What You Need to Know: Deck Builder’s Hammer

Do deck builders really an need axe-handle hammer? Mark talks with Professional Deck Builder Magazine.

After all, we’re not framing walls, where a curved handle would enable us to swing around the end of the plate more efficiently. And even if we were, chances are good that we’d be using a nail gun instead. But it turns out that even for a deck builder, Stiletto’s 12-ounce, 18-inch framer’s hammer is pretty handy.

Axe-like Claw

I wanted to try an axe-handle hammer in the first place because I was having trouble slamming my straight-handled hammer into my toolbelt’s hammer loop, which is located on my right hip behind my tool pouch. It occurred to me that an axe-handle could work as a sort of hook, making it easier to snag the loop.

That turned out to be true, though it normally wouldn’t be enough reason for me to drop a ton of money on a new hammer. But this hammer also has a claw with a very gradual “fetch” to it. I rarely pull nails with my hammer; instead, I split, pry, and pierce with it, mostly during demolition. The Stiletto head is more hatchet than claw, perfect for the way I use a hammer.

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