Over the years, I couldn't count the number of people that have corrected me when I pronounce it correctly as estwing, they reply with, "you mean eastwing"? The majority of these guys have been in residential construction industry. Surely it's not meant to be pronounced as eAstwing, is it?
Estwing, are they moving production?
- Thread starter Renegade1LI
- Start date
Opposite of what I saw when I worked in the trades.
LB-1911
ALLIANCE MEMBER
No.
Estwing hammer Pronunciation
How to say estwing hammer in English? Pronunciation of estwing hammer with 2 audio pronunciations, 1 meaning and more for estwing hammer.
www.howtopronounce.com
Ton ton
Well-known member
When I was 13 years old helping a construction crew build our turkey houses. I was using an old Estwing steel shank hammer and the one guy kinda got into me for not using a Vaughan fiberglass framing hammer. I have yet to forget this experience. I also like to go to the lumberyard showroom in Broadway,VA and I don't remember seeing a single steel shanked claw hammer of any brand. They seemed to be fairly well stocked with hand tools. It wasn't like they were sold out of hammers. Just wanted to share my experience in the hammer world.
Bubba Fett
Well-known member
Estwings are great for demo work, and they will last longer than you will. But wood handle hammers will absorb shock better.
OP
Renegade1LI
Well-known member
After watching that video how could you buy a hammer made of chinessium!
Ton ton
Well-known member
You need both, LOL.To me $37 for a hammer is too close to $400 for a cordless nail gun that I'll buy the nail gun.
davidiarmid
New member
- Joined
- Dec 9, 2022
- Messages
- 1
Estwing quality stood still or declined while the vaughn fiberglass built the world we live in.
Jeff C
Well-known member
About 15 years ago I won a free estwing sure strike ripping hammer. Wasn’t sure I would like it but that has turned into the hammer I grab for all the random projects that come up around the house. It’s a great all around general use tool.
Ton ton
Well-known member
Yes please!
redwrench60
Well-known member
Got somma dem too.
OP
Renegade1LI
Well-known member
The wood handle hatchet definitely has that old school cool to it.Got somma dem too.
redwrench60
Well-known member
I put a new handle in that one a couple years back. Believe it or not that things actually a pretty good nail smasher. I grab it when I’m feeling like Conan The Barbarian.
KnurledNut
Well-known member
Burnt a few calories with these:
(The woody is a 1st-gen Estwing cali-framer that I rehandled.)
(The woody is a 1st-gen Estwing cali-framer that I rehandled.)
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OP
Renegade1LI
Well-known member
VCG Construction's livestream tonight appeared to confirm that Home Depot is eliminating Estwing from its product offerings to "differentiate" itself from the "other big box retailer." I use a 16 oz. Estwing hammer that has been used daily since the 1950s. Apart from the darkened grip, the hammer shows no appreciable wear. I buy new Estwing products regularly. Home Depot has deteriorated in quality for a while. This is one more reason to avoid that store and it's lousy products.
Yes, but the point is when? There might be a flaw in some of the forgings, but some of these hammers will last a century (or more)...
The other problem with these garbage chinesium hammers is their lack of balance making them awkward to use.
dutchgray
Well-known member
My retired carpenter uncle only ever had two Estwing hammers, the first was stolen in the 70's the other lasted until he retired about 5 years ago, well he still does some work with his son. That was one with the blue nylon grips that fades out to a green colour, shrinks back a bit and polishes up with use.
The leather handles are less durable, its quite common that one of riveted over prongs that hold the handle together will break off and then it falls apart.
The latest I have seen at the merchants they have dropped the full polish and all the steel is painted blue on the common E20C that everyone has here.
The leather handles are less durable, its quite common that one of riveted over prongs that hold the handle together will break off and then it falls apart.
The latest I have seen at the merchants they have dropped the full polish and all the steel is painted blue on the common E20C that everyone has here.
dutchgray
Well-known member
A local merchant had these made as a special order a few years ago, I bought a couple of them.
Yes we have had a little snow this morning in the UK and I hate it.
Yes we have had a little snow this morning in the UK and I hate it.
Ton ton
Well-known member
scooby074
Well-known member
Well that *****. For rough work there is nothing like an Estwing. My Douglas would be shreaded if I abused it like the half dozen estwings I have, even some going back to the 70's that were my Grandfathers. Estwing was and still is the dominant hammer used by carpenters around here.
I said it above, the shift to "Everything Milwaukee" continues. Its going to be a pretty dull place if this keeps up.
