I have a big job coming up pretty soon, and I am probably going to get a titanium hammer. I’ve used the Stilleto a little bit, and liked it, but I’ve heard many stories of the claws and handles breaking…Often multiple times in a few weeks. Also heard pulling nails voids the warranty…Not sure if that is true. Anybody have a recommendation? The only titanium hammers I know of are Stilleto and the Deathstick, but I’ve never used the Deathstick.
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Replies
My excovation guy accidently left a Douglas framing wooden handled hammer at my house and I tried it for a week.
I like it a whole lot more than my Estwing and will be shortly ordering one on line somewhere....
To me, the titanium hammers are a waste of money....$200????? F that BS
Be pounded hard ; )
andy
edit:
I've always wanted to attach a ring under the head of the hook that I could swing on my finger like a gun and slide it into my hammer hook...I've actually gotten good at doin' that without the ring.......and one of the guys that worked for me years ago showed me how to kick the handle outta yer hammer hook with the heel of your boot into the air and ya grab it...swing the claw/ handle around your finger and slip it back into yer holster..I mean hammer hook....lol,,,,next fest we need to have a hammer contest I think.
My life is my practice!
http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
Edited 1/11/2004 11:09:16 AM ET by Andy Clifford(Andybuildz)
I used to do the hammer kick, it takes a little practice but it's fun.Who Dares Wins.
I own a Death Stick, with the carbon fiber hatchet handle and I can't tell you how sweet that tool feels.. I used to have (and still do someplace) a vaughn 22 oz. with the wooden handle.. a couple of handles later My arm felt like it was coming out of it's socket and I developed tennis elbow.. that really laid me up for a while which is why I switched to the titianum. I couldn't afford to gimp around with my right arm in either a sling or wrapped.. I used to take Advil untill I read how hard that stuff is on your kidneys.. since I only have the one body and I need it to finish the job I'm on. I thought it was money well spent.. The Eastwing is still around for those little tap tap jobs but if I need to hit something hard out comes the death stick (god, I wish they had a differant name)
I confess, I've never used a titanium hammer (Even my bike is steel.), but when I think about it, I don't use ANY hammer all that much any more. Most things that I do that would have been done by hammer a generation ago are now done with nail gun or screw gun. Now, I do mostly small projects and nothing specialized like heavy framing way up high, so when I do need a hammer (I still like to do asphalt shingles by hand, but don't do much of that either.), my steel Estwing feels fine. I sometimes think about buying another hammer, mostly for fun, but $25 or $35 would be plenty. The esthetics of something like a classic wood-handled hammer like Andy mentions sounds like fun. Titanium just sounds like overkill without a very specialized need.
If you have money for a hammer burning a hole in your pocket, maybe a new nail gun would be a better investment.
Al Mollitor, Sharon MA
SBerruezo,
Since you are asking about titanium hammers, I feel that only those who own them and use them should answer. Not the guys who gripe about price, but don't use them. How can you possibly get a reliable opinion?
I do own the Stiletto Ti-Bone. I thought that shelling out that kind of money was stupid and I argued with the Stiletto guys at 2 JLC shows. They asked me if I'd tried it, and of course I hadn't. I drove some 16s into a chunk of 6x and couldn't believe that it did not take me any more swinging to drive a nail. I still didn't buy it. Ended up that my mom and mother in law (always worrying about me :-)) bought me the hammer.
My impressions? First of all, I got my hammer for $160, still a lot, but less than $200. I love that hammer. It makes my nail bags lighter (noticeably), I can drive nails for a longer amount of time in awkward positions, I can pull nails all I want because the handle is titanium, I can use the same hammer and just switch faces if I'm doing something where I don't want mule marks (mule marks are marks only a jackass can make :-))
The guys on my crew love them so much that one guy bought one, and the other guy (25 years exp) would buy one, but he is cheap. He won't even buy a haircut. His wife puts a bowl on his head like in Dumb and Dumber and starts clipping away :-) So everyone that I know that has tried out the hammer (and who is a framer), loves those hammers.
I have yet to read online, talk to someone, that owns one of these hammers who doesn't like it or feel that it is a justifiable expense.
