Clawed Hammer

[Jim Koepke]

ebay item 200436099768 is a claw hammer with three claws.

141400

I have seen double clawed hammers with different size openings in the claws. Not sure why some one would want this.

jtk

[Paul Atkins]

Some kid in a welding class thought it would be funny. And it is.

[William M Johnson]

I never understood why hammers had the claw portion anyway. Why would you want to pull a nail out. Kind of like an eraser on the end of a pencil, why would you want to erase a mark you already made?:D

[Jim Koepke]

Why would you want to pull a nail out.

Maybe you need it someplace else…

jtk

[Dave Anderson NH]

Hi Paul,

Actually, 2 and 3 claw hammers were made commercially. I looked carefully at the photo Jim posted for signs of a weld and didn't find any though it is possible that this one is a fake. It probably is not however since these hammers are not that rare and they don't normally bring a high enough price to be worth the works of faking.

[Chen-Tin Tsai]

I think in one of Garrett Hack's books (Handtools?) he talks about hammers with multiple claws. Supposedly, they are used to quickly remove long nails: the claw nearest the end starts the pull and the claws further up the handle finish them.

[Jim Koepke]

I think in one of Garrett Hack's books (Handtools?) he talks about hammers with multiple claws. Supposedly, they are used to quickly remove long nails: the claw nearest the end starts the pull and the claws further up the handle finish them.

Kind of like getting into a higher gear but without the clutch…

jim

[Jeff Burks]

Some relevant patents for multi-claw insanity:

D30786 (http://www.google.com/patents?id=ytYoAAAAEBAJ&zoom=4&dq=D30786&as_drrb_ap=q&as_minm_ap=0&as_miny_ap=&as_maxm_ap=0&as_maxy_ap=&as_drrb_is=q&as_minm_is=0&as_miny_is=&as_maxm_is=0&as_maxy_is=&pg=PA1#v=onepage&q=&f=false)
D34663 (http://www.google.com/patents?id=Vi1xAAAAEBAJ&zoom=4&dq=D34663&pg=PA1#v=onepage&q=&f=false)
2239719 (http://www.google.com/patents?id=gpBtAAAAEBAJ&zoom=4&dq=2%2C239%2C719&pg=PA4#v=onepage&q=&f=false)
2491129 (http://www.google.com/patents?id=6qxiAAAAEBAJ&zoom=4&dq=2%2C491%2C129&pg=PA1#v=onepage&q=&f=false)
D251540 (http://www.google.com/patents?id=JMt7AAAAEBAJ&zoom=4&dq=D251540&pg=PA2#v=onepage&q=&f=false)
D269061 (http://www.google.com/patents?id=ymEqAAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract&zoom=4&source=gbs_overview_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=&f=false)
D295715 (http://www.google.com/patents?id=eLw8AAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract&zoom=4&source=gbs_overview_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=&f=false)

[James Taglienti]

i don't think that hammer is a fake in the sense that it was created to deceive, but i dont think it's genuine. There is a 3 clawed hammer that was made commercially but it looks nothing like that... the addition of more claws to hammers kind of fell into the patent frenzy around the turn of the century where everybody had a better mousetrap. a lot of times it was just a pizzing contest between guys who actually lived in close proximity to each other. The northeast, particularly massachusetts, saw dozens of plane patents in a short period of time. A lot of times it was just a borrowed idea that was tweaked a bit to avoid infringement and then nickel plated to make it look better :)

[Jack Wilson]

Come on, where's the link? I want to bid on that, my hammer only has 2 claws.:)

Never mind, I see that ebay number, I was just too excited!

[Bruce Page]

It looks like it would be great at building arm strength.

The two claws, particularly the center claw sure look welded to me.

[Curt Harms]

I think in one of Garrett Hack's books (Handtools?) he talks about hammers with multiple claws. Supposedly, they are used to quickly remove long nails: the claw nearest the end starts the pull and the claws further up the handle finish them.

That was my thought. Sort of like starting to pull a nail then putting a 2X4 under the head for extra travel. The added claws wouldn't have the leverage, though. And I'm not sure about why the center set of claws.