What size sledge hammer do you use?

[Strouty]

I am looking at getting a couple of sledge hammers, I have been eyeballing the wilton BASH style hammers. I think my old ones were a tad light, but I did not weigh them and there was nothing on the head to show weight. I am seeing the wilton hammers offered up to a 20 pound wrecking ball! I was thinking maybe a 10 and 20 or maybe a 8 and 16? What do you guys use?

 

[rodsnratfinks]

Not knowing you're background, take this with a grain of salt:

An 8 and 16 sounds like a good compliment, or if you and/or the material you are working with are large, a ten and a twenty. Most able bodied men seem to have little trouble swinging an 8 for a while, but a 10 is harder. You might want to check if you can swing a twenty a few times without much difficulty. I'm pretty sure I would tire of swinging a 20lbs in around 10 or fewer swings, and I work in a fairly physical job. You're going to get more power from a hammer you can control than a heavier one. After about ten minutes hammering with a sledge you will know.

 

[rodsnratfinks]

Also, if you are driving stuff, you might benefit from a dead blow sledge hammer. The inertial advantage of the dead blow makes it drive like a heavier hammer and lessens the fatigue on the user.

 

[Strouty]

I figure the 20 would be a one and done type of hammer. I know what you are saying about weight, I feel confident in swinging a 10 without any trouble for a while. I figure a 20 could kick my ***, but I also feel it could be the best tool for the job.

I had looked at the trusty cook dead blow sledges, but I wasn't sure how they worked. It seems like it would break apart when hitting steel pins?

 

[BK13]

Though I'm solidly into middle age, I'm a pretty big guy (6'6" 340#) but I find a 16 or 20 to be tiring swing very much. I mainly use a 12 for driving iron rod property corners, and if you are setting very many of them a heavier sledge will wear me down.

 

[zkling]

10lb, I can control it very well and get a good momentum swing out of it. Same way with axes, a lite, sharp quick swinging ax works better for me.

 

[Pstychologist]

It might help if you let us know what you plan to do with it.

 

[Strouty]

It will be for general use. I will not be using it on a daily basis. I am working on medium duty trucks and equipment, so I sometimes need a persuader. I have an 8 pound sledge that I bought, it is a 16" handle, I figure that is my BFH. 10 would be as low as I would probably go, I have been seeing lots of handle lengths. I figured 36" was a good choice, but I also saw 38 and 24. The dead blow style seems like it would be very useful, anyone have any experience with them?

 

[rockinacummins]

I've got an old 20lb I picked up at the swap meet for $1. Made in China but it's a beast!

 

[Strouty]

I would have bought it too, $1 is **** worthy.

 

[Strouty]

One of the reviews I saw on Amazon for the 20 lb wilton was:

"1 heck of a work out. If u can't get it loose with this then its not suppose to be apart."

 

[OutsideMachinist]

The job dictates what size hammer you need. If you only have a 20lb thats overkill for most things. Sometimes only a 20lb will do. I use a 4lb drilling hammer most times. Sometimes a 10 or 12 lb. Sometimes a 20lber. It depends. Swinging any brand 20lber for a long period will wear you out.

 

[Strouty]

I should have stated that I currently have numerous hammers in sizes up to 8 pounds, so I have the lower end covered. I am looking to replace a couple of China no name sledge hammers that I sent off to the auction the other day. It is looking like I may want three, 10 14 and 20, then I should buy a dead blow as well. You can never have enough hammers!

 

[OxJaw]

I've got an 8 and 12 pounder at work. I frequently use these to straighten/persuade all sorts of stuff (I repair material containers). Both have a 36“ handle. There isn't much that I can't do with the 8 pound hammer and then the 12 pound is more than enough. Good quality swings are much better than wild half *** swings cause you can't control the hammer. Most of the new guys we get through here have a hard enough time swinging the 8 pound Hammer.

 

[Pstychologist]

With great power comes great responsibility. Stop at 16.

 

[larry_g]

I have used the large 16# trusty cook type long handled sledge. We used them to move machines into position. So we had large flat painted surfaces that we hit. These machines were a few thousand pounds and may need to move a few thousands of an inch. It got the job done. I cannot speak to what might happen if you were hitting pins and other smaller nonflat surfaces. I also know that the smaller ones do not like freezing temperatures, they can shatter.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[jetdawg]

Strouty I think 20 is too much, in fact 12 is probably as heavy as I would go nobody swings a really heavy sledge anymore. I'd look into trouper which are great as well. You can get them in 36" handles starting at 8 or 10 iirc.

 

[gte718p]

I have the 20 Lb Bash. It is a monster. If your not in shape it will kick your @$$, but it rips concrete like nothing else. It is by no means a precision tool. The type of job dictates the weight of the hammer. What do you want to do with it? I can't see any place a 20 lb hammer fits into automotive work unless maybe your working on the 200 ton coal mining dump trucks.

