Hammers are considered the oldest tools on earth, and they were probably the devices with which other tools were initially made. The oldest hammer we're aware of was most likely used about 2-1/2 million years ago to fashion ancient knives or spear heads. The good news is, in modern times we simply buy our arrows and employ the hammers for nails, chisels and occasionally a wayward thumb. The three most popular styles of hammers are discussed in this article, along with descriptions of specific products.

A claw hammer is employed mainly for driving nails into other materials. Sometimes, the claw end may be needed to remove nails which have been imprecisely inserted by some other guy. The head attached to a claw hammer is made out of somewhat brittle steel, consequently those hammers won't be meant for metalwork. However, they hold their own on wood, plaster and the other guy's thumb.

Stanley offers a nicely designed 16 oz claw hammer with a fiberglass handle that could look good in your tool chest. The assertive yellow handle will be easy to see in your toolbox, and the handle's fiberglass material and textured rubber make it easy to hold, while the annealed head makes it hard on nails.

Ball-peen hammers are set apart from claw hammers since ball-peens include a round strike surface and never have a claw-end. This kind of hammer is used in metalworking processes for tasks like striking punches and chisels with the right amount of force to carve metal. Now and again, it has been employed to bend sheet metal if the normal machinery is not available. Thanks to the way these particular hammers are employed, they are not so likely to flatten thumbs, but knuckles occasionally become collateral damage. Klein Tools, Inc. markets a 12.5 inch ball peen hammer made with a high-carbon steel head. The quality-made hickory handle gives extra heft to the strike and is adequately sturdy for years of whacking stuff.

A sledgehammer has a bulky head, flattened on each end and is therefore much heavier than the previous two styles of hammers. Sledgehammers are engineered to impose more force than carpenter's hammers and are not particularly intended for accuracy. These hammers are normally intended for driving stakes and are particularly handy for demolition of most materials. Pony has a 10-pound sledgehammer with a three foot fiberglass handle which makes sure the force focuses on the object, rather than the person working with this hammer. The steel head is hardened for resilience, and the strike surfaces in addition to the sides are protected to inhibit rust.

Hammers are very old and very handy tools. They are made to be used for driving, squashing, punching, and occasionally for demolition. No decent tool box ought to be in public without at least a couple of these all-purpose tools. Incidentally, they are absolutely not designed for thumbs, fingers or other extremities, so make sure that other guy keeps his mitts out of the hammer's sphere of influence.