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Favourite/Best Dead Blow Hammer

Morgo

Member
Joined
Feb 7, 2019
Messages
14
Location
Northern Saskatchewan
I need to upgrade my dead blow hammer to a set of hammers one these days and i was wandering what the forum thinks is some of the better options for dead blow hammers?
(I got a 2lb pwr fist, its ok also inexpensive, but i dont think it will carry the load for the long run)

P.S. whats a good torue screwdriver for $100?
 
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B_Bimmer

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Joined
May 7, 2015
Messages
1,871
Location
Eastern Iowa
I personally went with stanley compocast, have a couple trusty cook and my brother has snap on. They are all fine for a long time except the ones from harbor fright, went through about twenty of those in a year before realizing time is money.
 

L.Cheapo

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 23, 2014
Messages
5,953
I have Snap On and Trusty-Cook. The Snappys are more "refined", have nicer grips, and an easy lifetime warranty. The TCs are also nice hammers, and dollar for dollar a better value, but the grips are just rough textured and only warranted for 2 years, not for wear and tear. They often run promos here on GJ.
 

seanb02

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Joined
Apr 11, 2017
Messages
720
Location
The Farm
Trusty-Cook. High quality American company, can't go wrong. Lots of rebrands that they manufacture for, but you have the option to go straight to the source for quite reasonable prices.
 

JBH

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Joined
Jan 17, 2018
Messages
811
PB Swiss is best. They use washers instead of shot I think. That said, despite that I haven’t felt compelled to upgrade from Nupla. Starting from scratch PB Swiss it would be, though.
 

mr.lemons

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 24, 2017
Messages
2,191
Location
UK
Inside a PB Swiss hammer.

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Strouty

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Joined
Mar 21, 2010
Messages
38,218
Location
Southern Maine
I like trusty cook hammers, the Snap On hammers feel great, but the hammer heads are huge in comparison. I own a few of their hammers.

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Snap On

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You can kind of see the size difference, I ended up selling my Snap On hammers.

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matt_i

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 14, 2008
Messages
10,730
Location
SE Michigan
Wow Strouty, I thought I had a lot of hammers....but now I realize...I do not :D

I have the usual suspects, Lixie, Nupla, and Snap On.
 

Strouty

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 21, 2010
Messages
38,218
Location
Southern Maine
I love the flat flat hammers, the stubby hammers are awesome too.

I have a few red ones, but they screw up my pictures. ;)

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Strouty

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Joined
Mar 21, 2010
Messages
38,218
Location
Southern Maine
Trusty cook is offering 25% off by using code tax25 and if you spend $100 (after discount) you can get free shipping. The multi pack of four dead blows would be about $150 and that is a really good price.
 
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M

Morgo

Member
Joined
Feb 7, 2019
Messages
14
Location
Northern Saskatchewan
I will have to see how available Trusty cook is in Canada, I have never heard of them till now. The guys in my like the orange MAC ones, not the cheapest hammers on earth though.
I think Strouty could give us all each a hammer on the thread and he still would be happy with how many hammers he has, :fingersx:
 
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BroncoAZ

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Jun 23, 2018
Messages
2,669
Location
MA
I ordered a bunch of Trusty Cook hammers, all the dead blows #0-3 and flat flat ball pein (all except the 50oz) in red around Thanksgiving. Unfortunately I later purchased a couple of the flat flat in green and ended up keeping one for myself. Now I want green for my flat flat rather than red. It truly doesn’t matter, I just really like the green for some reason. I may just buy the three green ones I need. I’m sure I can sell off the red ones I duplicate.
 

BikeRider

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Joined
Jul 31, 2018
Messages
468
Location
Queens, NYC
Any recs for a "discount" dead blow hammer/set? I'll use them only occasionally and not for anything too heavy duty, e.g. pounding back panel dents, installing plastic fasteners, popping out CV axles from the hub, etc. Are the generic/rebranded ones by Neiko, Tekton, OEM or Capri any good? I'm looking mainly at a 1lb for all-around use, and if it's a set it would be either 1/2, 1 & 2, or 1, 2 & 3.

Btw are 1/2 lb dead blows of any real-world use, not just for auto but other applications?
 

Strouty

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Mar 21, 2010
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Location
Southern Maine
Discount is all relative. Do you mean cheap, do you have a budget? I think people have thrown some good deals around this thread, if you want a cheap hammer to use a few times a year, just buy one from HF.
 

Bigblockyeti

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Joined
Feb 1, 2018
Messages
2,550
Location
Upstate, SC
I've had HF and have Stanley compocast, the HF hammers I had all eventually fell apart from use and more than a little abuse. The compocast hammers have held up fine for me so far.
 

davethorik

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Joined
Sep 14, 2013
Messages
4,992
Location
Norka, Ohio
I've had good luck with Nupla and Lixie dead blow hammers (both made in USA).
Never tried Trusty Cook or Snap-on.
HF and Stanley...garbage.
 

Steve_P

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Joined
Sep 15, 2010
Messages
5,185
Hammers or mallets?

