Who's using HF dead blow hammers (not ball peen) ?

Wizzard · Mar 21, 2015

I'm debating between a SO and HF ~32oz soft faced dead blow. For the ball peen version I will eventually be buying the SO. But I have a HF just down the street from me and don't know if it is worth spending 5X more for the SO soft faced given that the HF also has a lifetime warranty. I am not so sure about the squared off handle on the HF dead blow. This will be mainly for automotive work.

Anyone have experiences with the HF, or both brands in the soft faced version?

Thanks

srmofo · Mar 21, 2015

They hold for a few years before the rubber falls apart. For the price of one SO you can get about 20 HF. The SO is without a doubt a nicer hammer though.

When the rubber comes apart you have to be careful that it doesn't busy open and send lead shot everywhere

panknuckshovel · Mar 21, 2015

This guy is.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=285042

bcradio · Mar 21, 2015

Mr. Nutcase loves them

Mastermind · Mar 21, 2015

I have a hf I picked up just to try, beat the **** out of it, finally blew the cap off on an axle, bought another rather than a snappy, then realized it had a warranty when I put it in place, dug the broken one outta the trash, no questions asked when I took it in. Still have a brand new one in the drawer. Two hf ones still a lot cheaper than snappy. I have several other snappy hammers, including 10 body hammers, but my dead blow and stubby 3lb are hf and I'm not complaining.

panknuckshovel · Mar 21, 2015

Just keep in mind that it is a hard, heavy material covered in plastic that you are bashing against hard, heavy material. All of them are going to self destruct at some point.

dnschmidt · Mar 21, 2015

The Harbor Freight are not as good as the Trusty Cook (which makes them for Snap On) but at 1/10th the price you will not go through 10 HF (you will not need to anyway as they will guarantee them) than 1 Trusty Cook.

I have the HF and the Trusty Cook. They have worked the same for me but I don't abuse tools no matter where they come from.

fury9 · Mar 21, 2015

I use one and it works for what I think it's intended for. Did not know about the warranty though!

kab00m · Mar 21, 2015

I use one. The hammer has held up over the past few years. It looks ugly now, but it still gets the job done.

Parrothead · Mar 21, 2015

I have the Harbor Freight dead blow and it's done everything I've asked of it. That said I only use it at home. Considering the price difference I'd just buy 2 HF's and call it a day. If I were in a professional environment that is. That way you always have a warranty replacement and faster than you'd get from Snap On.

RedneckWelder · Mar 21, 2015

I have the 4lb and 2.5 lb deadblows from HF. They are holding up so far.

lightning02 · Mar 21, 2015

i have 2 of them. dont remember the lbs. never gave me a problem so far. there a year and a half old

Palmer812 · Mar 21, 2015

I have 2 of them. I don't use them a lot but they have been great. I bought them because I didn't own any dead blows and they were on sale for about $5 each so I figured why not. For that price if I didn't like them no big loss.

Stooge · Mar 21, 2015

i think i have 2 or 3 of them in different larger sizes, i dont have much HF, but i do like these. Dont have to feel bad over messing up and gouging the faces. Id buy them again, although i dont know if i would bother warrantying one or just keep it for extra dirty jobs and buy another one.

JAKE-THE-TOOL-MAN · Mar 21, 2015

They aren't bad for the price but aren't the most comfortable in your hand either. Trusty crook hammers are still affordable and have a much better feel. They may have made hammers for snap on before but they no longer do.

stikman56 · Mar 21, 2015

panknuckshovel said:
Just keep in mind that it is a hard, heavy material covered in plastic that you are bashing against hard, heavy material. All of them are going to self destruct at some point.

Yeah, this is the truth. They work well, I have used one of mine a lot.

arz71 · Mar 21, 2015

panknuckshovel said:
This guy is.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=285042

Something about CHINA and a hammer just does not compute.

Lifetime warranty spend a lifetime replacing it, burning gas and wasting time.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Estwing-45-oz-Dead-Blow-Hammer-CCD45/202183856?N=5yc1vZc98g

Estwing 45oz Made in USA at homedepot for $29

Like the MAC Compo-cast as well.

lightning02 · Mar 21, 2015

this is like every other thing HF sell. if they sell 100,000 units compared to a diff compay that sells lets say 10,000 units in the same time period (whatever that may be) of course the brand that has more tools out being used will show more fails since there are more sold.

lets say there is a 10% failure rate on every brand. HF selling 100.000 units with 10% of them failing will have 10,000 units failing. now take the same 10% failure rate for the company that sold 10.000 units and they will have 1000 units failing.

