I'm surprised Mrs. Bear didn't have you mention the meat tenderizing hammer.

I have a 30 year old Estwing framing hammer that started out with a waffle face but soon became a smooth face. I've used it for everything you could use a hammer for.

Heck the one with the fiberglass handle is my favorite, but to be honest its my only hammer and i found it in the middle of the road. So it works and it was free.

For typical, hand held hammers, you only need to know 2 brands-Vaughn and Estwing.

You left out my favorite hammer, the Plumb fiberglass handle framing. These are awesome.

Trying to imagine a bear swinging a hammer with no thumbs lol 🤔

Nothing beats watching a bear talking about hammers at 2 in the morning.

This video is another one that falls in the GREAT VIDEO category. Well done Jeff !!! I appreciate your time and effort to help us all. Personally I like these because I LEARN something from every one of them. Thanks again for sharing your thoughts and videos Rodney

Hey bear you missed out on a great category of hammers for Auto Body which includes such greats as shrinking hammers, stretching hammers, pick hammers and one of the best named hammers of all times the slap hammer

As working on my own cars, I have all of those and use them frequently. I love me a good rubber mallet. Also, slide hammers to remove bushings and bearings.

i have one of those stiletto framing hammers. its literally the one i use for just about everything. love it.

That Estwing with the fiberglass handle is their weight forward hammer. I love them. The majority of the weight is in the front so you have less work to do and less blows to drive a nail. I have both the framing and smooth face and they are my go to.

As a heavy equipment mechanic my favorite hammers are my dead blows, my small 2lbs bash hammer or drilling hammer, my various sledgehammers, and the one I cant live without my 16 oz. Brass hammer

I bought a 2 oz estwing framer and a 16 or 18 ounce claw estwing when I started my business in 95 and they are still with me and still used daily. Wife bought me a new Milwaukee 22 oz ripper last year and I love it, but the Estwings still get used more. Also got a nice Estwing roofing tomahawk from a customer. I guess the roofers left it in her roses. I can't imagine using it as a daily . Also picked up the Estwing drywall hammer for obvious reasons and the miner's pick for busting slag off my welds. All my ball peen hammers are my grandfather's and I rarely use them because I don't really need to shape metal. My dead blow and no mar hammers are the HF types and they do just fine. Still waiting to get a nice copper hammer

This is a great vid Red! Surprised to say its actually one of my favorites, I have been eyeballing that Tekton Brass hammer for a while as well as a HF 2lbs Brass. Thanks again and Shine-On !

I was given that Estwing fiberglass hammer, supposedly shock resistant, but the face is a rectangle that will mark up your wood badly. I rounded off the corners to make it usable. Not mentioned about the notch in some roofing hammers is they are the shingle height spacer as well as nail puller.

I was anxiously waiting for you to describe the "carpal tunnel" hammer in the pic. It has a turning fork in the handle to lessen the vibration. My fav!

One of the first used tool box I bought came with a old school eastwing hammer and im on the wagon honestly unless it gets stolen or lost i don't think i might "need" anything else. But i can see me buying a hammer that priced about the same as a power tool.

Good rundown of different types of hammers. You covered a couple of kinds I didn’t know about. A while back (maybe the 1980s?), I remember hammers coming on the market that had handles bent at strange-looking angles. These were supposedly more ergonomic, so that you would miss the nail less often and also tire out your arm less. I think there were also shovels and hoes with bends in the handles. But I haven’t seen any of these “improved” handle styles, or heard about them, for quite a while. I guess they didn’t work out?

When I was painting bridges back in the 70's we used to use welding hammers. But we called them chipping hammers, because we used them to chip off the heavy layers of rusted metal in preparation to wire brushing the surface and priming it.

Over the years I've acquired a number of fancy and expensive hammers. I recently re-roofed my house by myself and was experiencing fatigue from a number of my fancy hammer. Then I pulled out an old hickory handle hammer that I inherited from my Dad, circa 1940's, which has the head angled forward about 6 degrees. The handle is literally stained and impregnated with Dad's sweat and blood. The rest of the roofing project was a breeze and a total pleasure to bang nails all day long.

....and my personal favorite....wait for it.... BFH!!! LOL!

