Ballpeen hammer
 

Who makes a professional grade ballpeen hammer? Want perfectly weighted, wood handle hammers, both small and medium sizes. Nothing at Home Depot or even quality local hardware store.

Snap-On. They have both 'no-bounce' which has plastic handle filled with sand and conventional wood handle. Very nicely made BTW, but a little costly. I have both types as well as a few wooden handle body hammers all of which I've had for 25+ years.

Hazet?

^^^^^Possibly but Snap-On has a huge selection of varying sizes, weights, heads. Definitely feel quality and balance in your hand.

I've always been a fan of Vaughn hammers.....

https://www.jbtools.com/vaughan-18710-5-piece-ball-pein-hammer-set/?gclid=CjwKCAjw95D0BRBFEiwAcO1KDKia3ZjVigKN5ZwFbnV slCLYm7YNNdq-cOdL0PEPp0hVGvrGBEN24hoChUUQAvD_BwE

please describe a "perfectly weighted" hammer.

i assume they all carry the bulk of the weight in the head..what else? is there a perfect handle:head ratio?

i dont get it.

I think he's trying to equate "Finesse" with "Hammer" and that just ain't going to happen.

I don't know if there is a "perfect" ratio - it probably depends on what you are doing with the hammer.
I have used hammers that had a terrible ratio. We used them to pound out castings at the foundry I worked at. The handle was 1/2 EMT about 10" long with 5 or 6 ounces of lead for a head. They felt terribly awkward to use and difficult to direct the blow. We would use them until the head was too badly deformed, then melt them down and make more.
I also have a hammer around there somewhere with a full-sized handle and a tiny 2 oz. head. It's awkward to use also.

that's just it. it depends on the person wielding the tool. me and my office worker hands need a vastly different tool than say..THOR.


i had this contractor foreman that would have a ritual at the beginning of every highway project. he would take a sledgehammer (11lb?) and cut the handle down to around 12 inches. that would be his baby sledge!!! i tried to swing it and almost had to take a day off. the man was a mutant.

I'm still using my grand dad's. Grand dad was a blacksmith at Std Oil, NJ, Bayway refinery in 1910.
Sure, I've replaced the head several times and fitted about four wood handles over the years. But, it's still my grand dad's hammer and works like a charm.
Bill K

Thanks AG and Craig. Craig, at that price I'll just get them and see how they feel.

Can't describe it. It's a know it when you pick up a hammer and feel it kind of thing. No love at HD and Coolidge Hardware. Have had a lot of hammers. Some feel like an extension of your arm, like my 2.5 lb mini sledge that I can use delicately and with finesse and some just feel wrong when you pick them up. Could be just me. I do a lot of delicate hammering and want something more substantial than a tack hammer at times.

These are two that I have in my tool box.
One thing I noticed is the 'ball' on the old one is a lot rounder than the 'ball' on the newer one.
The old one is older than I am as it has my dad's initials on it from before he changed his name.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1585760687.JPG

I've used multiple brands over the years and the best IMO are Estwing.

https://www.estwing.com/collections/specialty/products/ball-peen-hammers

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So many of my tools are pawn shop / garage sale specials. I have some good hammer and some hammers that I just smack at stuff I need to hit.

If you have time, the old ones can be really nice. I don't have many (any?) new tools that I treasure.

McMaster has a bunch.

I think the $22 set at Harbor Freight is fine. But maybe you want to go upscale...

+1
I have a hand sledge I call thor
never have named a new tool

NO china steel can shatter

quality in stuff you HIT HARD is necessary

Found a lot of vintage Blue Points on eBay. Will get one of those too.

I have never shattered a hammer, or even seen one shatter. Ever.

You want Trusty Cook. They OEM for Snap-On and others. Good stuff.

https://trustycook.com

I’m sure not up the the quality standard of others here, but I love this little hammer when tapping in a seal or working in tight spaces. Handle has a good feel and its light enough that you can persuade things without destroying them.


https://www.harborfreight.com/8-oz-stubby-ball-pein-hammer-95930.html

Another vote for Maxwell's Silver Hammer.

Martin hammers are some of the best ever. They make from 2 oz to 40. Anyone who has seriously tapped or beaten a piece of metal knows the name. In body shops Martin is the Snap On.

I bought this one in 1979.
Btw, many hammer models are offered in several sizes.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1585792152.jpg

On all my wood handle hammers, I cut grooves in the handle for grip. Had a few get loose before I started the grooves

Quick update, the hammers that Craig posted are really nice. Thanks Craig!

Cliff, I'm going to say perfectly weighted is all about handle length combined with purpose. A few of the ones in the set feel great in the hand while using, they are the smaller ones, I do mostly small hammer work. The large ones feel good but only when using for really hammering on something. Which I guess is what BFH's are for. More handle and hammer to control in a swing but oddly they feel better with bigger motions. Best I got.

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I've only ever used a peen to cut a gasket so I'm wondering what kind of work you guys do with them?

What did I peen?
 

Pandemic lockdown project:

My favorite wooden mallet was splitting so I banded it with copper and then peened the copper to smooth all the sharp edges and to give it a nice texture.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1608830004.jpg

My collection of hammers. Or persuaders as they are sometimes called.

Per my earlier email, you can see where I cut grooves in the handles. This really helps when you are sweating or working with oily/greasy work.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1608830132.jpg

Edit: I’ve always called them machinists hammers, probably probably because my grandfather worked in the machine shop at the Charleston Naval shipyard decades ago.

I also just bought two Estwing plastic head hammers for a certain task at work.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1608830648.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1608830648.jpg

Weird. I thought I had them all, but I've never used or owned a ball peen hammer. Now I feel a void.....

The Vaughan made in USA hammers can actually be very nice. The big problem with them is the paint they put on them so they look good on the shelf. Clean up the working surfaces with emory cloth any you'll have a solid ball peen for under $15. My favorite size is 16 oz.

AFAIK Hazet only sells rebranded Picard hammers. Not bad, I think I have 4 of them ranging from 200g to 1500g. At retail prices they're ridiculously overpriced

I used to get the disposable ones from the hardware store.

I have a pile of them from Grandpa who.started work in the foundry at the Rouge in 1916. He was a Specialty Mold Maker.

He did alot of restoration work for Henry at the Dearborn museum. I still have his tool box and mold making tools.

For those that asked I think "perfectly weighted" could better be described as balanced. As Shaun stated you know it when you feel it. That is different for everyone and the task at hand. I get most of my hammers (except traditional framing hammers) at flea markets, yard sales. body hammers, upholstery hammers, small brass hammers for trim, ball peens, roofing, shingle hammers, etc. Sometimes they need a little restoration but for me the old stuff is the way to go. Usually a new wedge to tighten the head and I am good to go.

I have shattered the ball off the end of a Freight slide hammer.

I thought my dad was the only person using a ballpeen hammer. I'd bet I could open the hammer drawer in his toolbox and find 4 or more and maybe one crappy claw hammer.