Originally Posted by
Simon MacGowen
Did it occur to you that this kind of boutique tool is more a shop decoration than a shop horse? One of my neighbors has some really fancy tools including several Vesper layout tools (worth well over $100 to $150 a piece), and he confesses he relies more on the cheapos for his day to day work.
The Sterling hammer is fine for very light, center taps, but anything heavier can result in damages as George points out. Perhaps they sell replacement parts, I am not sure?
Simon
If you had bothered to read my post, you could have answered your own questions. As I said, the mallet comes with a black nylon head to replace the wood one. The black nylon won't break. The wood did. This is only a problem for someone who objects to the plastic and wants a wood head.
It's not a shop decoration. I spend a lot of time with a plane hammer in hand. My Sterling hammer is almost the only tool that has no assigned storage space in my shop, because it never leaves the bench.
Full disclosure: I've met Chris Kuehn (once) and he bought one of my planes, so it's possible that colors my opinion. But I doubt it. After using and trying his hammer, I retired my old one the same day…
"For me, chairs and chairmaking are a means to an end. My real goal is to spend my days in a quiet, dustless shop doing hand work on an object that is beautiful, useful and fun to make." --Peter Galbert