. Well worth the higher price!

On the subject of Estwing, how about a timber handled Estwing?

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Many moons ago my leather handled Estwing disintegrated. I was incensed, but of course I had not taken sufficient care of the tool. So I made up a timber handle from Spotted Gum. Was it successful? Not entirely. This is the second handle and it too is due for another attempt.

The handle not being solid tends to shatter and crack over time. Would I buy another Estwing. Probably not as I have the refurbished tool plus multiple timber handled hammers. Not only that, one day my carpenter son explained to me that I should join the real world and buy a nailing gun. I have a Hitachi DA nailer, which I think might have been the best addition to the modern world since sliced bread and the electric drill.

Regards
paul

There is no drama replacing the leather handle on an Estwing. A few discs of leather are easy cut from an old briefcase or saddle flap and you're up and running. Shape up on a grinding wheel, coat of neatsfoot oil and you're good to go.

This is my fave hammer.

Doughamm.jpg

It's a genuine Douglas Framing hammer with hickory handle.
Even though it's a framing hammer i use it for most situations where I need to use a woodworking hammer.
It's beautifully balanced, transmits minimal shock compared to other hammers, and it's just a pleasure to use
I got mine in the US ~14 years ago for ~US$70 but now they are double that see Genuine Douglas hammers but good quality lookalike starts at around US$75 on Amazon.
Replacement handles are available from US$20 to US$35.

Bob

That's a techno look with the timber handle as well. Interesting combination. What is the significance and function of the perforated hammer head?

Regards
Paul

Originally Posted by Bushmiller

Bob

That's a techno look with the timber handle as well. Interesting combination. What is the significance and function of the perforated hammer head?

Regards
Paul

Its not perforated - more like very lightly (~1/4mm?) inward facing dimpled supposed to help grip the nail head
Mine is a non-dimpled hammer.
I wanted to buy a couple of different weights and dimpled and non-dimpled tea hammers but I could justify this at the time.

Waffle faces make a big difference when framing. I'm a huge fan (Vaughan is my particular poison). I'm surprised they've never caught on in Oz. Despite the current ubiquity of Paslodes & Bostitch air hammers, a good quality lightweight long handled framer is still relevant to most building sites.

I personally hate Estwing hammers as they transfer too much vibration which inflames my damaged wrist tendons. If a hammer "rings" on impact, it's way too vibratory to be safely used. Yet they're not as bad as some others. Tubular steel cored handles (i.e. Stanley & others) are worst of all for me. Wooden handles by contrast absorb the most damaging vibes: I can use a 19oz 17" Vaughan California Framer or S2 (my personal favourite) all day without significant discomfort. A steel cored hammer, by contrast will leave me in nocturnal agony for several days afterwards. Douglas framers (strangely enough also produced by Vaughan) are highly regarded in the USA, but I've never personally made their acquaintance.

https://www.google.com.au/imgres?img...act=mrc&uact=8

Well, there you go. I had never seen or even heard of a waffle face hammer before today.

I have to get out more.

Regards
Paul

Shame you can't get them down under....

It's only been the last 3 or 4 years that GOOD wooden handle hammers have been making a comeback... 10 years ago, every "good" hammer in USA stores was steel or fiberglass handled... The wood handle hammers were the cheapies....

My favorite framing hammer of all time is my Eastwing wooden handle framing hammer... They got everything right! All the weight is in the head - not the handle.. Wood is correctly shaped for the hand... Doesn't ruin your wrist/hand with shock... And a properly forged Made in USA head...

Perhaps it's worth mail ordering...

Originally Posted by Bushmiller

Well, there you go. I had never seen or even heard of a waffle face hammer before today.

I have to get out more.

Regards
Paul

And if you do get out more ) you might find other such beautys as the "latthammer" the standard claw type hammer in central europe. They have a square "waffle" face, a magnetic nail holder and one side of their claw is extended into an enormous spike.

When I first saw them I knew I had to have one and bought a "traditional" Stanley Fatmax version (steel handle), but they come with all types of handles, all ranges of quality and all ranges of price, just like here.


Regards
SWK