Harbor Freight Reviews

Link: http://HarborFreightReviews.com/HFRreviews.html

Item: 16-oz Fiberglas Handle Hammer
Item number: 47872 (claw style)
Item number: 47873 (rip style)
Retail price: $4.99
Frequent sale price: $3.99
Target price: $2.99
Item Link

You can get a better balanced hammer for several times this price, but it won't matter if you're only driving a few nails. It makes our "Hot Buys" list as a spare or duplicate hammer and as a primary hammer for those who don't hammer much. In short, we like it.

This is a prime example of the type of tools for which that Harbor Freight™ has become known: a perfectly acceptable quality tool at a very low price. How good is "acceptable quality"? Well, that's "relativity" applied to tools all over again (click here and see the text box in this other review for a discussion of the theory of relativity applied to tools; no, it doesn't involve hammering so fast that the nail backs out of the hole, viz. time travel). It's perhaps easiest to explain by example.

For hammering a few nails around the home or shop, this is a perfectly good hammer. It has a firm grip and a decent feel, delivering its 16-oz blows with precision dictated by its user. If we were to be using a hammer all day, or for that matter even several hours continuously, we would probably select a better quality hammer such as a Craftsman™. Higher quality hammers have a better balance and more comfortable grips, giving them an overall better feel. This makes little different to the nail but it does matter to the user over extended periods of time. Hand and forearm fatigue and ultimately 'blow control' is influenced by the feel of the hammer. If you're doing lots of manual hammering, you should probably invest in a better quality tool.

Caution: Most higher priced hammers are NOT better quality than this hammer from Harbor Freight. Don't be fooled by just the higher price; check the balance and overall feel as well as the warranty. For most applications, this hammer is a great.

Don't get us wrong, we really like this hammer. For its very low price we get a good-quality hammer (or two or three) that we can distribute throughout our home and shop, making sure that there's always a good-quality hammer within easy reach. For doing a lot of manual hammering (Does anybody really do this anymore since the introduction of the air nailer?), we do feel the different with a precision-balanced Craftsman™ tool. (OK, "precision balanced" is perhaps a bit too strong, but go to Sears™ and you'll feel the difference. )

Bottom line: Buy a couple for spares or for your primary hammer if you don't do a lot of carpentry or construction work. The overall quality is good and the balance is fine, but some more expensive hammers have a noticeably better feel.