so in the end your going to hear more fails on the company that sells more since they have more out being uses even tho they have the same failure rate of any other company. 10,000 people vs 1000 people

arz71 · Mar 21, 2015

lightning02 said:
this is like every other thing HF sell. if they sell 100,000 units compared to a diff compay that sells lets say 10,000 units in the same time period (whatever that may be) of course the brand that has more tools out being used will show more fails since there are more sold.

lets say there is a 10% failure rate on every brand. HF selling 100.000 units with 10% of them failing will have 10,000 units failing. now take the same 10% failure rate for the company that sold 10.000 units and they will have 1000 units failing.

so in the end your going to hear more fails on the company that sells more since they have more out being uses even tho they have the same failure rate of any other company. 10,000 people vs 1000 people

Comparing China trinkets to quality USA tools, I am not 'buying' that logic.

lightning02 · Mar 21, 2015

arz71 said:
Comparing China trinkets to quality USA tools, I am not 'buying' that logic.

im not comparing where there made in anyway what so ever.

you want to compare quality then you need to take the same amount of units from each company and use them in the same way and see what the failure rate is.

you cant take 100,000 from one company and 10,000 from anther and say the company with 100,000 in use had 10,000 fail and the company with 10,000 in use only 1000 failed. that doesnt say anything. its still the same %, you need to compare the same amount of tools from each company to say which has better "quality". just like when someone buys one tool from one brand and one tool from anther brand they compare them. one VS one.

the statment in my post above was comparing what you will "hear" most failing since there is a greater amount out being used. not about "quality"

Jeremy77 · Mar 21, 2015

While not SO, my local Home Depot carries a hickory handled, U.S. made Estwing DB mallet. I picked it up a while back for around 19 or 20$ I believe.

I really like Estwing framing hammers, the one with the tape on the handle is about 15 years old and has been subject to MUCH abuse and still going strong. Not used the mallet a lot yet but is got good heft and excellent balance.

Jeremy77 · Mar 21, 2015

the pic uploader strikes again. I'll figure it out one day.....the preview looked so nice.

Mohawk Dave · Mar 21, 2015

An HF one unknowingly leaked some shot into one of our $1200 king shock cylinders during assembly. Ruined shock body, piston, shims, etc.

Threw HF away and went SO.

arz71 · Mar 21, 2015

Mohawk Dave said:
An HF one unknowingly leaked some shot into one of our $1200 king shock cylinders during assembly. Ruined shock body, piston, shims, etc.

Threw HF away and went SO.

The high cost of a low price, hammers and China just don't sound good.

NC-Shaun · Mar 21, 2015

Mohawk Dave said:
An HF one unknowingly leaked some shot into one of our $1200 king shock cylinders during assembly. Ruined shock body, piston, shims, etc.

Threw HF away and went SO.

So a dead blow hammer that was blown out was being used on a $1200 King Shock??.......And, you didnt see that this hammer was failing or failed prior to assembling this $1200 shock? :lol_hitti

Me personally, I would have chosen a rubber mallet for that particular application, along with a clean and tidy work environment.

Twisted Sid · Mar 21, 2015

Mohawk Dave said:
An HF one unknowingly leaked some shot into one of our $1200 king shock cylinders during assembly. Ruined shock body, piston, shims, etc.

Threw HF away and went SO.

What were you hammering on to get back together? Ive put lots of shocks together (Fox, SAW, FOA), and never needed any type of beating for reassembly.

Strouty · Mar 21, 2015

dnschmidt said:
The Harbor Freight are not as good as the Trusty Cook (which makes them for Snap On) but at 1/10th the price you will not go through 10 HF (you will not need to anyway as they will guarantee them) than 1 Trusty Cook.

I have the HF and the Trusty Cook. They have worked the same for me but I don't abuse tools no matter where they come from.

They used to make them for Snap On, they are still a great hammer.

I have a large HF dead blow, it seemed to break off orange chunks every time I used it, so I stopped using it. If you need one for something that doesn't matter, I guess they are cheap enough. To be honest the Trusty Cook hammers are very reasonable, even the Snap On ones are not that bad.

nicksmurf111 · Mar 21, 2015

My harbor freight dead blow lasted a few years. I busted it wacking too hard on break drums and rotors. I'm a home user.

rockinacummins · Mar 21, 2015

I've got one. Had a Kobalt for a couple weeks and it shattered. Got the HF and beat the hell out of it and it's fine. I thing I have the 2lb. Gonna get the big one one day

1950mercury · Mar 21, 2015

dnschmidt said:
The Harbor Freight are not as good as the Trusty Cook (which makes them for Snap On) but at 1/10th the price you will not go through 10 HF (you will not need to anyway as they will guarantee them) than 1 Trusty Cook.