Jeff C
Well-known member
Five years ago I started going to Home Depot over Lowes for two main reasons. First they had the shopping cart that looks like a race car that my son loved. Second they had name brand tools like Estwing and Klein among others. Well… my son no longer rides in the racecar shopping cart and the name brand tools have started disappearing.
kngelv
Well-known member
The only way to stop Milwaukee and DeWalt from taking over every tool category at big box stores is by refusing to buy that stuff. I have both Milwaukee and Dewalt power tools and will continue to purchase them if needed. I may also pick up branded accessories for those tools on rare occasions. I do not nor will I ever have any screwdriver, wrench, socket, ratchet, plier, hammer, measuring device etc. of any of those brands. I know I posted a rant about this in another thread somewhere but I am not going down this path with my money and any person who appreciates having multiple tool companies will follow.
James
James
I likewise have tools from both Milwaukee and DeWalt. Although they have been around for a while, the transition to lithium ion tools really came into full swing right before the pandemic. Quality has noticeably dropped on the DeWalt line. The tools break easily as they are not glass reinforced, saw tables often aren't square to the blade, etc. While I prefer to use a corded tool for convenience, I still have a NIB worm drive Skil put away along with other quality corded tools just in case. Original Skils are nearly 100 years old, many are stil in use and will be in use in 2122...
I think the platforms are reaching that market maturity point where they don't have to be "great" tools anymore and we'll be seeing more cuts to the cost. Home Depot's offerings are marginally better than Harbor Freight (Not knocking HF, but contractor-grade equipment should be a cut above).
When Milwaukee and DeWalt hand tools started filling the stores during the pandemic, I thought it was just a gimmick because the stuff looked like power tool-branded HF, except a lot of it was even worse quality. Cheap tools aren't cheap in a work environment if they have to be replaced frequently. SBD and TTI want to make piles of cheap **** to inflate their profit margins, end of story. They don't want to make good tools.
Didn't Milwaukee just build a plant in the States to make hand tools?
So much for buying American.
PugetDude
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Milwaukee and Dewalt et al are in the tool business to make money, not friends. If you want a warm fuzzy relationship with your tool supplier, buy off the red truck at 5-10X the price. What's that relationship worth?
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Quite a bit when it comes to precision measuring tools or other tools that you need to rely on day after day, year after year.
Didn’f Tool Review Zone expose that claim as fake?Didn't Milwaukee just build a plant in the States to make hand tools?
So much for buying American.
If HD and Lowes don't offer high quality products, then there is room for other stores to do so. There's an Ace Hardware near my my parents' house that is smaller than HD but always seems to have what is needed and sells decent quality stuff. Maybe Amazon will sell more high-end tools. Maybe smaller retailers like HJE.
I'm not sure that Big Red and Big Yellow are making worse stuff. It seems that everyone raves about their recent tool purchases from those companies. Those Fastback utility knives are probably the leaders for their field (I like the black aluminum Husky knives becuase they are cheaper and seem more durable, but they do require two hands to close). Those Packout tool bins also seem popular.
Husky "pro-grade" tool bags and tool totes are only surpassed by super high-end products like VETO that cost 3x the money. I'm not in the trades but did a couple summers with a general contractor, back before the Great Recession, and didn't notice any tool bag/totes that compared with what HD now carries. I remember when 600 denier fabric was the gold standard (10 years ago or more). Now HD sells 600D as their consumer grade and 1,680D is considered good enough for professional use. Seems like contractors got an upgrade over the past 10 years.
Are we sure that on average, HD tool/product quality is decreasing?
I'm not sure that Big Red and Big Yellow are making worse stuff. It seems that everyone raves about their recent tool purchases from those companies. Those Fastback utility knives are probably the leaders for their field (I like the black aluminum Husky knives becuase they are cheaper and seem more durable, but they do require two hands to close). Those Packout tool bins also seem popular.
Husky "pro-grade" tool bags and tool totes are only surpassed by super high-end products like VETO that cost 3x the money. I'm not in the trades but did a couple summers with a general contractor, back before the Great Recession, and didn't notice any tool bag/totes that compared with what HD now carries. I remember when 600 denier fabric was the gold standard (10 years ago or more). Now HD sells 600D as their consumer grade and 1,680D is considered good enough for professional use. Seems like contractors got an upgrade over the past 10 years.