Since you are young, like me, I'm sure you want to last and stay healthy. Taking proper care of your body now helps. I know many framers with messed up shoulders and wrists and the Dr. said it's because of the heavy hammers they used. Granted, we use guns now, but there is still a lot of hand nailing to be done.
Just my $0.02. Let me know what you decide.
Yeah, I've seen those new Tibones, but I think that is probably a bit out of my range at the moment. Plus, with the open head, you can hammer sideways, like so many of us do when there is no room... I was thinking about the Hickory handled ones, but if it turns out the Tibone is way better, I may just drop the bucks to do it.Young, poor, and eager to learn
i am replying despite the fact that tim don't like it. i dont own one but when i was thinking about getting one i talked to a co-worker who had one. his response was DO NOT get one! he said the lighter weight had affected the mechanics of the swing and had caused his elbow to begin hurting. he said after he went back to the proper weight steel hammer his elbow problem stopped. he said he gave his titanium hammer to yet another co-worker who also relegated the titanium to situational backup use.
like tim says i can see a use for a lighter hammer for awkward situations, with bad angles for hammer swings, however i would try to avoid those situations all together with a little proper prior planning. for framing use and swinging the hammer downhill use the weight to your advantage, and proper form for nailing
Skids,
I think my post came off a lot ruder than I meant it. I apologize for that.
Your post is the first time I've heard anything negative about the Stiletto. I'll file that one away.
How's things going for you?
no offense taken tim, and thanks i am doing good, i don't mean to offend you at all either, and rather enjoy the occasional heated debate. i noticed casey had posted some other threads with responses to this question and one poster in that thread had a similar reaction when framing as my friend. as to the swinging a lighter hammer when out of position i think its great for that. good for tico's, pick up work, overhead etc.
check message # 34122.44
I recently started using a Stiletto....love it....14 oz. with 28 oz power and easy on the elbows, wrists and cost something like $58.
The only downside I see is that high pitched ring when driving 16's or better that, I suppose might call for the use of earplugs if you're using it day after day.
I'm 57 years young and have become more careful about trying to squeak a little extra life outa the old body. I'm relegating my Estwings to part-time honeydo work at home and gifts for people who annoy me. :-)
Haven't heard anything about claws breaking and such and I know a few framers that have been using them for quite awhile with no problems and swear by them.
i have the stiletto.. mine has a composite handle.. 16 oz... this is a great framing hammer... don't even bother PULLING nails with it though.. it's a straight claw.. so why would anyone bother...
this is the best DRIVING hammer i've ever used
here's my stilletto (16 oz )... my old plumb framer (28 oz).. and my everyday plumb (16 oz ) ... and my yamaguchi nail puller
since i took this i also bought a japanese framing hammer like blodgett uses.. it's ok.. a great puller.. but i still like the stilletto titanium better
Mike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Mike,
About a month ago everyone on the crew but me was sick (I had just gotten over whatever bug it was), so I was framing a floor on my own. My brother came out to help me lay the sheathing. I had to nail the joists together where they lapped and I had a 20' row to do and decided to hand nail for the practice. It was the last thing I had to do (besides the blocking which I used the gun for) before laying plywood. I got a handfull of 16ds and went to town. I was sinking them in 1 swing all the way down. What I like about the Ti-bone is that because it's light, I can keep my accuracy even after driving a lot of nails. Plus when I hit my shin, there is no vibration to my elbow!!! :-) Just kidding. I have, when I first started, just whaled my shin, and my knee.
We had this guy start work for us last spring. He glanced off a joist and just cracked his shin with his hammer. He was holding his leg and rolling in the dirt. He laughed afterwards, but he had to blink away the tears.
Is that Stiletto you have the newer 16oz that drives like a 28oz steel? My hammer has the straight claw and works well for nail pulling, but my cats claw is similar to yours and is great. We have 3 sizes of those. A really tiny one that is smaller than yours, then one just a hair bigger than yours, and a rather large one. They each have their use.
Hope you are staying busy.
the little yamacuchi claw is about 1/3 the size of that one... we call it the "mini-me"
yes that 16oz. Ti drives like a two pound big mac and doesn't seem to bother my carpenter's elbow..
