That's why I--and many others--kept an Estwing Blue Bomber on hand. Full length stand-up framer w/ripping claws, solid steel. Wouldn't want to drive nails with it all day, but great for demo work. The Hart framer was for driving nails.
The Estwing is still in my carpentry bucket at the shop, as there's no way anyone can damage it. Hart framers are retired to a place of honor on the wall.
Oh yeah...I'm well aware. I bought a Big Blue brand new and after using it on one build I was done with it. Way to much hammer for regular use. It did get used hard though and they are certainly tough. I ran Estwings for years starting out due to well-intentioned advice, but I eventually learned that wood was the way to go.
Here's an old picture of a few of the Estwings I carried. Big Blue is dead center. Most of these hammers have helped build at least one house back when they were my daily drivers. My favorite was probably the one with the hammertooth just to the right of Big Blue. I think it was a 24oz. That one got quite a few miles doing concrete form work too. The red one is the first generation Estwing released with a wood handle. I didn't really care much for the head geometry so after the original handle broke and I replaced it with the one pictured, switched to Vaughan and used them ever since.
I still have my original Hart Decker but never tried the Framer.
The roofing hammers eventually got replaced with wood handle AJC Mag-hatch.
My wrist and elbow have thanked me for moving on.
Estwings are durable but I have seen claws break off, heads chip, shafts bend and grips split.
This stouthearted Vaughan is what I currently use and has been with me for many years. I painted the head Chevy orange at one point in its life. One of the best framers ever made IMO:
I liked these so much I bought a new one, rehandled it with my choice of grain and color and mirror polished it with full intentions of making it too nice to use.