I found an abandoned neglected Estwing hammer when I was a kid the leather handle rotted mostly away. I used it all the time and then it disappeared. (I suspect mom threw it away it looked bad.) About 3 years ago I found the modern version it looks beautiful and I am overjoyed to have it.

I've inherited a couple soft lead hammers that are great for pounding out dented steel car rims!

23:25 I've had one of those lineman's hammers for about 25 years. They used to make the fiberglass handle blue to match the head. You can get a lot of persuasion out of a 32oz head when needed but don't want to go full sledge and a drilling hammer isn't quite enough.

I did not know about the electrician's hammer but I see where the longer neck is a great idea. I have had so many times when I was needing to nail an electrical box to the stud and my regular hammer just could not reach inside the box far enough to seat the nail.

I bought my 24 oz. Vaughn framing hammer in 1974. Just now replacing the wooden handle for the first time. It still has some waffle left on the head.

Home depot had a carpenter hammer that was right handed and very comfortable to use. It was a steel headed with soft handled but couldn't be swung left handled . When used as framing hammer the twisted throat of the hammer made the hammer really drive nails quickly and straight but couldn't be used left-handly. It was really a good hammer.

An idea for another category of tools to survey: saw sets, saw vises, saw jointers, and sharpening files. Got to sharpen the saws!

I remember using a deadblow hammer for the first time and thinking it was like magic. Love my deadblows, best way to get a brake rotor off that's rust welded itself to the hub.

Wow.... I got about half of that list! But now that I think about it... I'd be happy with that rock for most chores.

My favorite is my vaughan stealth framing hammer it's a fully metal it's 17oz but total weight is 31oz but it claims to hit like a 32 and it's a hammer I will have all my life got a side nail puller straight claw and a 42mm head so you can't really miss it's literally the best hammer I have ever had do not cheap out on hammers it's a tool you are going to use probly everyday some people use hammer all day everyday so get a good 1 from a good brand and your set for years

Eastwing had really nice ballpeins . 2 and 4 oz. Ballpeins are great for delicate mechanical work and gunsmithing .

The Martinez hammer is the best thing to come into the carpentry trade. Being a person who has been around for a long time take it from me they make one great product!

I have one of those fiberglass body Hammers and it actually works very good for some heavy-duty demolishing and excessive use. Where the steel body Hammer you feel every vibration going up your arm this absorbs a lot of that vibration

A buddy of my dads has a 6lb sledge head on a 16in handle, he calls it Guido. you know its a bad day in the shop when you hear a 7'4" man called Tiny say bring me Guido for some "negotiations" on the project that we are working on.

It's Hammer Time Stiletto titanium with wood handle is my favorite. The Martinez..... Nice but Pricey.

@TheDenOfTools. The dead blow hammer is used a lot with landscaping installing patios& retaining walls so it's orange so it can be seen easily I figure.

So the bear's favorite Paul Newman movie must be Absence of Mallets.

You forgot a couple hammers. The Japanese framing hammer is pretty unique. The curve claw on the back is the same as the Japanese style nail pullers called cat claws or whatever. It also has a longer head similar to a electricians hammer. Also the adjustable wrench makes a great hammer as well.

Hammer was in by head before you even mentioned it to be perfectly honest... My first thought was "Stop, Hammer time!" Lol

My first Estwing was a roofing hammer/hatchet. I got really good at throwing it.

Bear agreed that Estwing design will always be a classic 👍🏽

I have used a welder's chipping hammer for knocking mortar off brick so the brick could be re-used.

The roofers hatched hammers are mostly for cedar shingles so they can split them down if they’re too wide. And another use for the dead blow hammer it has a backing block when you’re driving a nail into something freestanding like a fence rail or deck rail. You said the dead blow hammer on the backside and the nail on the other face and the dead blow stops the wood from vibrating or flexing so the nail will go in. Not so much a correction to what you said as an addition. So was someone likes to say “shine on.”

Covered all the hammers except Gallagher's Sledge O Matic

No Body Hammers that the Auto Body guys use?

The electrical hammer has an extended head on it to reach into the back of an electrical box. This is to set hammer style concrete anchors. This is often used when mounting lots of electrical boxes to concret as they are cheaper but thankfully most people have moved to using tapcons.