Wiha makes an awesome mallet with a welded metal structure, an excellent rubber grip, and replaceable faces. I'm not sure why they're not more popular here as they're way nicer than PB swiss - I bought some PB and returned them . I also have some TC mallets and like them but the grip size is too small unless you wear a medium or smaller glove. I had some TC dead blow hammers but sold them- they're just wasnt enough difference in rebound vs a regular hammer to put up with the small grip size. Sorry, I like TC but they need to size the grip for a man. I have a big Stanley compocast mallet that I believe TC makes and love it as it has a proper grip size for a male adult
 

plinker

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Joined
Feb 28, 2007
Messages
4,286
Location
Northern Wi
+1 for Trusty cook. I have several of their hammers, they are excellent working hammers.
FWIW, if you want a "lifetime" warranty Matco & Napa (and others) rebrand them, price is a bit more though.
 

ATC

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Joined
May 12, 2012
Messages
8,321
Location
VA
HF is good enough for me. I don't have the need to use one enough to justify the cost of the other brands.

Most of the time, I just use a 2x4 wood block and a 2lb or 4lb hammer anyways...
 

jumbojak

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Jun 21, 2016
Messages
1,374
Location
Surry, VA
Does anybody use Estwing deadblow hammers? I was eying one tonight at Home Depot. It seemed fairly nice.
 

mikegt4

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Joined
Sep 12, 2005
Messages
3,274
Location
sw ohio
I have been very happy with all my Trusty Cook hammers. The 43 oz Flat-Flat Dead Blow ( Model TC43BPF) "stubby" is my most used hammer by a wide margin.

Strouty, you need to seek help. You seem to have some sort of problem with hitting things.
 

Strouty

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Joined
Mar 21, 2010
Messages
38,218
Location
Southern Maine
I have not noticed any rebound issues with TC, but I will be honest, I had not thought a lot about it. I will completely agree about the grips, they need some work, Snap On has the best grips, NUPLA is second best in my opinion.

As for people that think I have an issue, well, maybe your man card should be revoked. ;)
 

BikeRider

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Joined
Jul 31, 2018
Messages
468
Location
Queens, NYC
Discount is all relative. Do you mean cheap, do you have a budget? I think people have thrown some good deals around this thread, if you want a cheap hammer to use a few times a year, just buy one from HF.

Yep, cheap. Budget? As in way over? Yeah. I'm willing to spend up to $20 or so, but even that's pushing it for my needs and budget. But, after I posted I checked out HF and they have a couple that look almost identical (but apparently the dull finish one is better) to go for around $6. That works for me. If it ends up getting more than 30-40 strikes a year I'd be surprised. I bet it can take several hundred for several years before is starts to come apart (assuming it's used and stored properly).
 

Prospecter

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Joined
May 16, 2015
Messages
2,436
Location
Maine
I've been very happy with my HF deadblows. The HF pass/fail thread seems to like them as well. While I have no doubt the more expensive recommendations are better quality, but how much quality do I need? For the price of HF, if I use it enough to wear it out, I can decide if I need to spend more for the replacement?

Doesn't work for everyone. Works pretty well for me.
 

BikeRider

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Jul 31, 2018
Messages
468
Location
Queens, NYC
That brings up another point, that using decent but lower-end tools makes you better appreciate higher-end tools, so that if and when you eventually upgrade to them, you know why they're better and why you need them (assuming you do). As opposed to starting out with the best and not appreciating why they're the best. It also gets you to focus on the job and not the tool.

I'll give a non-tool example. For years I rode a decent but lower-end steel frame road bike. It was a fine bike and I put thousands of miles on it, but it had limits, in terms of how fast I could ride it, its ability to buffer road shock, maneuver, etc.

When it reached its last legs, I upgraded to a titanium frame road bike with higher-end components. Built it up myself from parts I bought online (mostly Campy). Much more expensive of course. But well worth it, and by then I was more than able to understand why and how it was a superior bike, and take advantage of its capabilities. It was around 18.5lbs, whereas the steel bike was over 23lbs.

Where before I couldn't push my steel bike beyond 24mph on flat asphalt, now I was pushing 27, 28, 30mph. Plus it was far more pleasant to ride, titanium being famous not only for its lightness and strength but for its ability to absorb road shock well but without sacrificing road feel.

The rest of the bike performed much better too, shifting more smoothly, braking far better, wider range of gears, etc. Had this been my first bike, I'd never have been able to appreciate why it was a superior bike. Plus my steel bike enabled me to develop good bike handling skills.

I'm guessing that it's the same with tools. Start with cheaper but still decent ones to learn how to use them and develop the necessary skills and "feel". Then, if you can afford and need them, get better versions of these tools. You're now "ready" for them, and will better appreciate and "deserve" them.
 

Northerndave

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 1, 2019
Messages
84
Location
Northern MN
I love the flat flat hammers, the stubby hammers are awesome too.

I have a few red ones, but they screw up my pictures. ;)

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Do you do some metal shaping?
 

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pstemari

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Jan 7, 2012
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903
Location
Seattle
Does anybody use Estwing deadblow hammers? I was eying one tonight at Home Depot. It seemed fairly nice.
I have one. It's a different style—no fluorescent orange plastic—but it seems well-made and it works well.

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