Snap On Hammers Worth it?

[MTNSleder]

I use a hammer everyday Are snap on dead blow hammers worth buying.

They look amazing, just What makes these hammers special?

 

[ChaseDE]

I think most here like Trusty Cook

I know many here have snap-ons

Personally I have a harbor freight dead blow, i dont use it that much.

 

[MTNSleder]

I think most here like Trusty Cook

I know many here have snap-ons

Personally I have a harbor freight dead blow, i dont use it that much.

I've seen trusty cook, there not as easy to warranty as snap on is in Canada.

 

[shawhite]

I would say it’s worth it simply for the warranty.

 

[lugnut71]

Cant wait until the harbor freight guys chime in .......................

 

[crf450x]

Worth every penny. I've never used a trusty cook. One day I will and my opinion might change. But for now snap on is worth it.

 

[rq375]

I purchased two soft face, two ball peen, and one piston hammer in the 90's, the orange ones. The plastic slowly disintegrated, but all have been replaced with the current red versions without question.

 

[jsmeece]

Cant wait until the harbor freight guys chime in .......................

As far as I am concerned, in a NON Professional environment, yeah HF is just fine, so are Craftsman/Nulpa deadblows.

The point to remember if that HF and Craftsman are not directly marketed to the professionals, on the other hand Snap-on, Mac, and Matco ARE.

 

[rlitman]

Cant wait until the harbor freight guys chime in .......................

I'll bite, as my collection of dead blow hammers is split evenly between Snap On and Harbor Freight.

I won't say the HF is as good as the SO, but I will say they're decent. However, HF doesn't sell a ball peen dead blow.

Unless you use them every day, I'm sorry to say that the value is in the HF. But the SO hammers do have a number of advantages. Nicer handles are the biggest difference.

I purchased two soft face, two ball peen, and one piston hammer in the 90's, the orange ones. The plastic slowly disintegrated, but all have been replaced with the current red versions without question.

Yeah, those orange ones were notorious for falling apart in the drawer.

 

[Hiball]

Cant wait until the harbor freight guys chime in .......................

Does HF even sell a ball peen dead blow?

 

[Dave455]

They look amazing, just What makes these hammers special

As far as I can determine, they simply have more 'thump' than anything else for the size.

I only have one, it came as a freebie on a deal (wouldn't have got one otherwise) but it's a fairly unique combination of a really effective dead blow with a hard (really hard) face!

I have other dead blows, but most are generally non marking with faces of nylon or copper. This will substitute for a regular hard faced hammer, but it hits harder, especially in a confined space (working on suspension), and is much more pleasant to use - you don't get shock / vibration all up your arm like a cartoon character!

I don't have Trusty Cook in the U.K. so the nearest I can find to this are the PB Swiss. Good tools, perhaps better for some applications, but the Snap On is better overall!

 

[Tallpilot]

Does HF even sell a ball peen dead blow?

Not that I’m aware of. Trusty Cook for occasional use; Snap-on for a better handle and easy replacement. Anything else is probably just an overpriced Trusty Cook rebrand.

 

[Bryanthegreat]

I have both Snap on at work and HF is at home. I had the older orange model from Snappy that a chunk of the head broke off one time I hit something and I got a red one in its place. The current model snap on is a much nicer finished tool. Other then that I can’t say there is a whole lot of difference between using either one of them.

 

[Coach James]

Go with the Harbor Freight dead blows. If Thor can use a hammer from HF, so can the rest of us.

Coach

 

[AngryBeaver]

I’ve been a snap on junky the last 15 years.

Their ball been dead blows are nice and expensive. I’ve broken the heads off of 4 32oz ball peens in the last 7-8 years.

The handles are rubbery and soft. They are also very thick if you have small to medium hands. There is almost zero recoil felt as the handle is Fiberglass underneath the rubber. With that said, they don’t handle overstrikes or missed strikes very well. The rubber coating around the ends peels and chunks off. They are lifetime warranty.

I bought a few Trusty cook hammers last year and have been hooked. The handle is steel welded to the ball peen end. The poly whatever coating is soft enough to resist chucking but firm enough work well. Their head profiles for comparable weights are half the size of snap ons. The handles are harder and smaller diameter. Even though the handle shank is welded, you don’t feel recoil that you would on a sledge or wood handle at all.

