Old dead Blue Point hammer

[iamhomeless]

Blue point hammer fall out of one of my late father inlaws tool bags moving stuff around. Any idea how old this thing was to crumble and come apart like this?

 

[Jayman17]

Not sure on the age but I now know to avoid anything made of “compothane”. It just shattered like that from falling out of a tool bag?

Jay

 

[dnschmidt]

No idea but this was the common failure of early COM-PO-CAST hammers which were the first of the shot filled or steel skeleton urethane hammers ever introduced. This division of, I believe Stanley Black and Decker, was spun off from SBD and is now Trusty Cook. The urethane formula has been changed since these were first introduced and this type of deterioration is no longer a problem for at least 10-20 years from the date of manufacture.

 

[iamhomeless]

Not sure on the age but I now know to avoid anything made of “compothane”. It just shattered like that from falling out of a tool bag?

Jay

He passed over rhe winter and after cleaning out all his totes, bags, and boxes to my barn, I have been slowly trying to organize and inventory everything. Pulled a tool bag off a 6gt shelf, and in the jiggling this little guy fell out and hit the concrete.

Kind of a shame, it looks like it would have been ha dy for fine work. Handle was/is 8" and head was/is 2"x4"

If I still worked somewhere with a snapon truck, it would be fun to raz the tool man about it.

 

[Wrench97]

Not uncommon for those old dead blows, the plastic material breaks down and falls apart.
Some have blamed the solvents used to clean them after use but I kind of doubt it.

 

[d9gdon]

Warranty might have run out lol.

 

[iamhomeless]

Warranty might have run out lol.

I can't remember how long the BP warranty is, but if I recall it's non transferable, and these aren't in the BP catalog anymore, so even if it wasn't, I would still likely be out of luck.

 

[Mick56]

Probably a good thing it fell and broke by itself. Better than the first time you use it, and it blows apart in your hand.

 

[KnurledNut]

Stanley Compo-cast is still alive and well, made in the USA.

 

[4xdog]

I had an earlier version of that Blue Point deadblow hammer for years -- found it in the highway in the 1980s and it wasn't new then. I'm guessing yours is 1990s, maybe late 1980s, maybe early 2000s. That's a guess.

Like many polyurethanes, when they start to degrade it's an unstoppable, catastrophic process. Mine started to get a little gooey, and within a month or two it had completely come apart. Pity -- it was my favorite hammer.

 

[jsaw]

I had a Snap on dead blow soft face hammer do that once, actually I am on My second replacement. The Snap on dealer told me that according to Snap on , they would only replace it if it had a hole and leaking the shot material . He asked Me if I wanted to knock a hole in it or did I want Him to knock a hole in it.

 

[f121]

I can't remember how long the BP warranty is, but if I recall it's non transferable, and these aren't in the BP catalog anymore, so even if it wasn't, I would still likely be out of luck.

It varies from tool to tool now. Snap On used to make a big deal about how it was lifetime, but now they say 'how would we do lifetime warranty at that price'.

 

[Al Borland]

"Compothane" turned to "Compost". Similar to the "Stinky Handle" screwdrivers issue. Oxidation.

 

[4xdog]

"Compothane" turned to "Compost". Similar to the "Stinky Handle" screwdrivers issue. Oxidation.

The degradation of polyurethane is more commonly referred to as "hydrolysis", not really oxidation. The mechanisms for PU deterioration involve moisture in the polymer and breaking bonds that form the urethane. It can be pretty dramatic in how fast and how throughly something will fall apart.

This link discusses mechanisms and shows some photos of PU safety shoe soles that have degraded. I has a pair of Blundstone boots a couple of years ago that made a helluva mess in my closet when their black PU soles turned into a gooey, crumbly mush as the fell off the boots.

Why do shoe soles disintegrate?

"What is the service life of safety shoes? And why does the sole disintegrate after a certain period of time?" You´ll find the answer in our blog.

www.uvex-safety.com

 

[scooby074]

Its a known issue. Snapon was going good for these, at least they used to. Id email a pic to SO customer service and see what they say.

 

[Rickster]

Tape it up and ship it to SO customers service!

 

[iamhomeless]

I emailed SnapOn, they denied the warranty on account of the fact that hammer was discontinued in the mid 90's.

 

[genog]

Kind of a shame, it looks like it would have been handy for fine work.

It would have crumbled the first time that you tapped something with it

 

[scooby074]

I emailed SnapOn, they denied the warranty on account of the fact that hammer was discontinued in the mid 90's.

Interesting. I bet if you had a driver you saw regularly he'd go good for it. Ive gotten warranty on stuff that was my grandfathers from the 70's where the original product was disco. but a current equivalent was subbed in. Driver knew what was up though, he said, you dont look old enough to have been a mechanic in the 70's lol.

 

[iamhomeless]

Interesting. I bet if you had a driver you saw regularly he'd go good for it. Ive gotten warranty on stuff that was my grandfathers from the 70's where the original product was disco. but a current equivalent was subbed in. Driver knew what was up though, he said, you dont look old enough to have been a mechanic in the 70's lol.

Likely the case, my old SnapOn man was pretty good about over looking unnecessary details. But I turn company wrenches in an engineering lab, and the tool trucks don't come around anymore.

 

[Wrench97]

Not all Blue Point tools are lifetime but I believe those were, I think I actually had one back in the 90's that was replaced by the driver with a Snap On hammer that has since been replaced at least once......................

 

[Miss the Pontiacs]

I had an earlier version of that Blue Point deadblow hammer for years -- found it in the highway in the 1980s and it wasn't new then. I'm guessing yours is 1990s, maybe late 1980s, maybe early 2000s. That's a guess.

That is not a guess that is 2 decades. But thanks for playing. Just kidding.

 

[genog]

Interesting. I bet if you had a driver you saw regularly he'd go good for it.

Yes indeed.
I recently asked our Snap On Guy Hector for a new DB hammer.
My 1990's Blue Point which was very similar to the OP's, blew up on me.
No questions asked by Hector.
I handed him the broken remains of my Blue Point and he pulled a gray Snap On hammer out of the Truck and away I went.

Snap On has been great.
I've never known them nor heard of them trying to weasel out of a warrantee claim

A lifetime guarantee expiring.....?

 

[nadogail]

For the price SnapOn charges for their stuff, they can well afford to replace a tool now and then.

 

[BigMike782]

I had a dead blow and a piston hammer from the very late 80s that both dissolved before my very eyes after very light use. Snap On replaced both without question with just a call.

 

[d.mcfarland]

For the price SnapOn charges for their stuff, they can well afford to replace a tool now and then.

It's a Blue Point though. One of the key factors with their business model is the Blue Point line is less expensive, but typically carries a much shorter warranty. Hence, the price of the Snap On (like in your example) should guarantee the "original" purchaser (in their words) a replacement via warranty.