I have the HF and the Trusty Cook. They have worked the same for me but I don't abuse tools no matter where they come from.

Trusty cook does not make snap ons dead blows exept the huge slegs

I just warrantied a hf dead blow the ones they sell today are not as nice as the ones they sold a couple of years ago.

I have a snap on 16 oz and its a much better hammer bit for the money you can't beat hf

NC-Shaun · Mar 21, 2015

Twisted Sid said:
What were you hammering on to get back together? Ive put lots of shocks together (Fox, SAW, FOA), and never needed any type of beating for reassembly.

BioNerd · Mar 21, 2015

I use a 1lb as mallet for chizels. I dont abuse it at all so I gues it will be around forever but damn that think stinks, smells nasty.

trainman1385 · Mar 21, 2015

I just used mine to chisel out recesses in my workbench for my new bench dogs

Weldor · Mar 21, 2015

Just hit that busted up HF with a couple coats of flex seal. Done. Saved yourself $100.

justme- · Mar 21, 2015

Unless you want a metal face DB hammer, HF or Estwing are the ones to go with. Trusty cook and Snappy are great if you use a peen type hammer enough, or believe in the dead blow ergonomics theory, but you pay for it. They all fail and wear out eventually. 2 other techs in my place warrantied out one each from the snappy guy this summer. I have a HF 2lb - works fine so far. Chose it because it was under $8, and it's a self destruct tool.
pick what works best for you no matter what advise you're given.

Mohawk Dave · Mar 22, 2015

NC-Shaun said:
So a dead blow hammer that was blown out was being used on a $1200 King Shock??.......And, you didnt see that this hammer was failing or failed prior to assembling this $1200 shock?

Me personally, I would have chosen a rubber mallet for that particular application, along with a clean and tidy work environment.

Twisted Sid said:
What were you hammering on to get back together? Ive put lots of shocks together (Fox, SAW, FOA), and never needed any type of beating for reassembly.

We were doing the R&D for SAW at the time actually. My mistake. Now we're with King.

Yea, NC, we saw the hammer was failing and continued to use it...NO! Of course not, it frikin leaked through slits in the rubber. Never had an accident happen before?

We weren't beating the shock. Just getting parts set. Shocks in question were on this truck. Not exactly a bunch of newbs to it.

2014 Champions to boot.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/w3dEbOC3G_M" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uSbOlqM9pZM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Adam.C · Mar 22, 2015

Wizzard said:
I'm debating between a SO and HF ~32oz soft faced dead blow. For the ball peen version I will eventually be buying the SO. But I have a HF just down the street from me and don't know if it is worth spending 5X more for the SO soft faced given that the HF also has a lifetime warranty. I am not so sure about the squared off handle on the HF dead blow. This will be mainly for automotive work.

Anyone have experiences with the HF, or both brands in the soft faced version?

Thanks

I have Stanley compocast (read old trusty cook) and Snap On. The Snap On handles are way nicer and the plastic is different, harder, not as rubbery. Easy to clean and feels like good quality. The shot also feels different. The snap on feels crisper. Maybe the pellets are smaller? If I have both in the same drawer, I would always reach for the Snap On. The handle is that much nicer.

Ed ke6bnl · Mar 22, 2015

I have the HF one it is ok BUT my main go to is my home make lead hammers they are killer.

Wizzard · Mar 22, 2015

Thanks for all the input guys...feel free to add more if you have it. I will probably buy mid-week.

JoeFin · Mar 22, 2015

I used to use these Happy Fart "Soft Face Mallets"

I used them to make sure a work piece is fully seated into chuck jaws or vise jaws - flat, square, plumb - what ever. If it isn't when I check it - I'll give it a whack to see if it will fall in place before I try some thing else even more time consuming.

Like I said "USED" to use them ...

I must say "Happy Fart Quality" is dependable. The plastic end of the hammer self-destructed in very short order. Maybe a dozen or so whacks - surely less then 2 dozen.

I'm not hitting it on sharp edges and mostly soft alloys like 6061 and definitely not laying into it like the home run king. You got to remember these work pieces are sitting on a mill table or lathe chuck - I just need to persuade it +/_ .005 or so

But they were gone and in the trash can in relatively short order

I better quit telling the truth - I'll end up being accused of being a "Happy Fart Hater" - which I am - I make no bones about it

If you want to fill your garage full of tools just to look at - then fine Happy Fart is the right place for you

IF you intend to actually use them - not so much

Who's using HF dead blow hammers (not ball peen) ?

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