I did a somewhat comparison thread here

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=371602&highlight=Trusty+cook

 

[JD3020]

Not sure if you have Napa up there, but the Carlyle brand dead-blows are Trusty Cook, and carry a lifetime warranty through Napa.

 

[AngryBeaver]

Go with the Harbor Freight dead blows. If Thor can use a hammer from HF, so can the rest of us.

Coach

Harbor freight doesn’t make bead blow ball peen hammers. He’s not asking about plastic coated junk hammers.

He’s not asking about dead blow mallets. And their dead blows **** *** and explode after just a couple strikes to a sharp object.

 

[Moose Legs]

Not sure if you have Napa up there, but the Carlyle brand dead-blows are Trusty Cook, and carry a lifetime warranty through Napa.

We have napa but they sell ultra-pro instead of carlyle. Some of it like the ratchets is the same, but the deadblow hammers are just imported chinese.

 

[Lassen Forge]

What's wrong with Baileigh? I rather like mine...

 

[cgrutt]

I'm not a professional but have accumulated a few hammers over the years...

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The Snap-on dead blow happens to be my favorite hammer. I originally purchased one in late 1980s. A few years ago struck something and the handle basically disintegrated. Threw it in the back of my truck. A couple weeks later passed by a Snap-on truck at local body shop. Never met the guy before. Showed him the hammer, he said yeah, they had some problems with these older style handles, grabbed the Snap-on shown in center of picture and said have a nice day. That's why I love Snap-on. Good tools and a warranty that's second to none!

So yeah, I'd say go ahead and give one a shot!

 

[Finky198]

I have the 16oz, (24oz bronze) and 40oz snap on’s. I’ve been through 3 of the 16s, but I’m still on my orig 24, 40oz. They are excellent hammers. that also clean up easily and take a ton of abuse yet won’t hurt your hands at the same time. The warranty for me is worth every penny.
I have the harbor freight orange deadblows and I’ve broken a half dozen of them over the past few years. All covered by warranty but a pain in the @$$. So much so That I’m debating on switching to Snap on dead blow for the same reasons as the DBBP their an excellent hammer and a hassle free warranty.

The trusty cook stuff looks really nice and seems to be top notch quality. But I can not comment on their service. Or products as I don’t own any yet...

In my experience, I know the hammers going to break eventually so I need a 100% hassle free guaranteed replacement if it breaks and Snap on does that for me at this time.

 

[Coach James]

Harbor freight doesn’t make bead blow ball peen hammers. He’s not asking about plastic coated junk hammers.

He’s not asking about dead blow mallets. And their dead blows **** *** and explode after just a couple strikes to a sharp object.

I thought my post was obvious sarcasm. You sound like you really are an angry beaver.

Coach

 

[Wamsutta]

According to Snap-on, their hammers are superior to the competition because their composite shank wraps around the outside of the barrel instead protruding into the barrel; this gives the steel shot room to move freely inside the barrel instead of getting blocked by the shank.

Snap-on doesn't mention their competition by name, but it's fairly safe to assume they mean Trusty-Cook. Check out the video where they compare their hammer to Trusty-Cook's. Fast forward to 2:25.

 

[chrisnazzy]

I own a SO, a couple HF and a drawer full of Trusty Cook. If cost was of no concern the Snap-on dead blow hammers are surely the best and mainly because of comfortable shape of the handle and the lack of shock felt in the hand when striking an object.

Last year I **** canned about 10 miscellaneous dead blow and ball peen hammers and replaced them all with Trusty Cook and haven't been disappointed at all. The TC are solid, balanced, have a great finish and textured grip and of course made in the USA seals the deal for me.

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[CJM8515]

FWIW the HF hardwood handle ball peens have been great, no issues. But I dont abuse them really.

 

[zakmartin]

The Snap-Ons are absolutely better than everything else I've used, including the Trusty Cooks, Wrights and Craftsmans. I splurged and bought a set of the dead blow hammers from the first post. It was a lot of $$$, but no regrets. The handle and action of the tool is THAT good.

I feel the same way about Martin body hammers.

 

[Tinner]

I use Snap-on dead blows at work and at home. I have around 10 total. Snap-on has a lifetime warranty, Trusty Cook has a laughable 2 year warranty. All these plastic hammers fall apart eventually.

 

[xin]

Go with the Harbor Freight dead blows. If Thor can use a hammer from HF, so can the rest of us.