 

[LordPsychon]

Rule of thumb - if you've ever played the classic carnival game where you whack the pad to ring the bell, the general weight of those mallets is the typical maximum you can tolerate swinging. Most of those mallets are in the 14-18 pound range (though I suspect some are heavier still). I would recommend a good 8-12# hammer for most purposes.

 

[Strouty]

I have looked at lots of sledges, I am pretty set in my decision on the Wilton line, they seem to be built the way I would build a hammer. Plus I like the green heads, they match the rest of my addiction. I guess I need to go grab a couple hammers at the local store and just see how they feel. I think a lot depends on the person swinging the hammer as well as how many times you would be swinging it. I am a bigger guy, so I can handle a little more weight than some.

 

[LordPsychon]

I have looked at lots of sledges, I am pretty set in my decision on the Wilton line, they seem to be built the way I would build a hammer. Plus I like the green heads, they match the rest of my addiction. I guess I need to go grab a couple hammers at the local store and just see how they feel. I think a lot depends on the person swinging the hammer as well as how many times you would be swinging it. I am a bigger guy, so I can handle a little more weight than some.

True, but just because your muscles can handle the weight doesn't mean that your joints can. Repetitive use injuries are common in construction/deconstruction work and if you can swing an 8# 20x times and accomplish your goal, that's less work than with a #20 8x. Remember, force equals mass times acceleration and continued use of higher mass often leads to forced acceleration (to get the job done and let your muscles rest).

Just my 2.5 cents worth (2 cents adjusted for inflation).

 

[dr_clyde]

I have a 12# bash. It's as big of a hammer as I need.

 

[geojag]

Unless you are crushing stone I don't know what you would need a 20# hammer for. When I actually need a sledge hammer, I use an 8# most of the time, a 12# occasionally. If that won't do I am getting a machine.
Accuracy seems to decrease as weight increases, at least for me.

 

[trackwelder]

I use a 12 pounder on the job. I prefer a 16 pound sledge but the company no longer buys them. I would rather lift and hit once then repeated swings to finish a task. There is some skill involved in using a sledge all day. When we get a new group of guys on the job I bring a box of extra handles with us.

 

[dutchgray]

I'm a builder so mostly use them for smashing stuff up, I use a 7lb, for driving stakes etc I have a 12lb dead blow, if these won't do there is always the 5ton 360 to get the job done.

 

[rodsnratfinks]

True, but just because your muscles can handle the weight doesn't mean that your joints can. Repetitive use injuries are common in construction/deconstruction work and if you can swing an 8# 20x times and accomplish your goal, that's less work than with a #20 8x. Remember, force equals mass times acceleration and continued use of higher mass often leads to forced acceleration (to get the job done and let your muscles rest).

Just my 2.5 cents worth (2 cents adjusted for inflation).

Good post. I agree.

 

[Strouty]

True, but just because your muscles can handle the weight doesn't mean that your joints can. Repetitive use injuries are common in construction/deconstruction work and if you can swing an 8# 20x times and accomplish your goal, that's less work than with a #20 8x. Remember, force equals mass times acceleration and continued use of higher mass often leads to forced acceleration (to get the job done and let your muscles rest).

Just my 2.5 cents worth (2 cents adjusted for inflation).

I think this falls under the "work smarter, not harder" category. I do agree and would hope to never swing a 20 pounder all day. I also think the wise ones saying that accuracy goes down based on the weight increase is probably true, even for big brutes. I guess I may mix things up and get a few different length handles as well. I can always buy a bigger hammer later if I need it.

 

[2oolhound]

I did a lot of sledge work when I was young. I liked the 10 lb'er the best. The 20's usually had short handles and were only good for tasks requiring a few good blows. I preferred the square design over the tapered heads because if you were banging 2x4 stakes in the ground you could use the square head sideways and it wouldn't split the wood so easily as it hit the whole flat surface of the stake. If I had to use a tapered head because of restrictions I could do ok but I developed a feel for the square heads and could maintain accuracy better with them. A bigger guy may prefer a bigger hammer but I could swing that thing all day knocking pins out of excavator booms over head or driving bull pricks through hard pan at ground level.

Last year I put a new water line in down my driveway. It had a 2" layer of black top and two 3" or 4" layers of concrete under that. All I had was a splitting maul and I think it's only 6 lb. I was dreaming about my old 10 lb'er but I got the job done. With every swing I knew how inefficient the maul was.

If I was younger I'd probably keep a 10, 12 and ar 20 lb'er around.

 

[Strouty]

2oolhound, that must have been a lot of work!

Another question for you guys, if I am using it for more repair work, rather than demo, should I get a soft faced style? They are still steel, I just am not really sure if that is worth it.

I guess it performs like brass, yet it could still create a spark, so it is not considered safe for certain environments.

 

[Strouty]

I am doing my research now, waiting for the next zoro flash sale. I also looked at Nupla sledges and I may end up going that route, they are made in USA and cheaper. The BASH does seem to be a nice sledge for sure, I think they are made in South Africa, but I have not been able to confirm this yet.