Mike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
A couple of old, fairly long threads in which titanium hammers are discussed (there also are some others if do a search):
10776.1
21947.1
Edited 1/11/2004 11:11:31 PM ET by CaseyR
About 14 years ago I found my first wooden handled framing hammer in an excavation around an new house we were hired to frame in a large subdivision. It was the glint of the steel that caught my eye and I had to pull the handle out of the earth. After a few days I put the metal hammer in the back of the van for good. The only problem I am having is I keep feeling I should have dug further to see if there was a hand attached to the handle when I found it.
Scott T
Looks like the hammer family is off to go on a trip;-)
i have the 14 oz stilleto with the wooden handel and the exumer cats paw for pulling ialso recently baught a 18 oz douglas andd one of those funny new estwings both were ok but time after time i reach for my stilleto i also have the 10 oz finish hammer wich i put a straight handel on and to top it all off yoou get to say you carry a ruger all day
noah
Well, I have five of them (4 are Stilettos) in the collection.
I also have carpenter's elbows, so I can attest that these things work.
I would recommend the curved handle models over the straight (and so do the chiropractors) and I would buy the Dalluge Sweet 16, which is a 16 oz Ti hammer vs. Stilletto 14s. Orco stocks the Sweet 16 at about $68.
The extra weight and longer handle means that it really nails well. My super, who nails much better than moi was sinking them in 2 strokes with it. I think he was taken with it.
ToolBear
My two cents......have the stilletto and the douglas both. LOVE THEM.....My accupuncturist makes sure that's all I use. No more tendonitis. (I love all my nail guns just as much) Can't wait to get the finish head for the douglas.....made a couple of good waffles just the other day....Beck
I couldn''t pass up this hammer discussion without showing you guys my Hammerfan.
My everyday hammer is a 10 year old 22 oz. Stainless Hart Woody. I like the weight of a 22 oz. weather it is a stainless,titanium, or steel.
The most affordable an best balanced of the bunch is the Vaughan Ti Tech which is a combination of wood handle,titanium head and claw with a replacable steel stricker that has a dampening washer between the steel and the titanium.(blue handle in the hammerfan.
"Rather be a hammer than a nail"
Bob
Yikes! Sorry about the Hart Woody picture. Don't open that big file unless you have a cable modem.
Now get out there and put a little more toe on the Nail................"Rather be a hammer than a nail"
Bob
What an awesome, beautiful collection of strikers. I have only three (no need for a pic), but I understand your passion for collecting. I can never resist the perusal of hammers whenever I visit a lumberyard.
Regards
COOL..I had a great experiance with an old Estwing..set my 28 down out side of a footer trench,, the back hoe set a stabilizer on it..snap. Shocked me cuz I have seen then really abused. I took it to the local (to the job) hardware store, and was promptly given a new one..cool enuf, BUT they gave me the old one back. A guy on my crew took it home to HIS local store and got a new one TOO..AND THEY GAVE IT BACK..turns out 5 new hammers before a store actually kept it!! My new one broke two yrs later just prying out a bottom plate cutout..It went in the trash. Now it is The woody..6 yrs and still going.
Yes! Loved the hammerfan. I want them all.
I downloaded that picture last year and posted it. Recognized a number of my hammers. The boys claimed it really was a ToolBear pinup. Should have a calendar under it.
I have been looking for the TiTech in curved grip. Never found one. Don't use straight. If you have framed with one, I would be interested in your observations.
ToolBear
My Sons test of these hammers and have found the factory rubber isolating washer between the stricker and the head to be too soft. They have inserted a teflon washer and it works great.
Now if you really can't locate the curved handle I ship you one as soon as your check clears the bank...............
I'll have to get back to you on the price . The shipping costs are probably only a few bucks.
It is one sweet hammer.........."Rather be a hammer than a nail"
Bob
I have the version of the Douglas when it was licensed as the Hart Woody. Nice hammer. What they have done to the new Woody is terrible - value engineered it. The old one and the Douglass are built like 14th Cent. Tewskbury war hammers and other pole arms.
The Douglas is nicely done. Like the reverse waffle patter. Would like more meat in the handle to fit my hand better.
ToolBear