I still swing an Estwing everyday

Really liked this one, watched twice. I was looking at variations of “crescent wrench” there are grippable, clamping ones, ones for a breaker bar type extension, hammer/miner ones and some with other add-ons like a nail puller or close end wrench.

Here on the big island we had a construction company and they only used drywall/hatchet hammers. They were the fastest framers by a long shot. If something didn’t fit they would hack at it to make it fit.

Suggestion: Do one about different bars (crowbars)

A long time ago my son gave me for fathers day an Annihilator 18in. Wrecking Bar by Deadon. It's the best hand tool I have on my farm. Thanks Son.....

Hey bear you forgot spiking hammers that are used on railways

I've had my Estwing for more than 30 years and it's my favorite.

thought that hatchet hammer was for cedar shingles, not asphalt...

Gotta give you a big Thumb's Up for the "Hammer Primer. Thanks, Bear!

Excellent video! But as an ex-electrician I can say that the electrician's hammer is more likely to be used to strike over and behind an electrical box than in it. Electricians aren't afraid to hammer on things they can't see.

when i was young 16oz Stanley was the standard in my area , I remember if we saw an Estwing it was like it had the "angelic glow" lol everyone wanted an Estwing but they were hella expensive

The hammer I use the most is the driving hammer/hand sledge. Usual use it for driving chisels and persuading auto parts. Beyond this a 12 oz claw finishing hammer are the only two that I tend to use. Maybe a rubber mallet, bigger rip claw hammer, and a real sledge for demo. Most all framing I do is with screws or nail guns.

If it's not American made, isn't forged of tool steel , and doesn't have a hickory handle I won't touch it.

Happy to see you include the rock hammer. My daughter is getting one for her 7yo birthday.

i have 1 of those Estwing ergo hammers . takes time to get used to but they work great . and it will not come up missing . well it always seems to come back.

That Eastwing hammer that you mentioned looks like it not done baking lol looks awesome to me. Looks like a gazelle. If I need a framing hammer, that's the one I'm getting.

The first “roofing” hammer that looked broken is a slaters hammer. The single pick or spike instead of traditional claw on the back is for making a hole in the piece of slate for a nail to fasten to the roof. The slates usually have 2 nail holes at the top so if you need to place nails anywhere else you must make a new hole for nails.

The Estwing fiberglass hammer looks cool. But I am a designer. If I would need a new hammer I would look for that one. Just looked it up, it's the Estwing WF21, but it seem to be discontinued.

Estwing hammers, specifically the ones with the leather handle, for me, always have been, and will always be, the best balanced hammer in the world !

That space alien framing hammer at 8:20. You say it is made out of fiberglass? I remember fiberglass handles on hammers, you miss the nail and it ruins the handle and eventually the head would fly off. At least the space alien framing hammer has the fiberglass handle covered with metal where the missed nails would hit.

Those Stanley antivibe hammers are my go to all around hammer. Feel great in the hand.

Wow, humans have spent a lot of time thinking about how to swing are arms and apply force to something. Thanks for the overview!

If you don't want an orange dead blow hammer look to Wiha. Excellent dead blows with replaceable faces. I'm just sad that mind walked off seeing as they're a bit pricey.

What about automotive body-shaping hammers? There are quite a few types in that kit.

I enjoy The Bear and get a lot of info from you. I would like to see you do an in depth video on borescopes. I am a safe tech and use borescopes ( not bearscopes ) for safe opening. Thanks really enjoy your style. Howard

That first hammer. Can I move from the Pittsburg to the Dakota in that?!? And what sort of damage am I looking at? Where's it made? Any deals?

I have a thing for hammers! ~ I just counted how many are in my tool box ~ 23 + 1 large sledge

Honeydo lists gets done through a process known as evolution. Trillions of billions of millions of years later, anything is possible.

Merced... never thought I would hear the Central Valley mentioned. Fresno here, happy to see some representation!

And tons tons more hammers not listed and spoken about good video

Will be aluminum break down where it meets the hardened steel after heavy use? On the estwing aluminum hammer

i know of a hammer that never made it past prototype phase. a all metal dead blow and it was going to be made back when the robo grip pliers where a big thing and was going to be made in the same assembly plant as the robogrip pliers in cranberry PA. but the place went under before the hammers where produced. yes i know of this because i assembled the robogrip pliers back then lol

Using that Warhammer on a job or project would be sweet.

