| THE HAMMER IN HISTORY
Man's First Tool
If you want to go back far enough you'll find that man's first hammer was a stone he held in his hand. However, it took centuries of this painful finger bashing before the first caveman do-it-yourselfer finally decided to put a handle on the stone - and voila, the first hammer was born.
This was about the 4th century BC and of course the handle was wood, which became the handle of choice through the ages up to the present day. At first handles were tied to the hammer head with vines or strips of hide. It was much later before a hole or "eye" was bored into the head for a secure fit to the handle. Meanwhile, through the centuries the hammer head proceeded to change in keeping with the millenium it was in, evolving through the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, the Iron Age, to the modern Industrial Age with its steel and metal alloys.
First Hammer Manufacturers
When our country's forefathers went shopping for a hammer, instead of a local home center, they went to their village blacksmith. He was the guy who beat out hammer heads from red hot iron on his trusty anvil. In addition to being the worlds' first hammer producers, they were the first metallurgists facing some of the same challenges as today's hammer manufacturers of providing the right combination of temper, hardness and durability.
When steel was first introduced blacksmiths had to use a process for adding carbon to give it the proper hardness. The hammer head was put into a charcoal fire box until it reached the proper heat (or temper), and while red hot was immediately doused in oil or water.
Hammers With A Temper!
Later on, steel was introduced with carbon in it until today's modern manufacturing methods introduced computerized processing which carefully controls the carbon and alloy content to insure proper temper and hardness. One manufacturer has developed a triple-zone heat treating process which insures different degrees of hardness in the important areas of the face, eye and claw of the hammer head. Quality hammers require a hot forging process with exacting tempering of the steel to produce a durable, high-performing product. Less expensive hammers produced of cast steel, are not as durable with likelihood of chipping and mushrooming.
Hammers As "Family"
In colonial times hammers were given special attention as our D-I-Y forefathers made their own hammer handles out of their favorite wood, engraving them with their name and the date. Sometimes the family hammer was personalized and given names such as "Tom, John or Sam" which was also cut into the handle. Wooden headed hammers (mallets) were in the majority in pre-Revolutionary days when wooden nails were in wide use. Iron hammers soon replaced them when metals nails were later introduced.
A Family of Hammers
Because for our forefathers "do-it-yourself" meant doing everything, they had to have a hammer for every trade and task - coopers hammers for making barrels, veneer hammers for trimming lumber, wooden mallets for carpentry, farrier hammers for horse-shoes, blacksmith hammers, bricklaying hammers, ice hammer, and shoemaker's hammers, to name a few. Again, most of these were fashioned by the village smithy.
Today's consumer has even more types and sizes at his disposal. As an example one major U.S. hammer manufacturer produces more than 250 types and sizes for every conceivable trade and task.
Hammer History Still Being Made
In the beginning all hammer handles were of wood, but today they also come in steel and fiberglass. Many wood working professionals still prefer the wooden handle over other handle types as its more shock absorbent, is lighter in weight and provides good balance. Steel hammers, a favorite with construction workers for their strength and durability also have a drawback in causing handle "sting." However, new technology has improved on this, with a wood and rubber implant in the hammer head reducing vibration and making the feel of these steel hammers "almost as kind as wood."
Other innovations include: increasing the curve of the hammer claw to permit easy cradling of
2 x 4's, milled faces to reduce nail slippage, straight claw design for ripping hammers and finely polished hammer heads for quality inspection and customer pride of ownership.
With all the improvements the hammer still remains as one of man's most personal tools. As a longtime carpenter puts it "a hammer is more than just a hammer. It's a personal tool that you get used to and you form a loyalty with. It becomes an extension of yourself."
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