Hammering out a hammer
Has anyone bought a hammer recently? Did you research which one to buy?
I’m a good enough hammerer that I can consistently hit the nail – and hard. If I’m lucky I can drive a spike in 3 swings. But much of the time I must hit the nail off-center or something, and the nail bends. That’s annoying. This happens especially when I’m driving the nail at an angle.
My 3 hammers all suck. I blame the tool, not the man. Mine are traditional claw hammers, all between 16 and 24 ounces. One has a wooden handle, one a steel handle, and one fiberglass. I hate them all. I think the main problem is that these hammers have a smooth strike that's rounded over quite a bit. So if I hit the nail off-center, it tends to slip and push the nail in the wrong direction. I've noticed that framing hammers tend to have a grid pattern on the strike that perhaps lends more "grip" when the nail is impacted.
I want a new hammer for framing. But I don’t know what I’ll like best: long, short, light, heavy, newfangled or old-fashioned. Any ideas on what’s good?
