Hammertime!

[kythri]

So, I picked up a small Estwing sledge/drilling hammer the other day, as I didn't have one, and needed it.

I was thinking about replacing a couple of the craptacular el-cheapo claw hammers that I've got, and I've got it narrowed down to two different brands.

Estwing is golden, and they make great stuff. That's brand number one.

Brand number two is the "new" Stanley Anti-Vibe stuffs. They feel good, they look cool...

Besides nation of origin, does anyone have anything to say to keep me away from the Stanley stuff?

[trackwelder]

Yep estwing or vaughn. I like the one piece design on estwing, along with the grip.

[wrenchr]

Estwing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[wrenchr]

I have a 16 oz claw that is killer!!!!!!!!!

[Merkava_4]

Besides nation of origin, does anyone have anything to say to keep me away from the Stanley stuff?

Someone lost their job when that hammer started being made in China; do you want that on your conscience?

[LoneGunman]

Merkava, wheres you cars, TVs, computers, cell phones, microwave, ETC ETC ETC made?

[Merkava_4]

Merkava, wheres you cars, TVs, computers, cell phones, microwave, ETC ETC ETC made?

They were made in China to begin with!!! No one lost there job making this computer.

[kythri]

Someone lost their job when that hammer started being made in China; do you want that on your conscience?

Was it a union employee?

It'd make a difference to my conscience.

[kythri]

They were made in China to begin with!!! No one lost there job making this computer.

How do you figure?

Zenith, RCA, Motorola and GE were all US-produced television set manufacturers.

Motorola is a US company, and the pioneer of cell phones. They were originally US-made.

A _LOT_ of personal computers were domestically produced, before being overseas-outsourced...

[hamburglar]

Merkava, wheres you cars, TVs, computers, cell phones, microwave, ETC ETC ETC made?

I always figured that TV's were a lost cause but then ran into this:

http://www.appliancemagazine.com/news.php?article=10861&zone=0&first=1

I wonder how that turned out.

[Merkava_4]

Some things need to be made here; every time you buy something made in China, you're helping to increase the trade deficit (which devalues the dollar) and you're also rewarding the white collar CEOs for firing all the workers and moving the plant to China.

Besides that, you still have a choice; there's still some hammers made in the USA!

[hamburglar]

Some things need to be made here; every time you buy something made in China, you're helping to increase the trade deficit (which devalues the dollar)

It's funny you say that, I was going to make exactly the same point but didn't feel up to it.

Another way to look at it is that those of us who are savers are subsidizing people who buy foreign goods (via inflation).

[kythri]

Some things need to be made here; every time you buy something made in China, you're helping to increase the trade deficit (which devalues the dollar) and you're also rewarding the white collar CEOs for firing all the workers and moving the plant to China.

Besides that, you still have a choice; there's still some hammers made in the USA!

Conversely, much of the US manufacturing is done by union labor, and money spent on goods produced by union labor rewards the greedy union management.

That's all besides the point, since I asked if there was anything negative about the hammers that didn't concern the point of origin.

I like the look and feel of the Anti-vibe stuff. It feels better in my hand than the Estwing stuff (which I know is quality).

Is there a valid reason the Estwing is "better" or more functional?

[eschoendorff]

Ohferpetessake! Don't turn this into another damn China vs the world thread!

I have a few of the Stanley hammers and they are just fine. Yes, I like my Snap On/Trusty Cook better, but they don't make a three pound drilling hammer last I checked. Nupla does... and I have one of those too. but the Stanley hammers are really pretty good and you should not be ashamed to beat the ever living shit out of anything with it! :beer:

[russlaferrera]

"If it feels good do it" circa 1960. You like the Stanley, you are going to use the hammer, you are going to pay for the hammer? Do you want to be politically correct? But both!

[trackwelder]

Conversely, much of the US manufacturing is done by union labor, and money spent on goods produced by union labor rewards the greedy union management.

That's all besides the point, since I asked if there was anything negative about the hammers that didn't concern the point of origin.

I like the look and feel of the Anti-vibe stuff. It feels better in my hand than the Estwing stuff (which I know is quality).

Is there a valid reason the Estwing is "better" or more functional?

Not as much as it benefits the union workers.

[kythri]

See, bringing up "union" horsecrap is going to just cause me to buy the Stanley stuff now, to spite the unions.

F' the damned unions. Once upon a time they were the solution to a very real problem. Today, they ARE the problem.

Anyhow, to summarize, nobody can come up with anything empirically negative about the Stanley stuff.

Thanks!

[CAT_serviceman927]

I have two Estwings rip hammers, they are great. My ballpeens, plastic-tip hammer, and engineers hammer are Vaughans. Between those two, you can't go wrong. Although, I do like the Stanley Fatmax framing hammer with the black handle. That thing just screams havoc.

[Coach James]

Some of the construction guys here use Stanley hammers and I've never heard them say anything bad about them. On the job sites here I see Stanley, Plumb, Craftsman, a few Vaughns since Sears started selling them without the C-man rebadge, Estwing, and Husky. I've even seen a couple guys using Master Craft or something like that from True Value.