Are we sure that on average, HD tool/product quality is decreasing?
reader2580
Well-known member
I wonder if HD is simply trying to reduce the number of vendors they have to deal with? They can fill a good chunk of their tool area with just SBD and TTI/Milwaukee. Estwing makes only one type of tool and the other two make/sell tools in just about every category. Imported tools often have better margins for the retailer even if the retail price is lower.
scooby074
Well-known member
PugetDude
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Back in the day, people didn't buy Estwing hammers, because they were high quality. They bought them because they needed a hammer and Estwing was probably one of two brands, the local Mom and Pop hardware store carried.
Today, many people go to Home depot to buy a hammer, (now days one affordably priced), so they just pick one out of maybe a dozen brands. If it last 2 years or 200, probably not not the top of their thought process, just like in the good old days.
It's just a different world today. Estwing has a place in it, just not like before.
Today, many people go to Home depot to buy a hammer, (now days one affordably priced), so they just pick one out of maybe a dozen brands. If it last 2 years or 200, probably not not the top of their thought process, just like in the good old days.
It's just a different world today. Estwing has a place in it, just not like before.
OP
Renegade1LI
Well-known member
Well it looks like lowes will continue to carry estwing, for now.
dutchgray
Well-known member
About the only country left in the western world where specialist one type of hand tool makers seem to thrive is Germany.
America is all about brand power and huge corporations.
The UK has barely any tool making industry left, we import pretty much everything because its cheaper and industry that built our nation was dirty and old fashioned and sales and financial industry was the future and where we would make the most money so the manufacturing industries got gutted.
An Estwing hammer has been around £30 in the UK for about the last 40 years, if you allow for inflation they have only gotten cheaper, last couple years excluded as inflation has finally caught up to reality, and prices of everything has gone up.
Farmall450
Well-known member
Now that's cool! Red/white/blue next?A local merchant had these made as a special order a few years ago, I bought a couple of them.
Yes we have had a little snow this morning in the UK and I hate it.
Dave455
Well-known member
I LOVE a bit of Estwing…!
Now, I know they’re not perfect. They will be hard on the arm if you’re timber framing all day, but where I am we don’t have timber frame houses, and in all honesty who would use anything but a nail gun for that anyway?
I love the ruggedness of the steel shank. Not just when striking, but I can carry an Estwing anywhere without worrying about damaging a wooden handle. The ball pein shown lives in my road box for that reason.
I love the variety that Estwing offer. It seems that they go out of their way to offer all manner of special tools, and even local patterns. The hammer on the right below, is an “English” pattern (look at the shape of the head) and is utterly superb. By far the nicest balanced steel shafted hammer I own.
I totally love this! Thanks dutchgray - tracked down and ordered!
The only time I think Estwing struggle is with the smaller hammers. I have a 12oz in my property maintenance box for driving small pins etc. It’s durable enough to carry about, but a traditional “Warrington” pattern is a much nicer tool for the task.
Of course, as this is Garage Journal, I have to admit a liking for Vaughan too. In fact my most used hammer is a 20 oz Vaughan Steel Eagle. I‘ve used it for nailing, nail pulling, demolition, the lot, and although it’s seen a lot of service it still looks great with a wipe down.
If I was richer, I’d probably get up and ask myself which Porsche, Aston Martin, Rolls etc I wanted to use that day. I can’t afford that level of choice, but I can have the choice of Estwing or Vaughan. Same privilege, different scale…!
Now, I know they’re not perfect. They will be hard on the arm if you’re timber framing all day, but where I am we don’t have timber frame houses, and in all honesty who would use anything but a nail gun for that anyway?
I love the ruggedness of the steel shank. Not just when striking, but I can carry an Estwing anywhere without worrying about damaging a wooden handle. The ball pein shown lives in my road box for that reason.
I love the variety that Estwing offer. It seems that they go out of their way to offer all manner of special tools, and even local patterns. The hammer on the right below, is an “English” pattern (look at the shape of the head) and is utterly superb. By far the nicest balanced steel shafted hammer I own.
I totally love this! Thanks dutchgray - tracked down and ordered!
The only time I think Estwing struggle is with the smaller hammers. I have a 12oz in my property maintenance box for driving small pins etc. It’s durable enough to carry about, but a traditional “Warrington” pattern is a much nicer tool for the task.
Of course, as this is Garage Journal, I have to admit a liking for Vaughan too. In fact my most used hammer is a 20 oz Vaughan Steel Eagle. I‘ve used it for nailing, nail pulling, demolition, the lot, and although it’s seen a lot of service it still looks great with a wipe down.
If I was richer, I’d probably get up and ask myself which Porsche, Aston Martin, Rolls etc I wanted to use that day. I can’t afford that level of choice, but I can have the choice of Estwing or Vaughan. Same privilege, different scale…!