any estwing type studies out there?

[bridger berdel]

picked up this hammer the other day. the head shape to me looked early, but I am no expert.



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in any case it is pretty cool. the butt plate says:

estwing mfg co
rockford
ill.
pat 3 30
others
pend

that head shape packs in some mass. the face os flat, not domed. the butt plate is a little loose, so the leather rings can move a bit. I can tighten that up.


just thought I'd share

Bridger

[Jim Koepke]

My father had two Estwing hammers that were slightly different. One had a straight claw the other had a curved claw.

On yours the patent date should indicate the years it was made. Patent dates are only good for so many years. My guess is most likely yours was made before 1950.

Searching > estwing hammer history < found a few fun reads.

jtk

[Tom M King]

I swing an Estwing.

[Jerry Thompson]

I have one that looks just like the photo. It belonged to my Father. I don't use it as it seems too light. I also have his Estwing axe. It is also too light to do much of anything with. Both are around mid sixties vintage if I recall correctly.

[bridger berdel]

This one is definitely a finish hammer. It does address a small nail with authority, though.

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

Personal thing, but as cool as they look, I've never liked Estwings for larger hammers - all that metal in the handle fatigues me after a while, and seems to translate the striking force back into my arm. Definitely get a little more numb using one than a wood-handled hammer. For the similar reasons, though, I sometimes like them for smaller hammers - a little more oomph in a smaller package can be helpful sometimes. I'm no pro at swinging a hammer though - I'm sure my opinion might change if I did it more often - I get tuckered out too early by things like that, these days . . . .

[Moses Yoder]

I have my father's Estwing,I think it is a 24 oz framing hammer. Not as old as the one in the OP, but has the brown handle instead of blue. I found a nice Estwing on the road once, turned around and went back to get it. I distinctly remember Cooper Suter in the good ole days on WC telling me not to use a hammer with a steel handle. I greatly prefer the Bluegrass hammers with an octagonal wood handle.

Estwing Hammer.jpg

[Tom M King]

I've swung them all day for more than a few days. The hold is the important part for keeping arm pump away. You can tell the ones of mine that have the most use because the end of the handle that fits in the palm is worn rounded. If I'm driving many nails, I don't think I even have my little finger on the handle. It's more of a rotating motion in the palm than a tight grip. Sort of like swinging a golf club-the tighter you hold it, the slower you'll swing. Fiberglass handled hammers have too much lost motion for me, and are more tiring for me. With an Estwing, what you put into it on the downswing goes into the nail.

My usual carry hammer is a 16 oz. straight claw with blue handle. I've reground the bell face on it more flat, and did away with the beveled edges. That way, I can get into a tight corner with it better, or use an edge of the face to sink a framing nail a little deeper at an angle without the head sticking out any. I kept a little bit of the bell face so it's still useable to mostly drive a finish nail, but got rid of most of it. If I'm driving big nails, and not pulling a trigger, I'm carrying a bigger one.

[Terry Beadle]

I've got a Estwing 16 oz straight claw I've had since 1975. Still in great shape. Only had to put some oil on the leather ringed handle a few times.
Works great. A bit pricey but worth it.

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

I've swung them all day for more than a few days. The hold is the important part for keeping arm pump away. You can tell the ones of mine that have the most use because the end of the handle that fits in the palm is worn rounded. If I'm driving many nails, I don't think I even have my little finger on the handle. It's more of a rotating motion in the palm than a tight grip. Sort of like swinging a golf club-the tighter you hold it, the slower you'll swing. Fiberglass handled hammers have too much lost motion for me, and are more tiring for me. With an Estwing, what you put into it on the downswing goes into the nail.

My usual carry hammer is a 16 oz. straight claw with blue handle. I've reground the bell face on it more flat, and did away with the beveled edges. That way, I can get into a tight corner with it better, or use an edge of the face to sink a framing nail a little deeper at an angle without the head sticking out any. I kept a little bit of the bell face so it's still useable to mostly drive a finish nail, but got rid of most of it. If I'm driving big nails, and not pulling a trigger, I'm carrying a bigger one.

Yeah, as a guy who's nail driving is usually limited to smaller cabinetry style stuff, (and hence, fewer nails driven in any one session), I figured technique was more of my issue - maybe I'll have to give it another try next time. As someone who doesn't need to do this for work, I hope there's not a next time, though!

Watching real pros in the roofing or carpentry gigs work with a hammer always astounds me, and makes me realize how much finesse there is in swinging one of those. Not a skill I ever think I'll have. (I had the same thing trying to sink screws in cement board after my dad showing me . . . )

[bridger berdel]

I tried tightening up the peined "rivets" at the butt end but they were too hard to be moved by my ball pein hammer. Instead I shifted the leather discs around to even up the spacing of them on the handle and am figuring to soak them in something to get them to swell back up to size. They seem to still be pretty pliable. I worked the surface of the leather handle a bit with some coarse sandpaper to open it up. I'm wondering what would be an appropriate material to soak them in. I can see not wanting something that hardens and makes the leather brittle, but not something that makes the leather soft and fragile either. A mix of mineral oil and linseed? Maybe top that with shellac or something.

I have a can of "neatsfoot compound" but as far as I can tell it's just mineral oil of some kind. It leaves leather smelling permanently like used motor oil.