 

[lbgradwell]

An 8 and 16 sounds like a good compliment, or if you and/or the material you are working with are large, a ten and a twenty. Most able bodied men seem to have little trouble swinging an 8 for a while, but a 10 is harder. You might want to check if you can swing a twenty a few times without much difficulty. I'm pretty sure I would tire of swinging a 20lbs in around 10 or fewer swings, and I work in a fairly physical job. You're going to get more power from a hammer you can control than a heavier one. After about ten minutes hammering with a sledge you will know.

Though I'm solidly into middle age, I'm a pretty big guy (6'6" 340#) but I find a 16 or 20 to be tiring swing very much. I mainly use a 12 for driving iron rod property corners, and if you are setting very many of them a heavier sledge will wear me down.

This is good advice. If a man who is 6'6" and 340lbs thinks a 16lb hammer is too heavy, it is.

Frankly, I'm 6'2" and 225lbs myself (not usually considered a lightweight) and unless you can get that $1 deal, I'd pass on a 20-pounder altogether. I find anything above 8lbs to be not worth the (considerable) effort.

 

[vintage nut]

I'll be different and say that I usually use lead hammers. Six pound lead hammer with about an 18" handle is my usual bfh. Hits hard, but doesn't damage parts

you can never have too many tools

 

[upstateny918]

When I was in the field working on Rock Crushers and large equipment, I carried a 15# with a 30 or 32" handle, a 10# with a 26" handle, and if I knew it was going to be bad, a 20# with a 36" handle. Why the longer handle with the heavier head? I dont know, I just realized it typing this. I like the 30/32" length. The short one was to be able to swing it inside feed chutes on our Telsmith Jaw Crusher.

My last instance with the 20# was swinging it like a baseball bat at 4-3/8" diameter bucket pins on a 55 ton excavator. After about 50 swings, I'll tell ya lunch break never looked so good!

I also had a 10# with a 16" handle..for when the going gets tough and I needed a BFH to be up close and personal. You can deliver an awful blow with a 10# hammer swinging it like your chopping a tree down (putting your back and legs into it)

 

[Coach James]

My go to splitting maul is an 8lb. My go to sledge for tougher jobs is a 10lb. I have used a 16 and 20 and didn't feel like I had the control to use them as safely as I should. When I say used, I mean a few swings then went to a lighter sledge.

I'm actually shocked there hasn't been a post yet from someone claiming to have easily used a 20 pounder when they were in kindergarten or some such nonsense.

Coach

 

[justanengineer]

I like the multiples of 5 myself. Ive got a 5 lb short (think heavy hammer) handle, 10 and 20 lb long handles here. Back east somewhere Ive also got a 40 lb'er for driving fence posts, but thats not your typical sledge in that it has oversized faces. The faces are ~10" diameter each and the body is ~8" IIRC.

 

[Thedroid]

I have 2 of the Bash 20's at work for hitting some enormous jacking bolts to adjust some very large support rollers. Don't remember the size but the bolt head is around 5-3/8. Wrench weighs about 50lb. I've posted a pic on here years back. There are very few things that you need'a 20'for and this is one of them. Ball mill liner bolts is another. You can't swing one all day unless you some kind of anima, and if you can, old age will probably be rough. I'm good for short bursts of maybe 10 swings at a time, and maybe a max of 100 swings before the arms turn to spaghetti and my aim is questionable.

 

[Thedroid]

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=55646&highlight=Giant+knockerold post showing the wrench,bolt and now retired hammer.

 

[RustnGrease]

As a heavy equipment mech and not an animal, 6'2",225, 28 y/o, a 16lb is about max for using alot for me, a friend whose a bit smaller, asked his boss for a 20lb, swung that a few times doing jobs where the 16 wouldn't work, not a fan of it at all. The 16 is my go to for setting cable wedges on the draglines, but the short handled 12lb works dandy for any work where the 16 is uncomfortable to swing due to mass or handle length, actually cut the handle down to about 30ish". Use both on the large bolts and nuts with what we call knocker wrenches that are designed to be hit with a sledge.

 

[aaronrkelly]

A 12# sledge and a 4# drilling hammer have always done what I needed.

 

[nicksnothereman]

I am looking at getting a couple of sledge hammers, I have been eyeballing the wilton BASH style hammers. I think my old ones were a tad light, but I did not weigh them and there was nothing on the head to show weight. I am seeing the wilton hammers offered up to a 20 pound wrecking ball! I was thinking maybe a 10 and 20 or maybe a 8 and 16? What do you guys use?

In a professional environment you shouldn't be using a sledge hammer unless you're breaking rocks of course. (For liability purposes there are probably rules at most shops in a mechanical environment; that head comes off and you got some dooooom there)

Runs away.

20 pound hammer is gonna be real awkward to swing unless it's underhand in my opinion, I'm short though so this might not apply to you. Better to hit right than have more weight and that definitely applies to everyone.