And +1 on the Fat Max. Framers here love those things.
Coach

[CAT_serviceman927]

Seems kinda hard to screw up a normal claw hammer, regardless where it is made. Just get one that feels right in your hand.

[billymade]

The Vaughn hammers at Sears are made in USA.

[speed bump]

I'm pretty sure the Stanley hammers are Hencho en Mexico if I rememeber correctly from my last trip to HD.

Personally I love Vaughns for wood handled framers but I would also consider a one of the funny shaped Estwings. If I happened to be working in construction I would probably invest in a Ti framer but otherwise a Vaughn 24-32 oz california framer would be my weapon of choice when it comes to Claw hammers for everything except finish work.

[trackwelder]

Was it a union employee?

It'd make a difference to my conscience.

Remember you brought up the union issues. Unions are not to blame entirely what about the greedy ceos and other company brass that outsource production, make for the most part a less quality product, and charge the same price. You have a choice its your money support who you want. I will buy when ever I can USA made goods , UNION or not UNION.

[Merkava_4]

See, bringing up "union" horsecrap is going to just cause me to buy the Stanley stuff now, to spite the unions.

F' the damned unions. Once upon a time they were the solution to a very real problem. Today, they ARE the problem.


You seem to think every single factory in the USA in unionized. :confused:

[Vinko]

So, I picked up a small Estwing sledge/drilling hammer the other day, as I didn't have one, and needed it.

I was thinking about replacing a couple of the craptacular el-cheapo claw hammers that I've got, and I've got it narrowed down to two different brands.

Estwing is golden, and they make great stuff. That's brand number one.

Brand number two is the "new" Stanley Anti-Vibe stuffs. They feel good, they look cool...

Besides nation of origin, does anyone have anything to say to keep me away from the Stanley stuff?

Have several of these in the warehouse which we use for maintenance and to assist in opening and closing wooden crates. Great hammers.

Have a couple of Snap On dead blow hammers, but heard that some have had problems with Snap's (former?) maker of this hammer. Heard that SK makes a superlative dead blow hammer.

[Vinko]

Seems kinda hard to screw up a normal claw hammer, regardless where it is made. Just get one that feels right in your hand.


Have a Stanley claw hammer with a wooden handle. My grandfathers. Love it and don't loan it to anyone! Have a newer Craftsman claw hammer but don't care for the "balance" as much.

[nissan_crawler]

Seems kinda hard to screw up a normal claw hammer, regardless where it is made. Just get one that feels right in your hand.

I thought the same until I had a fiberglass handled 28 oz framing hammer break and had the head go flying by me, cutting my ear and burying itself inside the wall behind me.

After that, I'll be damned if I touch anything other than a one-piece hammer.

Estwing for the win.

I have a framing hammer, two claw hammers, 5 ball peens, and I'm soon to buy an engineer's hammer, all Estwing.

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f56/chevyman_57/toolbox/DSC00749.jpg

[JayL]

Those are real good looking ball peen hammers ..........

[kythri]

Didn't you get those for some ungodly price as bulk-purchase? You fiend.

[mickeyone]

We have 30 or 40 hammers in the shop.All the major ones are represented :Stanley,Plumb,Vaughn,SK, Estwing,Crafty.The body hammers are crafty and snap on,The engineers hammers are vaughn,Ball peens are SK,Crafty,Carpenter hammers Stanley plumb and estwing.My favorite is a 20 oz Hart framer,I dont know if they still make them but that is balanced perfectly and a joy to use hickory handle absorbs shock.For sheer fortitude and brute force the estwing is indestructibleMine is 25-30 yrs old All these brands have decent quality.Stanley may be chineese but those graphite handles are nice.Stanley still keeps a lot of jobs in US through massive distro network.They are proly made by robot anyway Buy what feels good

[Kevin54]

Estwing or Vaughn for a hammer.

Zenith, RCA, Motorola and GE were all US-produced television set manufacturers.

The last TV made in the U.S. was the Curtis Mathis if I remember correctly. And that has been how many decades past? I don't think there has been an American made set in 20 some years at least. Most went to Japan and now China.

[hamburglar]

I don't think there has been an American made set in 20 some years at least. .

Olevia.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/industry/4249332.html?page=3

...so for much for that concept:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-9985607-92.html

[nissan_crawler]

Didn't you get those for some ungodly price as bulk-purchase? You fiend.

Eh, I got an ok deal on them, nothing real interesting. I think it came to around $110 shipped.

Olevia.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/industry/4249332.html?page=3

...so for much for that concept:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-9985607-92.html

Well that sucks, I have an Olevia tv. Hopefully they can stay going. They had better customer service than the big companies. My tv pooped right out of warranty, they replaced it anyway. You can't beat a 32" lcd for $475.

[kythri]

The last TV made in the U.S. was the Curtis Mathis if I remember correctly. And that has been how many decades past? I don't think there has been an American made set in 20 some years at least. Most went to Japan and now China.

Be that as it may, that was in response to:

They were made in China to begin with!!!