PugetDude
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Saw this on a jobsite today. 
My world is shattered…
- Thread starter PugetDude
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littlelebowski
Well-known member
Unpossible!
Shiftless
Well-known member
Maybe someone used it like a crowbar or ?????
I suppose it would break like that if a guy clamped the handle in a big vise and then took a full swing at the head with a 10 pound sledge hammer
I suppose it would break like that if a guy clamped the handle in a big vise and then took a full swing at the head with a 10 pound sledge hammer
That looks like the Estwing hammertooth hammer, which has a shark fin style protrusion from the shank, so the hammer can be used for tweaking twisted lumber. If you try and tweak a piece of bowed lumber instead, by locking the hammer in place and then pushing too forcefully sideways on the handle, the hammer shank can break at the weak point. It doesn't help that the handle has raised lettering along the shank which causes uneven stresses to form due to the steel shank not flexing smoothly and evenly along its' length. The Estwing lettering basically acts as serious reinforcement for the shank wherever it's present, which transfers more stress to the parts that are a more normal shank thickness, especially if a mallet or dead blow hammer is used during the persuasion process.
It also could have just been accidentally run over by a truck on the jobsite. I've seen that happen before with a thinner more common Estwing steel shanked handle. The one I saw didn't break, but it was permanently bent.
In my opinion that Estwing hammer is a bit of a gimmick model to begin with. Most of the Estwing models with raised lettering on the shanks are. They seem to be more the result of an attempt to grab new market share by appealing to average joes and/or armchair survivalists instead of tradesmen or professionals. Tools like the tomahawk, the double bit axe, the large knife, etc. all have the raised Estwing lettering on the shank. The hammertooth seems like a neat feature, but the shark fin itself often creates a catch point for the user every time the hammer needs to be pulled out of a tool belt hammer loop. That's the main reason why I see it as more of a gimmick tool. It also isn't designed for enjoyable daily use by a framer etc. The shank is a lot heavier than a normal Estwing shank so the balance and weight distribution is worse than most other hammers.
For persuading lumber when framing, I prefer a dedicated tool like this one.
The one I personally use is a US made Hart Tool Co. "US Tweaker" that I can't seem to find available online anymore. The one I linked to is a Taiwan made Mayhew which looks visually identical. It's the style I prefer for tweaking lumber, because the handle is in a straight alignment with the grabbing fork instead of at a right angle to it. That gets your hand out of the way of adjacent floor joists, other wall studs, etc when trying to quickly tweak a piece of lumber. The secondary contact surface is also much larger in surface area so the tool damages the lumber less while using it. If I ever do need to tweak twisted lumber with the handle at a 90 degree angle to the grabbing forks I use a Stanley FUBAR (Functional Utility Bar) tool I picked up at a garage sale.
It also could have just been accidentally run over by a truck on the jobsite. I've seen that happen before with a thinner more common Estwing steel shanked handle. The one I saw didn't break, but it was permanently bent.
In my opinion that Estwing hammer is a bit of a gimmick model to begin with. Most of the Estwing models with raised lettering on the shanks are. They seem to be more the result of an attempt to grab new market share by appealing to average joes and/or armchair survivalists instead of tradesmen or professionals. Tools like the tomahawk, the double bit axe, the large knife, etc. all have the raised Estwing lettering on the shank. The hammertooth seems like a neat feature, but the shark fin itself often creates a catch point for the user every time the hammer needs to be pulled out of a tool belt hammer loop. That's the main reason why I see it as more of a gimmick tool. It also isn't designed for enjoyable daily use by a framer etc. The shank is a lot heavier than a normal Estwing shank so the balance and weight distribution is worse than most other hammers.
For persuading lumber when framing, I prefer a dedicated tool like this one.
The one I personally use is a US made Hart Tool Co. "US Tweaker" that I can't seem to find available online anymore. The one I linked to is a Taiwan made Mayhew which looks visually identical. It's the style I prefer for tweaking lumber, because the handle is in a straight alignment with the grabbing fork instead of at a right angle to it. That gets your hand out of the way of adjacent floor joists, other wall studs, etc when trying to quickly tweak a piece of lumber. The secondary contact surface is also much larger in surface area so the tool damages the lumber less while using it. If I ever do need to tweak twisted lumber with the handle at a 90 degree angle to the grabbing forks I use a Stanley FUBAR (Functional Utility Bar) tool I picked up at a garage sale.
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Meursault74
Well-known member
Scotsman1886
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2013
- Messages
- 74
I had one get an internal fracture, making it sing.
Been using Vaughn ever since. HAHAHAH
Been using Vaughn ever since. HAHAHAH
How did you know it was an internal fracture causing the resonation/ringing? Did it just start one day? I ask because I think that might be a heat treatment dynamic with some Estwing hammers. It can basically turn their hammers into a tuning fork depending on the hammer's shape and the exact metal hardness it has. My Estwing welding/chipping hammer (purchased brand new) was that way. If I hit anything steel with the tip (like when chipping slag), the hammer would hurt my ears with the high pitched ringing. If I let it, the ringing would continue for 20 seconds or so after each hit. I figured it had to be a fluke, so I bought a second one and it did it too. I looked on Amazon and there were a couple reviews that mentioned the annoying ringing, so I realized it was likely a design/metal hardness issue. I sold both my Estwings off and bought Atlas Tomahawk WH-20 and WH-30 (also US made) chipping hammers instead. I have been using them ever since without issue. I ended up happier overall even without the Estwing's ringing factored in, because the Tomahawks have wood handles and I prefer regular wedged wood handles on my hammers whenever possible.
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redwrench60
Well-known member
Some of those Estwing Ultra series have a nail puller in the side of the head. If the nail is jammed in deep and tight, and the user is the perfect combination of strong and dumb you could probably force one to break.
