Simple hammer, for what purpose?

[Copymutt]

Just made a handle for one of these. I don’t have a clue what it’s shape is intended for.

 

[4xdog]

Tack hammer

 

[Copymutt]

Upholstery? How is the slit end used?

 

[Hawk]

Upholstery? How is the slit end used?

Holds the tack for the first strike, then hammer is turned around to drive it into the furniture.

 

[Copymutt]

Got it. Slot accepts wide range of tacks.
Thx.
Jim

 

[4xdog]

The slit end should be magnetic.

 

[Shiftless]

I have one of those that rings like a bell when I strike with it. Seems like the 2 prongs in back act like a tuning fork.
Is this normal?

 

[rlitman]

Got it. Slot accepts wide range of tacks.
Thx.
Jim

No.

The slit end should be magnetic.

Yes, this. The ends of the fork are a U magnet that sticks to the tack head.

I have one of those that rings like a bell when I strike with it. Seems like the 2 prongs in back act like a tuning fork.
Is this normal?

I can't say I've experienced this. But it's not meant to be a striking end. You use the magnet to pull a bunch of tacks from the box (because even though good upholstery tacks have been sterilized, you still don't want to root through them in a box). Then stick one tack on the magnet and strike just hard enough enough to embed the needle sharp tip. The other end is then used to sink the tack. At no time does the moving hammer impact into something with the magnetic end, and the magnetic end isn't used to hit all that hard.

Look closely at the tips of furniture tacks (the most illustrative picture I could find at the moment). The points are asymmetric, and have a needle like protrusion designed to easily be stuck into your target and stand straight up, ready to be driven home with the next blow.

 

[Catfishdan]

I’ve read that old school upholstery guys would hold a handful of tacks in their mouth and spit them one by one onto the magnetic end of the hammer, leaving the other hand free to hold the fabric. Hence the expression “he’s so mad he’s spitting tacks.”

 

[toolchaser]

Old school upholstery shop near me does the spit & swat technique , but only for decorative tacks. Mostly pneumatic staplers now.

 

[rlitman]

I’ve read that old school upholstery guys would hold a handful of tacks in their mouth and spit them one by one onto the magnetic end of the hammer, leaving the other hand free to hold the fabric. Hence the expression “he’s so mad he’s spitting tacks.”

Yes. And that's why good upholstery tacks came in boxes marked "sterilized". Because you'd frequently be piercing yourself. Anyway, I left that part out of my description just so I wouldn't give people ideas. But yeah, you fish through the box with the magnet and put that dangling wad of tacks in your mouth. Hands are free at all times.

Old school upholstery shop near me does the spit & swat technique , but only for decorative tacks. Mostly pneumatic staplers now.

Well, here's the thing. Good decorative tacks are brass and don't work with the magnetic hammer (I can't afford a brass magnet). Brass plated steel tacks are magnetic, but you still can't do the spit & swat with decorative tacks, because their placement needs to be too well aligned.

Anyway, yeah, pneumatic staples are more often used on webbing nowadays. Tacks are easier to remove for future repair, and that's still what I'd use on an heirloom piece.

 

[milwaukeephil]

I’ve read that old school upholstery guys would hold a handful of tacks in their mouth and spit them one by one onto the magnetic end of the hammer, leaving the other hand free to hold the fabric. Hence the expression “he’s so mad he’s spitting tacks.”

My father in law still does this. At one stage in life he used to have a wad of chewing tobacco in one cheek and tacks in the other!