Coach

Does this include the HULK as well?

 

[L.Cheapo]

There is no comparison to the SO hammers. If they fit your budget, you should try one. There are other good hammers out there, but the grip and warranty of the Snap On hammers, IMO, cannot be beat. Its worth mentioning they occasionally go on promo.

 

[xin]

There is no comparison to the SO hammers. If they fit your budget, you should try one. There are other good hammers out there, but the grip and warranty of the Snap On hammers, IMO, cannot be beat. Its worth mentioning they occasionally go on promo.

Hammers are used a LOT and the Snap-On ones are worth it and the brass one as well.

Last thing you want is a rogue hammer gone wild.

 

[Tallpilot]

I thought my post was obvious sarcasm. You sound like you really are an angry beaver.

Coach

I think it’s your avatar Coach. It just makes you come across as more serious than you mean to be.

 

[Skin]

I would say it’s worth it simply for the warranty.

Wait for a Trusty-Cook promo, you can literally buy 2 TCs for 1 Snap-On.

I use Snap-on dead blows at work and at home. I have around 10 total. Snap-on has a lifetime warranty, Trusty Cook has a laughable 2 year warranty. All these plastic hammers fall apart eventually.

TC is in the business of selling hammers. They don't have a giant catalog of overpriced garbage and half the techs in the country in debt. If they did im sure they'd be happy to replace the occasional worn out hammer.

God forbid you have to replace a $40 hammer every 10 years.

 

[Coach James]

I think it’s your avatar Coach. It just makes you come across as more serious than you mean to be.

I never thought about that, perhaps you're right.


And Harley still wants someone to "Take the damn money!"

Coach

 

[Tonyuk]

I have plenty of hammers, a few ball pein, a club, plenty of rubber dead-blows, a copper/leather face and for some reason a rip claw in my box. Best hammers i've used so far have been the estwing ball pein, very well made and hit hard;

Dead blow ball pein's are rare over here, the only sellers i can think of are snap-on off the truck. Even ebay only brings up 1 of them and im sure that's delivered from the states.

 

[Tinner]

TC is in the business of selling hammers. They don't have a giant catalog of overpriced garbage and half the techs in the country in debt. If they did im sure they'd be happy to replace the occasional worn out hammer.

God forbid you have to replace a $40 hammer every 10 years.

Your anger and hyperbole doesn't change the facts. TC warranty is a joke. I had Snap on hammers when they were made by TC, they were all replaced more than once.

 

[FMC1959]

I've seen trusty cook, there not as easy to warranty as snap on is in Canada.

I think your comment is your answer. SO (as well as the other truck brands) carries a premium price to cover their service and warranty.

If you make a living with your tools and you use tools 40+ hours a week, and you need to ask about warranty and service...then they are probably worth the price.

For the average DIY shade tree mechanic, they rarely need to warranty any tools because they don't get the usage, so not worth spending the extra $$$ on truck brands.

 

[bmwpowere36m3]

I have both TC and SO ball-peen dead blow hammers... I'm my opinion

Snap-On

• better handle (contoured, over-molded, two part cushioned)
• better injection molding/finish (no gaps, voids, flash)
• nicer dead blow action (super smooth, dense, DEAD)
• better warranty

Trusty Cook

• rougher handle (stippled, no over-molding)
• injection molding/finish flaws
• not as smooth of a dead blow action (feels "loose", like coarse BBs and not filled 100%)
• lower cost

If you have the money give SO a try, if not you can't go wrong with TC either.

 

[plinker]

I've seen the deadblow Snap-on hammers have the striking end come right off a couple times, A guy where I used to work had it happen twice that I know of. Warrantied.
I dont care for the soft grip they have, feels too springy to me.

If you dont like the warranty on the Trusty cook hammers, just get them from Napa/Matco/other that offers a lifetime warranty.

Plastic hammers of any brand are kind of a consumable tool given the materials used and that they breakdown over time. I bought a few of the T-C blems, dont see an issue with useability, well worth the now cost vs. future warranty replacement ratio.

 

[MaverickDMD]

The snap on 24 oz version of this hammer is $98.70 USD on the website.

You decide if it is worth the cost.

 

[nbruno]

I have a few SO deadblow ballpeen, A few TC and a few estwing deadblow. I like the estwing soft deadblow the best, but absolutely love the SO deadblow ballpeens.

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