Just hit 500 hours on my main hammer and it's still my go-to

Everyone says you need to switch to a new hammer after 200 hours or the face gets too soft. My 3lb cross peen from a local maker in Toledo has over 500 hours on it and I've never had to redress the face. I think a lot of folks are hitting too hard or using the wrong angle. The steel quality is way more important than some magic hour count. Has anyone else kept a hammer way past the 'normal' life and had it work fine?

3 comments

3 Comments

beng5126d ago

My buddy's old framing hammer lasted like ten years, right?

nathan_kim26d ago

Ten years is nothing. The real question is how many houses got built with it in that time. A hammer that sits in a toolbox for a decade is just old, not tough. It's the total swings that matter, and nobody ever keeps count of that.

williams.luna26d ago

My dad's Estwing hammer turned 30 this year and still drives nails like new. I used to brag about how long my tools lasted just sitting around, but you're right. That hammer built our garage, three sheds, and a treehouse. It's not about the calendar, it's about the work it actually did.