Saw this on a jobsite today.
Someone should play Taps.
My brother-in-law's Estwing framing hammer would hurt my ears when he hit anything.
slowtwitch73
Well-known member
Whats Tools4me said. Gimmick design.
Diffident
Well-known member
I've bent an Estwing...never broken one. The head bent backwards. I continued to use it until I lost it.
Bubba Fett
Well-known member
I suppose there is a first time for everything.
FuzzyTiger
Well-known member
I would hope so. For curiosity's sake I looked up their warranty and despite their solid reputation, their warranty terms don't seem the best.
Warranty - Estwing
Warranty INFORMATION For more than a century, Estwing has been making some of the world’s most durable tools. But if there is ever an issue with your Estwing product, we provide the following warranties. General Product Warranty Titanium Hammer Warranty Farrier Hammer Warranty ESTWING GENERAL...
www.estwing.com
I get that that a blanket 'anything goes' policy can be expensive for the company but if their competitors (most of whom don't have nearly the reputation) can offer it, why can't Estwing?
dutchgray
Well-known member
Those are not as good as their standard steel handle hammers, weight has been taken out to lighten the hammer and side loading can bend them and they do crack. I wouldn't use the side nail puller on large framing nails much.
The Ultra hammers had a slight redesign of the head to shaft connection shortly after launch as there were problems with the early ones.
You can feel the sideways flex in those when you are using them, if you have a glancing blow on a nail they can really buzz in your hand, the standard hammers are bad enough for vibe.
They also have the E6 handle profile which tends to force the comfortable grip position up the hammer, which is stupid as you want it to be right at the bottom.
The Ultra hammers had a slight redesign of the head to shaft connection shortly after launch as there were problems with the early ones.
You can feel the sideways flex in those when you are using them, if you have a glancing blow on a nail they can really buzz in your hand, the standard hammers are bad enough for vibe.
They also have the E6 handle profile which tends to force the comfortable grip position up the hammer, which is stupid as you want it to be right at the bottom.
Maybe they'd rather sell a hammer than give one away?
If someone wants a good hammer, buy an Estwing.
If they want a hammer they can replace for free every time it breaks, buy one from Harbor Freight.
redwrench60
Well-known member
We gotta admit, broken Estwings aren’t common. All in all Estwing makes an excellent hammer. The price is more than fair.
I bet whoever did that had to know it was coming and if they didn’t they haven’t learned blue collar physics.
I bet whoever did that had to know it was coming and if they didn’t they haven’t learned blue collar physics.
Estwing, Vaughn, and Plumb here (I prefer Plumb). Btw, many years ago a motorcycle 'mechanic' at the Yamaha dealership I wrenched at managed to snap-off a large/long tire iron while he was attempting to remove a rear MX knobby tire while the rim was on the ground (ya, I know). He was a big strong guy and when that iron snapped he actually did a complete back flip and ended up on his knees. None of us laughed due to his size & height.
neophyte
Well-known member
Everything is a gimmick design,
until it becomes a standard design.
The side nail puller isn’t “new”.
Douglass hammers were the first hammers I new of with the side nail puller.
Those hammers go back at least a couple decades or more.
After the Douglass hammers disappeared from the market place for a while numerous other vompanies including Vaughan, and Stiletto, and others have started integrating the idea.
The short squat hammer face is also not new.
It may make it harder to get into opening like electrical boxes, but it also improves ergonomics, since your wrist is less likely to suffer slight twists over time with slightly iff center hammer blows.
The bowtie profile was likely used for added strength compared to the standard Estwing diamond profile, but it also means you can choke up more on the hammer without having a diamond shaped hammer shank digging into you hand.
The raised Estwing logo looks stupid to me, but it was likely done for brand recognition, given hiw many other tool brands get shoved onto home center shelves.
The hammer ergonomic are different than the older Estwing designs, which used a straight handle.
The new handles definitely look better, it’s questionable whether the ergonomics are better though.
Estwing didn’t really start this “ergonomic” design though.
Picard of Germany, a major European hammer manufacturer came out with several “all steel” single piece forged hammers like what Estwing has manufactured for decades, with the major change being a slightly different handle shape.
Maybe these Picard hammers were popular enough, or users like the ergonomics enough that Estwing copied the design.
As far as the sharktooth for tweaking lumber, Estwing has had that as part of one or more other hammers for at least a decade.
They probably just decided to add it to the Ultra hammer design.
Overall, the new Ultra hammers don’t ****, the engineering and manufacturing process just needs to be tweaked slightly.
Look at how many “new” hammer designs Vaughan has come out with then discontinued within the past 2 decades. I think the “woody” which was basically just a “Douglass” hammer made by Vaughan was the only one that might have been discontinued do to reasons other than design problems. (It got discontinued right before Douglass started manufacturing hammers under their own name again).
The Douglass hammers were also notorious for handle breakage and sometimes head breakage if used for steel work.
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neophyte
Well-known member
Estwing likely just wants to avoid people returning hammers when the handles eventually fail or rot, or for stupid **** like rusting.I would hope so. For curiosity's sake I looked up their warranty and despite their solid reputation, their warranty terms don't seem the best.
Warranty - Estwing
Warranty INFORMATION For more than a century, Estwing has been making some of the world’s most durable tools. But if there is ever an issue with your Estwing product, we provide the following warranties. General Product Warranty Titanium Hammer Warranty Farrier Hammer Warranty ESTWING GENERAL...
I get that that a blanket 'anything goes' policy can be expensive for the company but if their competitors (most of whom don't have nearly the reputation) can offer it, why can't Estwing?
Also, there would likely be an issue with people prying to the side with the hammers, and the gammer shanks getting bent to the side.
If someone who doesn’t understand metallurgy tries to bend the shank straight, the shank could fracture.