Trusty Cook hammers shout out and Snap On comparison

First off let me say I've had every tool truck brand of hammers in the last 20 years. As well as estwing, proto, craftsman, etc. this will be a multi post "post" since you can only upload 7 pictures at once. I have to give a shout out to Richard at TC for putting up with my pain in the ***. I'm thoroughly impressed and haven't seen any comparisons on here, so this may be of help to new members or to ones on the fence that are tool snobs.

I Started out wrenching in the automotive world in my teens. I started out with Mac tools. Quality USA made tools at an affordable price. I had a set of Mac dead blows (black handle composocast). That eventually got hard, cracked and were not available for warranty after a year.

Years later I step into industrial work. I had moved into snap on hand tools but always bought cheaper hammers. A hammer is a hammer right? A meat head can swing a 20 dollar hammer as good as a 100 dollar hammer right?

Wrong. Industrial work brought out the need for larger bashers. A 5lb engineering mini sledge works great, if you have the space to get into it. It also takes a toll on you wrist and elbows.

Yes I bought a 100 plus dollar snap on hammer. I've been in love with it ever since.

Four months ago my service truck was broken into and every quality tool I had was stolen. Works insurance policy ***** to say the least. I've been on the hunt to replace my stuff ever since.

I've ordered a couple orders of trusty cook hammers. No only for me, but my guys at the shop. Here was the latest order, all blems except the flat face ball peen



I've been a green snap on junky since before green was "cool". Between me and my guys at the shop working with heavy diesel equipment repairs, we have quite the selection of hammers. I've had a 70 dollar Grainger estwing 45oz dead blow for 3-4 years. It still looks almost new. No chucks missing or cracks like all the other mac/proto/Stanley's I've had that dry out and split within a year. Once I found out Trusty cook made this hammer, as well as matco and cornwell , Armstrong, SK and many others, I was hooked.

Most of my hammers look new because they are. My service truck was raided a few months ago and it's taken time and cash to replace those tools. Some of these are from my home shop box. I take great pride in my tools and keeping them clean, almost to an OCD level.



Snap on 32oz for comparison. This has been my go to hammer for 3-4 years. I've broken two of these. they break at the fiberglass shaft where it meets the head. This is a fresh warranty replacement. (My dealer couldn't get me the 40oz I had, so I got a 32oz instead)

The handle is quite a bit larger on the snap on. It's also squishy soft where as the TC is more firm and smaller diameter. For my medium hands the TC is a better fit. For price reference. The 50oz ball peen is 66 bucks from TC. The 47oz flat face is 60 and the 43oz is 56 bucks. Snap on 32oz is 119...

50oz TC ball peen, 32oz Snap on, 47oz TC Flat face ball peen, and the new favorite the 43 oz stubby flat face ball peen. The TC 47oz has the same handle length and a lot smaller profile head. More bettah' for getting into tight space constraints. Likewise the 43oz stubby is 100% awesome. In fact. I'm ordering another one with the normal ball peen head the next time there is a sale.



Check out the head profiles. Again this is the snap on 32ox (large one) compared to the trusty cook 50oz BP, 47oz Flat, and 43oz flat stubby. The handle on the 50oz is longer. I wish they made the 50 with the 47 length handle.





Side profile on the next post.

Here's a comparison of a snap on 56oz dead blow and the Trusty Cook no4 53oz. I do a ton of work in the gas an oil industry and there can't be any sparks on a natural gas oil rig, or compressor station.

The no4 is 52 bucks. The snap on is 109. This doesn't include blemished models (3 for $60) or any awesome discounts TC has every few months. so this model 4 cost me a whole 20 bucks.....

Again the TC comes with with a smaller profile. Notice how chewed up the Snap on face is. The material is much softer on the snap on. this is only a couple months old. The TC is soft, but not squishy soft.








Feel free to add any more comparisons for those who don't know how awesome these hammers are for the money....I try to buy American when I can, and support local businesses, especially in tools. That isn't always the case, but this a case where everyone can. Even at full regular price, their awesome hammers are not much more than chinesium junk. I'm pretty sure I've thrown away a couple hundred dollars on no name, made in tykocko dead blows...

Here's the side profile of the 50oz TC ball peen compared to the 32oz snap on. Again same 50oz TC BP, snap on 32oz, 47 oz TC flat, and the 43oz TC flat stubby





tapered end of each:

Here is a no2 TC (26oz) compared to a snap on 24oz. Trusty Cook msrp is 27.00. Snap Ons msrp is 53.00. There's also an estwing 45 oz (TC model 3) for size reference. the green no 2 was a blemished one and cost me a whopping 13.50.

This is what the 50 oz TC FF looks like next to the Snap On 40 0z.

oh that blue is ****....

Yup, I have every hammer they make in blue. This picture was taken before the flat flats were out, also have the big stubby soft faced dead blow, I think they called it the mini-max. Looks like I need to order a couple new 50s in blue and green, I have that size in the flat flat, but not regular BP. Also looks like they may no longer make the 16s, I love those for my delicate jobs.

