The first hammer was probably a hand-held stone used to crush bone, nuts and hard roots for food.
Archeologists tell us that around 7,000 B.C., primitive tool makers lashed a branch to the stone head–this technique is known as hafting–and created the ancestor to our modern hammer.
Today there are more than three-dozen different types and styles of hammer. Each hammer is designed to handle a specific task. Every homeowner and do-it-yourselfer has at least one hammer. He generally assumes that it is perfectly adequate to handle all jobs. This, however, is not true. It can be impractical and even unsafe to use a hammer on a job it was not designed for.
The first (and sometimes the only) hammer that most do-it-yourselfers purchase is the familiar “claw hammer.” The most widely used claw hammer is the “curved claw” hammer. The tapered claws (technically called a split peen—the peen being the end opposite the head) form a tight arc to make nail-pulling easy. These hammers are available in 13-, 16- and 20-ounce weights and are ideal for general carpentry tasks. A 16-ounce hammer is best for most jobs. Choose the lighter hammer–13 ounces–for finishing carpentry.
Another type of claw hammer has straight claws (although, strictly speaking, the claws are not absolutely straight, but have a slight curve). Known as a “ripping hammer,” this hammer is designed to create more leverage and make it easy to pry up boards.
Ripping hammers are available in 20-ounce weights. But one, extra-heavy model comes in 28 ounces. Known as a “framing hammer,” this model’s extra weight makes it easier to drive long nails through construction lumber without causing arm fatigue.
While most claw hammers have a smooth face so the tool does not damage the work piece, some are also available with a checkerboard pattern on the face. This pattern reduces glancing blows and flying nails, but it is only suitable for rough carpentry.
Traditionally, claw hammers had handles made of hickory. These often loosened or split and had to be replaced. Today, however, hammers are available with all-steel construction (the head and handle are forged as one piece), and with steel or fiberglass handles that are permanently fitted to the head.
Claw hammers are ideal for carpentry, but they should not be used to strike chisels or punches or for general metal work. For these jobs, it’s best to use a “machinist’s hammer” (also called an “engineer’s hammer”). It has a hardened steel head that is not likely to splinter or chip if you strike a cold chisel. The most common type of machinist’s hammer is the familiar ball-peen hammer.
The ball-shaped peen was designed to fashion rivet heads. Other peen shapes, the cross peen and the straight peen, are also available; but the ball peen is still the most popular model for most metalworking jobs. Machinist’s hammers are available in a wide variety of weights, from 4 to 32 ounces; the do-it-yourselfer will probably find the the 16-ounce hammer is the most practical for general metal work.
In addition to hammers, there are mallets. Mallets differ from hammers because the head is made of softer material: wood, plastic, rubber or a soft metal like brass. The soft heads make it easy to tap the parts of an assembly into place (or knock it apart) without damaging the work surface. The wood and plastic mallets are good for woodworking projects, the brass hammer is useful for metalworking.
Wooden mallets should be used to install wooden dowel pins and to strike wood- or plastic-handled chisels. Most wood carvers use a mallet–made of an especially dense wood, lignum vitae–to drive the chisel. The “wood carver’s mallet” has an unusual configuration in that the head is mounted in-line to the handle and not perpendicular to it. This makes it easier for the carver to work from a variety of positions without having to change his grip on the tool.
Similar to a mallet is the “dead blow hammer.” These hammers are used primarily by sheet-metal workers and in auto shops for glass, muffler or transmission installation, and for wheel and tire service. The hammer looks like it’s molded from a solid piece of rubber. The head, however, is packed with metal shot. This prevents rebounding so the hammer remains in place on impact and will not damage the work.
Driving small brads or tacks can be difficult because these fasteners have short shanks and are difficult to hold. It’s easy, and painful, to strike your fingers when trying to hammer them in place. A “tack hammer” is designed to work with small fasteners. At first glance it looks like a small double-headed hammer, but the peen is magnetized and it has a narrow split. The magnetized surface will hold a tack, a brad can be wedged into the split, and the fastener can be started without holding it. The hammer is then rotated so the tack can be driven home with the non-magnetized head.
For heavy work, like breaking up masonry or driving masonry drills, it’s necessary to have a heavy-duty “drilling hammer.” These are essentially small sledge hammers. They are also called “club hammers” and “lump hammers.”
