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A story I remember hearing as a kid was about one of life’s lessons learned by my Dad when he was a young apprentice to a carpenter. He was going about his work, hammering nails at the time and, as was his custom was holding the hammer about halfway up the handle. This, he said, gave him more control over the swing. The master carpenter came over to him, grabbed the hammer and calmly cut it in two.
Obviously, had he been using a metal-handled tool rather than one made of wood this lesson would have been tougher to demonstrate but, hey, they make saws that will cut metal too. The point is, the tool was rendered useless for the day and had to be repaired with the fitting of a new handle before it was useable again. After that, Dad learned how to swing a hammer properly and this eventually increased his speed and power.
Tools are something that, if well made are usually going to be fairly expensive to buy but if not well made are basically worthless. No one who uses a tool frequently is going to want it to be some substandard replica of the ‘real’ thing. Poorly made, cheap tools are difficult to work with, frustrating and dangerous. Their only redeeming quality is that they’re cheap to buy but here, the term ‘you get what you pay for’ holds true in more ways than one.
Hammers come in numerous designs and fulfill any number of functions. The best hammers are still made in the U.S.A. and Estwing Hammers are a perfect example. Their patented innovations in design and proprietary shock reduction grip produce, perhaps, the most ergonomic hammers made.
Stiletto is another acknowledged leader in this market and Stiletto Hammers are basically in a class of their own. Made from titanium, these hammers weigh about half what a normal hammer weighs but are still capable of delivering the same force when striking. This high-tech, lightweight material (titanium) is also exceptionally strong and produces a recoil shock of about one-tenth that of a typical hammer.
This recoil shock is no small thing if your job involves swinging a hammer all day. Carpal tunnel syndrome and tennis elbow are common complaints among hammer-swinging tradesmen or craftsmen and these hammers significantly reduce the cause of these problems. They are undeniably the best there is.
You know cheap things aren’t good and good things aren’t cheap. This especially holds true with hand-tools where cheap isn’t only worse, it’s useless. When buying tools it pays to spend a little more to get the best. Now you know!
Bob Proctor has been writing articles since 2006 and is an expert on hydraulic cable cutters, however he also likes to write about stiletto hammers




September 3rd, 2010
Bob Proctor 