Having made my first purchase of TC hammers a few weeks ago and getting a couple chances to use them, as well as owning Snappy hammers for quite a while, I have noticed a few things as well.

First off, you can't go wrong with a Trusty Cook hammer. USA made tools by a company who is active on this board and treats us well. For what you get, the price:value ratio is probably the best out there. But they aren't perfect.

I'm a large fellow and have large hands. I find the TC hammer handles to be too small for my hands. I find the Snap Ons to be just right. This is solely a matter of personal preference. The Snappy handles have a certain "firm squishiness" to them that I like. My biggest gripe with the TC hammers is that I rarely wear gloves when working on cars, but last week I was R&Ring old school front tapered wheel bearings, so I had nitrile gloves on at the start of the job. The TC hammer was slightly slippery even when clean and with clean gloves and I had to grip it more firmly than I'd have liked to keep it in my hand. I have never had this problem with the Snap On.

Snap on makes a great hammer. In fact the only real negative I've found is the price, usually 2-3x more than TC for similar sized hammers.

TL;DR: Trusty-Cook and Snap On both make great hammers. For what I do and what I use them for, the Snap Ons have an edge--solely in the handle--but that edge comes at a high cost. I like them both.

Hammer ****. Good God guys. I'm impressed

Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk

Strouty said:

Yup, I have every hammer they make in blue. This picture was taken before the flat flats were out, also have the big stubby soft faced dead blow, I think they called it the mini-max. Looks like I need to order a couple new 50s in blue and green, I have that size in the flat flat, but not regular BP. Also looks like they may no longer make the 16s, I love those for my delicate jobs.

Click to expand...

what do you use or like more, the mini max or the model 7?

I thought I had issues....

Trusty Cook is the bomb. Ask HammersMadeInUSA about the Buddy Blaster 52

(See next post).

Trusty Cook is the best. My favorite at least.

See pic.

I love my TC hammers! I plan to purchase the Mini max and a the smallest sledge. I have all of the buddy blasters, they are my favorite! I have a mixture of the SO and TC BP and I prefer the smaller handle on the TC. Awesome write up OP.

Nice write-up, OP. I'm jealous of the blue collection, Strouty. I've got the TC bug too, clearly not as bad as some, though. Meeting up with a buddy tomorrow and taking him one of the extra TC blems I got last order to try out. I'm pretty sure he will end up making some purchases in the near future, too.

Is Trusty-Cook making green hammers again? I asked a few months back but they weren't at the time.

THey make green blue and orange ball peens regularly. The soft face dead blows are made to order for their their clients so you'll have to email or PM Richard to see if they are running a batch

Trusty-Cook hammers come with a 2 year warranty. Snap-on is lifetime. Since all of these plastic hammers fall apart eventually, that seems worth noting.

Tinner said:

Trusty-Cook hammers come with a 2 year warranty. Snap-on is lifetime. Since all of these plastic hammers fall apart eventually, that seems worth noting.

Click to expand...

that red estwig branded no5 is about 5 years old. its still soft. it hasn't exploded like my macs, snap ons or any of the chinese dead blows have. these wouldn't be rebranded to a lot of tool companies if they were junk.... I've been thoroughly impressed. impressed to the point of selling off most of my snap ons between my fab shop, home, work and service truck...

IDK what to make of this thread. I only have a few Trusty Cook hammers and they're great. I had a Snap-on ball peen dead blow from the 1980s that basically disintegrated. Brought it into a Snap-on dealer that I never met and he gave me a brand new one right there and then. I happen to think the new Snap-on is the best hammer I own. Still like the Trusty Cooks and looking to buy more. I'm sure a common problem with this crowd, LOL...

Snap-on handle vs Trusty-Cook handle; which is more comfy?

Wamsutta said:

Snap-on handle vs Trusty-Cook handle; which is more comfy?

Click to expand...

I like the SO handle,the TC's are more affordable though.But if you're looking for comfort only,it's the SO handle.
My .02

Like the posting. I’m getting some of those TCs

Does TC have their product range catalogue on their website or is available in a PDF? I like their hammers, one could easily he tempted to buy a few. I like the flat end on the big sledge style one allowing it to stand upright while your working, clever.

Kind Sirs, you simply have too many hammers.

-Good day

Wamsutta said:

Snap-on handle vs Trusty-Cook handle; which is more comfy?

Click to expand...

the snap on handles are squishy.. but they are large. I have mediumish hands and like the size of the TC handles better

ecotec said:

I think that the Trusty-Cook hammers are balanced better. I have a decent amount of each brand.

Click to expand...

this is a fair statement. i'd agree with it 100% except the 50oz ball peen trusty cook handle is about 2" too long.

I dont care for the newer Snap-on hammers they feel spongy and the heads can come off.

I've got several TC hammers, a couple from Matco, one Napa & a couple blem's. They have a better overall feel to them, IMO.

I'd like to see a non-dead blow ball peen from them myself.

OP when do the offer the blemish sale I would love to pick some up


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

bump