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Thread: Best claw?

  1. #1
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    Best claw?

    Or, merely an older version?
    Thursday, 16oz. Claw Hammers .JPG
    Both are 16oz Claw Hammers...but...
    Thursday, better claw .JPG
    Which would you use to pull out that rare bent nail?
    A Planer? I'm the Planer, and this is what I use

  2. #2
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    I never pull nails with a wooden handled hammer.

  3. #3
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    Wood handles all ALL I ever use....easier on my arm. Can't hold an Estwing, either...too bloody skinny for me to grip.

    Normally I just don't have the time to go and dig out a pair of Carpenter's Pincers...And I'd still need a wood block to keep from marring the surface.

    Shop is strictly wood handled.

    Which was the better claw....I think both of these hammers are older than you, Tom...
    A Planer? I'm the Planer, and this is what I use

  4. #4
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    These two Estwings are lifers. I build my first deck with the smaller one (38 years ago), and my second with the larger one (13 years ago). The handles will never break no matter my stupidity level.

    Sharp solves all manner of problems.

  5. #5
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    I don't know about better, but the one on the right looks like it's for framing, and the other for finish work.

    I swing an Estwing, and like straight claws better than curved for anything. The one I use the most is a 16 oz. that started life off as a bell faced one, but I ground the face much flatter and got rid of the beveled edge around the face. That way I can hit something in a corner with the top edge of the face. I don't know how much it changed the weight. The heel of the handle is worn rounded from spending so much time in the palm of my hand.

    I had old carpenters that worked for me in the '70's and '80's that would only use wooden handled hammers. I say old now, but they were a lot younger then than I am now. One, who was known around these parts as the best finish carpenter ever would only use a 12 oz. curved claw. Another, also a top finish carpenter, used a 20 oz. for everything. I never saw either one bend a nail.

  6. #6
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    I have that smaller model Estwing...resides in the Tool Cabinet, never really leaves the hooks..
    Uncle Arthur (itis) will not let me grip those blue handles even to use them....more of a case of on the "backswing"...."HEADS UP!"

    Subject is about which style claw was the best of those two versions...

    Have only broken ONE handle....while stripping Concrete Forms....although..a wood handle is quite easy to replace....

    I just prefer the handles to be wood, easier on the arm, any bad vibes stay in the wood...
    A Planer? I'm the Planer, and this is what I use

  7. #7
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    I don't have a clue about the claw question. I never use them to pull anything. A view of the grooves might show that they are each best intended for a certain class of nails.

    I've mostly pulled triggers since a nailgun salesman came up in a boat to a house I was building in 1975, but I've probably still driven a million or so with a hammer too.
    Last edited by Tom M King; 05-11-2023 at 6:19 PM.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tom M King View Post
    I don't know about better, but the one on the right looks like it's for framing, and the other for finish work.

    I swing an Estwing, and like straight claws better than curved for anything. The one I use the most is a 16 oz. that started life off as a bell faced one, but I ground the face much flatter and got rid of the beveled edge around the face. That way I can hit something in a corner with the top edge of the face. I don't know how much it changed the weight. The heel of the handle is worn rounded from spending so much time in the palm of my hand.

    I had old carpenters that worked for me in the '70's and '80's that would only use wooden handled hammers. I say old now, but they were a lot younger then than I am now. One, who was known around these parts as the best finish carpenter ever would only use a 12 oz. curved claw. Another, also a top finish carpenter, used a 20 oz. for everything. I never saw either one bend a nail.
    Yup. Blue handled version is for framing and the leather handle is better suited to finish work.
    Sharp solves all manner of problems.

  9. #9
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    I was talking about the two hammers that Steven was asking about. The difference in your Estwings is more obvious. I probably have one of each of the Estwings, but rarely use the heavy, long ones.

    I remember once sheathing a roof with a long 28 oz. one when our electricity was out. I placed all the plywood with one nail in each rafter on the top edge, then had helpers start the nails. I followed and pounded them in with one blow, but I had no desire to start 8 or 10d nails with that hammer. That job went pretty fast by hand that afternoon.

  10. #10
    Curved claw hammers? Quaint, but pointless.

  11. #11
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    Only IF you don't bend a nail...or, never worked as a Carpenter....Sometimes, ya just can't use that there Pin-nailer....
    A Planer? I'm the Planer, and this is what I use

  12. #12
    A hammer is used for more than pounding nails, especially these days.

    A curved claw pulls nails, but doesn't pry, split, chop, dig, scrape, lever, or hack.

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by steven c newman View Post
    Only IF you don't bend a nail...or, never worked as a Carpenter....Sometimes, ya just can't use that there Pin-nailer....
    Correct! If you’ve worked in the trades, you would have a straight claw if you were doing form work, for as much digging and scraping, as hammering. If you were doing actual carpentry, it would be a curved claw. Anyone that worked any time in the trade would have a wood handled hammer or fiberglass, as they were much easier on the elbow. Very, very few would have an Estwing.
    If the thunder don't get you, the lightning will.

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by Tony Zaffuto View Post
    Correct! If you’ve worked in the trades, you would have a straight claw if you were doing form work, for as much digging and scraping, as hammering. If you were doing actual carpentry, it would be a curved claw. Anyone that worked any time in the trade would have a wood handled hammer or fiberglass, as they were much easier on the elbow. Very, very few would have an Estwing.
    Tony! Where the heck have you been man? Doin' ok, I hope?
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  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by steven c newman View Post

    Both are 16oz Claw Hammers...but...
    Thursday, better claw .JPG
    Which would you use to pull out that rare bent nail?
    Quote Originally Posted by Rob Luter View Post

    It is easy to forget that people other than carpenters & woodworkers make use of hammers in their work.

    In Steven's example the hammer on the right is similar to what was standard issue for telephone installers. (my job many years ago) It was good in tight quarters like between floor joists.

    When it comes to pulling a bent nail, staple or wire hanging loop/nail the claws were easy to slide along a joist to have some impact for the claws to dig in to the shaft and have a grip on the errant item.

    The other hammer in Steven's picture looks like a claw hammer designed to have more range of engagement when pulling nails.

    The blue handled Estwing in Rob's image is often referred to as a rip hammer. The claws can be swung between two boards to literally rip them apart.

    I grew up with my father having two Estwing hammers, one claw and one rip.

    My assortment of hammers includes two Estwing hammers, one claw and one rip. The claw was purchased at an estate sale. The rip was purchased new as an anniversary edition with the traditional stacked leather handle.

    jtk
    Last edited by Jim Koepke; 05-12-2023 at 11:06 AM.
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