Left to rightStanley FatmaxPicardHarbor Freight and two welded steel versionsVaughanPost 1 of 7
The Stanley was my first real framing hammer. I acquired it as a defective return while working at a store. A guy returned it because the steel shank came out of the rubber grip when it was still new. I epoxied the shank into the grip. Used it like that for years. Lots of abuse, heavy demo, general construction. I regularly used the claw to demo stuff like tile, stucco. Demo'd a few tiled bathrooms and floors that way. I did that on the exterior of a house smashing stucco for like 12hrs straight a couple days in a row. It was faster and cleaner than using a diamond wheel. The claw is worn down from all that.I liked this hammer for years. I liked that the grip felt like it gave a little bit of 'sling' to the strike as the rubber grip extended a little beyond the steel shank. The grip never separated from the shank again after I epoxied it. However, after years of abuse the grip did rip at the portion that extends beyond the shank. I glued that too and covered it in self-fusing silicone tape and kept using it like that a while.Post 2 of 7
The Picard is a hammer I bought after searching online for a next best hammer. I wanted a steel shank nigh-indestructible hammer to be my permanent hammer. It also incorporates another seemingly incidental or unadvertised feature that someone showed me at work, and from this hammer forward that's been among my criteria for a framing hammer; the smooth rounded concave surface behind the striking surface is useful for 'rolling' over a mitered joint, say to close a 1/32nd gap. It has a leather wrap handle and that looks snazzy. People commented on this hammer and asked me the brand of it when it was on my belt.I didn't prefer this hammer because the weight distribution and grip didn't feel right and the striking surface is smaller. Also the magnetic nail start feature is set back the farthest of any of my hammers so that can only be used for starting longer nails. Another consideration with narrow angular steel shank hammers, though I never experienced this firsthand - someone cautioned me that if overstriking and hitting one's thumb with the shank it can do more damage than a wooden handle.Post 3 of 7
Next I found the 'California framer' pattern hammer at Harbor Freight and immediately preferred that pattern. It has a large striking surface, the rounded portion for closing miters, a close magnetic nail start feature, a heavy head, and a handle shape a little closer to the first hammer I used a lot. I liked this hammer so much that I bought multiples of it and experimented welding steel shanks on to them trying to create a hammer that would never require handle replacement. There's a solid steel shank version and a steel tube version. The wooden handled original is simply better for weight and feel though. The solid shank version might be useful for blacksmithing with the claw modified. They changed the design after I started buying these hammers and I was annoyed by that because the older design was better - the newer design, seen on the welded steel tube version, it made with the nail start feature further back from the strike surface. I still had the other pattern on a wooden handle though and that has been my second most-used framing hammer. The magnet looked to have been pressed or glued into a brass insert and it fell out. Fell out of the welded ones too but that was from the heat. Sometimes I glued a magnet back in, sometimes I drilled out the brass and stuck a bigger magnet in there just magnetically. It worked.Post 4 of 7
Then one day I walked into a store of the same company from which I got my first framing hammer and I picked up a Vaughan 23oz California framer. It met all my framing hammer criteria - large strike surface, the rounded concave area, close nail start feature, good wooden handle, and it even said USA on it. The HF framer was my favorite hammer until I picked up the Vaughan. With a slightly lighter head and a longer and straight handle it has a better weight/balance feel and better strikes and I even prefer the grip shape. The steel feels like it's better or tempered better than others. I used to look for shorter handles and heavier heads because I was conscious of my hammer handle from my belt hitting someone's floor if crouching during interior work. The lighter head and longer handle is just better. Better strikes, balance/feel, and the handle bumping a floor has never caused damage anyway.I was a little surprised to find the head didn't seem to be all the way finished. The indent for the nail start was sloped instead of square as if it hadn't been milled right and it wouldn't start a nail. The nail would fling off when trying. I ground it more square and with a chainsaw file I deepened the groove for the nail shank so that the nail head is more supported by the backing. Works great since. Also while the round concave portion was present it wasn't smooth so wouldn't be suitable for closing miters so I filed that. I suppose those were casting defects. I also ground the waffle surface to a smooth surface (Vaughan makes a smooth version yet there wasn't one at that store) and filed/sanded all outer edges for comfortable handling. I cut a piece of a metal can and fitted it wrapped with friction tape to protect the handle from overstrike damage. Lastly because I wanted a different color and because I'd sanded it anyway I slathered the head in a combination of black spray paint and linseed oil. Post 5 of 7
Despite refining the finish work this is by far my favorite hammer. It's probably my single favorite tool. It's a pattern that has been produced a while and allegedly made domestically and I overlooked it. I could have started with this pattern hammer and never needed to look for another. If I thought the pattern would change I'd buy ten more and hoard them. I don't ascribe to salesmanship unless it's with belief in a product and I would represent Vaughan hammers after finding this one. Sometimes I play with it like a fidget toy because the grip and balance and eased edges mean it's pleasant to handle.Post 6 of 7
Bonus post - it's not a framing hammer but it is DIY.This is a brass mallet I made.The head is a lump of brass I found in a box at the curb along with dead roaches, a roll of solder and other scrap.The shank is a piece of gate hardware I found in the desert.The grip is of pallet wood I found in the road.I sometimes wonder if I should check that lump of brass with a geiger counter.Post 7 of 7
>>2990283What a lovely simple hammer
>>2990285Hammer is a good tool. Much smash.