U forgot the Duct Hammer. Similar to the brick hammer but more square on all sides. U use the side of the Head to flatten the Pittsburg!

I was a stick framer before nail guns came on the scene in the late 1960’s. Stiletto and Stanley were the two big names for framing hammers with carpenters. A few guys used Estwings. There were no titanium hammers then. Or even into the 90’s when I moved away from stick frame construction. But in the 60’s to the 80’s, If you were a serious NAIL DRIVER, you had a custom built hammer made from a wood handled Plumb Rigging AX with a set of Stiletto or Stanley 20oz rip claws welded in place of the AX Blade. They were nose heavy and better balanced than a standard framing hammer and you could sink nails into Doug Fir with a set and strike all day long with out strain. When Hart and Craftsman began producing their line of rigging ax clones, most of us liked them and they became the hammers of choice. Especially the Ctraftsman with its lifetime warranty on the entire hammer. Break a handle.and SEARS would replace it. No questions asked. Wear down the waffle head. They would give you a new one. I still have the last one I got as a warranty replacement over 25 years ago. I use it whenever I do side work. (I was only in my mid teens when I started out) As far as Estwing hamners go, they were excellent nail drivers and demo hammers. The problem with them was the solid steel shaft. There were so unforgiving that when you drove 2000 to 3000 nails a day, the lack of vibration damping that a wood handled hammer provided would cause repetitive impact injuries on wrists and shoulders. I knew more than one good nail driver that blew out their shoulders after using Estwings for a couple of years. I tried one for a few months in the mid 70’s after my Plumb custom was stolen. I started having wrist problems and went to a 24oz Stanley until Sears came out with the Plumb style Framer and never had joint problems again. Nowadays, driving a 50lb keg of 16d sinkers with a hammer in a day is unheard of because nail guns and metal framing with screw guns has changed the industry, but in my day,, a good wood handled hammer was a deadly nail driving machine. Sorry for the long story but you hit a soft spot for this old Nail Driver.

Every time I see a photo of a ball peen hammer it reminds of a book I read back in the 70's. It was by an author named Lawrence Sanders and if my memory serves me correctly it was the 1st book in the deadly sins series. The murderer was extremely difficult to catch because he would casually walk up behind a stranger and just crack him or her in the skull with one of those hammers. He would just walk by, completely calm as the person fell, and people would think the person had just fainted, until they saw the blood oozing from the back of their head. It was a pretty terrifying book.

Welding hammer also knocks spatter off.

They are for cedar shingles.

We have names for our sledgehammers. Little Thumper, Thumper and Big Thumper

Im not sure if someone mentioned it already but what about auto body hammers that are used to shrink and curve metal as well as slide hammers to pull dents .. great channel .. big fan

Anther use for a welding hammer? Sure, I use mine for splitting up big chunks of lumpwood charcoal for the barbecue. I also have an old coal hammer which was used for a similar purpose, but it's a bit too big and heavy for the charcoal. But thank you, Red, for introducing me to many kinds of hammers I've never even heard of before, even though I have at least a dozen different types. I'm currently loving my Facom graphite shaft cross peins!

I worked at a Steam power Plant and we had a 20 lb Dead Blow Sledge we used for Turbine Assembly/disassembly ... I believe it was Snap On

Ah, the deadblow hammer. Also known as the "hammer to make sure a hard drive is REALLY bad without leaving marks on the case". (mine has "Drive Adjuster" scrawled in sharpie on the handle)

Rock hammers are great for digging into dirt with a lot of rocks, so you use it like a mini- pickaxe

I love the idea of the aluminum hammers but I've seen too many of the new estwings snap

Ready to be learned about hammers!

How about the differences of battery powered and pneumatic nail guns.

When I work in some parts of the five boroughs of New York I have a extra hammer that I use and it's not so much for work as it is a equalizer if you get my point

Excellent and very educational

I'm curious about why the welders hammer has such a strange looking handle.

ThanQ Red.

Dead blows are also used to remove rotors on vehicles and much more as well as baby sledges