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Snap-On Hammers

N.I.

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 24, 2012
Messages
332
Location
Northern Ireland
IMO exactly wrong, when I am swinging a hammer I'm doing so because I need something to move. By using a dead blow I am applying more direct force which results in less swings to impact more force. From an ergonomics standpoint is that you will find you use more energy trying to control the jounce from a non-dead blow hammer, plus the much greater chance of glancing blow resulting in other items getting hit or injury.

TheGrooveking

Ahhh, but does a steel faced dead blow hammer actually concentrate the force or just cancel out the rebound?

I would put my money on it only canceling out the rebound.

Think about it.

When you accelerate the hammer, the shot will be at the back of the chamber and then when you impact something the shot will come flying forwards and hit the front of the chamber.

For it to concentrate the force the shot must hit the front of the chamber during the impact stage when the two materials are compressing.

I would imagine for the steel on steel case, since steel is such a stiff material the impact time will be soo short that the the shot hits the front of the chamber during the rebound stage, and hence only wastes energy.

Now by all means prove me wrong.

Even with a conventional urethane deadblow, it is questionable how much the shot actually 'concentrates the blow' or whether the main advantage actually being that the shot adds significant weight to the hammer.

Yes there are times when having no rebound is an advantage, but how much of this 'concentrate force' talk is just sales talk? Raw hide hammers are supposedly better than conventional deadblows.

And to put my money where my mouth is-

I already have an old fashioned 40 oz steel cored urethane hammer, and I have just ordered a cheapy conventional 40oz deadblow one to compare it to.

How much the force is concentrated is easy to test.

Hang a chosen object on a string. Hang the hammers on a different string (ensure same length for both) and release them from a fixed height into the object. Measure how far your chosen object rebounds and compare for both hammers.

I will test the conventional deadblow against a steel cored, but am certainly not prepared to buy a steel faced deadblow. If someone else can be bothered, then please do.
 
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N.I.

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 24, 2012
Messages
332
Location
Northern Ireland
Exactly my ***. You know what makes me laugh? Its Internet know-it-alls who **** on products they clearly have no first hand experience with :rolleyes2

I've used dozens of different hammers over the years for hundreds of different purposes and you know what I've learned? No 1 hammer rules them all. That's why there are so many different types out there and almost all of them have a purpose. I find it hard to believe anybody who has actually used a dead-blow hammer (soft or hard faced) would mock them or imply that they are gimmicky. I they obviously do not completely replace standard hammers but quite often they are the superior tool for the job.

I am not denying that there are advantages of dead blow hammers, but that Snap On promotional video just annoyed me.

The worst part was end talking about conventional hammers - "I'm gona take this. This belongs in a Museum"

Do you really buy this marketing BS?
 

TheGrooveking

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 30, 2007
Messages
3,233
Location
An alternate reality in a parallel universe.
Ahhh, but does a steel faced dead blow hammer actually concentrate the force or just cancel out the rebound?

I would put my money on it only canceling out the rebound.

Think about it.

When you accelerate the hammer, the shot will be at the back of the chamber and then when you impact something the shot will come flying forwards and hit the front of the chamber.

For it to concentrate the force the shot must hit the front of the chamber during the impact stage when the two materials are compressing.

I would imagine for the steel on steel case, since steel is such a stiff material the impact time will be soo short that the the shot hits the front of the chamber during the rebound stage, and hence only wastes energy.

Now by all means prove me wrong.

Even with a conventional urethane deadblow, it is questionable how much the shot actually 'concentrates the blow' or whether the main advantage actually being that the shot adds significant weight to the hammer.

Yes there are times when having no rebound is an advantage, but how much of this 'concentrate force' talk is just sales talk? Raw hide hammers are supposedly better than conventional deadblows.

And to put my money where my mouth is-

I already have an old fashioned 40 oz steel cored urethane hammer, and I have just ordered a cheapy conventional 40oz deadblow one to compare it to.

How much the force is concentrated is easy to test.

Hang a chosen object on a string. Hang the hammers on a different string (ensure same length for both) and release them from a fixed height into the object. Measure how far your chosen object rebounds and compare for both hammers.

I will test the conventional deadblow against a steel cored, but am certainly not prepared to buy a steel faced deadblow. If someone else can be bothered, then please do.

You raise some good points / food for thought and too agree that the test you suggest would be cool to do, I can see an episode of Mythbusters on tools.

TheGrooveking
 

TheGrooveking

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 30, 2007
Messages
3,233
Location
An alternate reality in a parallel universe.
I am not denying that there are advantages of dead blow hammers, but that Snap On promotional video just annoyed me.

The worst part was end talking about conventional hammers - "I'm gona take this. This belongs in a Museum"

Do you really buy this marketing BS?

This is the type of marketing ******** that Snap On spreads which is at the core of my "Does your tool dealer talk **** about other brands" thread. This clearly shows their dealers how to take an arrogant uninformed attitude as to how they represent Snap On tools.

TheGrooveking
 
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oilfieldtrash4

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 5, 2012
Messages
490
That video definitely makes a strong case for why the snap on hammer costs more $. There looks to be actual scientific reasons why it works better.

Now if they can tell me why they want $30 for a single wrench I'd love to hear that.
 

Mister Laugh

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 25, 2013
Messages
64
I have the snap on deadblows in both steel and soft face. I also have regular hammers. Just from a user stand point they seem to put out roughly the same amount of "force", but the SO hammers don't bounce back, which at the end of the day feels much better on your wrists and elbows. The snap on ones are also much more durable than my other hammers, which weren't necessarily cheap hammers.

I am sure that they could be had cheaper elsewhere, but for me I use them daily, they pay my bills, If I break one my dealer will replace it, no questions asked right away that is worth a few extra dollars to me. Most of you guys seem to be over thinking this, and taking the snap on promo video (everyone should take ALL advertising with a grain of salt) to literally. These hammers feel very nice to work with, and seem to reduce fatigue. Hyundai makes a 350HP rwd car, that doesn't mean that it handles as well as its competition. Sometimes it not just about the specs, but how something feels. In the end find something that you like and use it.
 

Rezeppa

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 23, 2012
Messages
444
Location
Newport, MI
I stated earlier that I have 2 different deadblow ballpeen hammers and I actually have 3 I have 2 24oz one SO one Mac and a 8oz SO. I prefer the Mac. Now after reading the rest of these threads I have only seen 3 different versions of these hammers. Stanley, Trusty Cook, and Snap-On. I have used all of them. All of these hammers are made well, perform well, and offer something a regular hammer doesn't. The few differences are small and minute. German over engineering jokes are mainly due to jealousy. The bottom line I don't care who you are is if you drive a new Cadillac and a new 5-Series BMW there is a huge difference. The Germans make some of the finest mechanical items in the world. That is due to many things. The schooling and education process to become an engineer is completely different between the two countries. In Germany there is a level of experience needed to qualify for further education in a desired field than the U.S. Ok well rant over moral of the story Let us have just this one. We made a better hammer just let us have that.
 
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