>>2990280>leather wrapCorrecting myself - not wrapped.
>>2990277What are their names, anon?I know you've named themDon't be shy, you're among friends here
What would you recommend for a home gamer all-around hammer. I have a regular claw hammer, and a rubber/plastic faced hammer for slightly more delicate work. I've found myself over the years wanting a decent (heavy) maul and maybe a deadblow. I don't do framing or production jobs, but sometimes you need a good hammer.
>>2990385>What would you recommend for a home gamer all-around hammer. I have a regular claw hammerYou just answered your own question dipshit. But if you still want to consoooom then get yourself a 14oz Stiletto
>>2990406>You just answered your own question dipshit.I hope a hammer falls on your head from a great distance.
>>2990381>I know you've named themNo you don't because I haven't. I typically address cats as 'kitty.' These are hammers.>>2990385>What would you recommend for a home gamer all-around hammer.If after my review you didn't infer that I would recommend a 23oz California framer pattern on a 17" wooden handle then I'm unsure what more review to offer. That is my preference for an all-around type hammer. Most of the construction work I do is finish carpentry, general construction, remodel, demo type stuff. I don't do that much framing and when I do framing I use a framing nailer, or building a deck with hangers so still different fasteners. It's a somewhat rare occasion that I actually drive framing nails with my hammer so even though it's called a framing hammer I don't really view it as a framing hammer. It's my general purpose hammer. That's why I use smooth faces.If more delicacy is required I just put a block between and swing my same hammer. There's usually a piece of scrap laying around. Waste of footsteps going to get another hammer. In a shop setting that would be different.>>2990406>>2990407That's mean. Nice is nicer.>14ozI've heard in theory the lighter framing hammers swung faster are supposed to hit harder and be easier on the elbow and probably that's valuable to someone driving framing nails with a hammer except that's not most of what I use a hammer for. Admittedly I haven't tried one of those lighter hammers yet. I just imagine there are some things that a heavier hammer is best for, like tapping a PT 2x10 or a sheet of plywood into place, or swinging the thing sideways between joists because there isn't even enough clearance for a proper strike. That's the kind of stuff I do more often than driving framing nails by hand and I just imagine a heavier hammer still being best for that stuff.
>>2990448>I just imagine there are some things that a heavier hammer is best for, like tapping a PT 2x10 or a sheet of plywood into place, or swinging the thing sideways between joists because there isn't even enough clearance for a proper strike. That's the kind of stuff I do more often than driving framing nails by hand and I just imagine a heavier hammer still being best for that stuff.Maybe you should try one out. The first day I tried a nice whippy hickory stiletto it was like holding magic in my hand. You can crack the fuck out of anything , not just nails, and the whole geometry of the tool is just really nice, at least for my arm
>>2990448>the lighter framing hammers swung faster are supposed to hit harder and be easier on the elbowSounds like bs unless you're hitting baby nails I used to take out a hatchet to nail rafters with 180mm nails cause that was the heaviest hammer I had
>>2990527I would test one. I think every time I've seen them in stores they've been behind locked cases or such so I couldn't even fondle them unless performing the intermediate step of summoning a biped to stand there and say stuff while I do so. I stopped buying underwear at a major department store for the same reason when they started putting those items in cases. I haven't bought underwear in years. My underwear are tattered. It hasn't yet been a critical issue however it is approaching the point that a solution is required. I suppose I'll order those online. I try to shop local/independent and it's not always possible. Oh well. The hammer I would want to feel out in person before ordering, and not during salesman scrutiny.>>2990542It pretty much says so in the advertised features. Are you implying that marketing could be less than legitimate?
