April 13, 2011

True Temper Hammers - Review

Unbeknownst to us, The Lords of the Lawn Product, True Temper, are in the hammer business. Turns out, they've got all kinds of hammers. And they sent us a few to check out. We put them in the rotation and have been trying to destroy them for a couple weeks now to no avail. A more detailed review follows...

So they sent us three different models; the 16oz curved claw graphite handle, the 16oz rip claw all-steel handle, and the 20 oz rip claw hickory handle. All three of them have pretty big striking faces and magnetic nail starters. The molded handles on the all-steel and the fiberglass are very comfortable as is the hickory handle. Our one gripe is that True Temper has painted all of their wooden handles black. This is probably just our own aesthetic, but when we use a wooden-handled hammer, we want it to look like a wooden-handled hammer. Oh well. Actually, we have another gripe...those stickers that don't come off...don't get us started on those stickers.

From what we've been experiencing, these are nice hammers and they certainly take a beating. On their website, True Temper classifies the all-steel and the graphite one as good for DIYers. That's fine, but we don't see why any pro should turn their back on them either, particularly the all-steel one. If you're framing all day, you're probably better served with a wooden handle, but most carpenters we know use their hammer for whacking, bashing, smashing, tapping, and prying, so any one of these models should fit the bill.

Depending on the size and handle style, the hammers are going to cost anywhere from $10 to $40.