Different Types of Hammers And Their Uses

Published on: February 12, 2022
Written by David Rowan / Fact-checked by Eric Devin

Different types of hammers and their uses for the right jobs rely on the user’s choice, right? The hammer shape, the size, and the weight, also are very impactful while leading one to the need for identification. And yes, both counterparts, as in hammerheads and hammer handles with different materials in construction, rather suit the changing jobs by head interchangeability.

So the versatility of hammers and their uses, performing specialized tasks, like traditional holds by axes, or serving the entire fulcrum on a claw hammer. Either pulling nails by framing or brick or masonry hammer for climbing rocks and breaking up masonry as well. All those least variations, consisting of back part claws, peins, and hooks, hole in the tapered head can blow demolishing objects through light or heavy swings. In brief, different types of hammers and their uses with rubber grip or no-coated grip will make one’s day. 

Identifying the Types of Useful Hammers

Hammers, in both special and common categories, are very useful to handle any size of materials. As well, often for destroying the big pieces to transfer to an imagined crafty piece, nothing can beat the reshaping capability of such a tool. 

However, hammers always enlarge to multiply a wide range of construction purposes too. Identified different types of hammers always perform tasks in traditional methods, or specialized ones. Whether 2 categories have been mentioned before, the least varied overall designs have enlisted below as per the jobs helping, claw, hook, and peen usage as well.  

Common Hammers and Their Uses

Claw: 

Featuring a curved back is the perfect popular recognition of it. Including a forked claw, users are capable of gripping nail heads to lever out the entire nails from stuck boards or any stuff that they have pinned off once. 

Dead Blow: 

Available in workshops, special purpose for home recoiling, as well as with soft blows. Designed both sides with special and easy to non-breakable rubbers wrapped the plastic or sometimes soft metallic, either semi-hollow head loaded with lead shot or sands. Either for simple woodworking, or similar not sturdy automotive applications, for instance, fixing small dents, dislodging backyard beard parts without marring stuff surfaces. 

Rubber Mallet: 

Only for softer hammer blows on soft surfaces featuring stuff more than in your backyard. Full rubber head wrapped one can apply on a light metal sheet, either in lightweight wooden pieces or doing upholstery with gentle force, in particular, positive blows without damaging surfaces. 

Sledge: 

Identifiable through a long handle with a double head on top similar to a mallet. But differentiates through heavy blows while stepping for woodworking projects, and breaking concrete, masonry, and other heavy-duty pieces like Hardie siding. 

Brass: 

Another popular demolition tool, differentiated by cylindrical heavy dual-head with thinner handles from other models. Though its pounding style is fab for roofing and crushing big steel pins, automotive applications are preferable too. 

Ball Peen: 

A primary tool for engineers, especially for its round pein. From rounding metal edges, like metal fasteners and pins, closing Steel rivets, and more in the most fab fabrication system known as peening. 

Framing: 

From the title, a homeowners’ worthy tool. However, one head side with waffled style, and either side has a straight claw to assemble house frames often. In contrast, the waffled side assists newbies to avoid slippage while running nails, and yes, on usage time marring awareness is the first noticeable fact.  

Tack: 

Not too long, not too short, featuring 2-long claws like dual-sided, quite flat heads offer one side with a magnetized end. Compared to an upholstery hammer, the magnetic end is useful to hold tack for placement. Later driving the non-magnetized end over placed nail head is quite easy. 

Special Hammers and Their Uses  

Blocking: One head side with the block design, like flat and square, either one with a round shape like other hammers have on offer, helps in casing up metal re-shaping on anvil which is recently out of the firearm. 

Hatchet: 

An unusual type among different types of hammers. Referred to as a half-hatchet holds an axe blade on top. Instead of a peen, it works both as a cutter and a large blow tucking hammer, as well as suited to survival jobs while camping in rainy seasons because of the shock absorption system too. 

Blacksmith: 

Showcasing in fab fantasy games, though exists in real life unlike different types of hammers and their usage. A subcategory of sledgehammer with one-sided head design, another side is a blend of slight round and tapered. Against an anvil, useful in putting imagined design on red hot Steel. 

Brick: 

Claws double as designed as chisels for scoring, whether another head part makes it easy to split bricks, as well as masonry too. 

Cross Peen: 

Among different types of hammers and their uses, this design is relative to wedge-like pein, also in the direction of horizontal-alignment. Either for panel pins starting, or tacking nails project, suitable instead of hitting your fingers. 

Bushing: 

Another unusual tool among different types of hammers and their uses that resembles most a meat tenderizer in the attachment of an extended metalhead. Whether you will need to put texture to a rough and heavy stone, the thing is without being slippery, it will give an aesthetic look. 

Chasing: 

An usually shaped hammer and uses like different types of hammers and their uses. Including a bulbous-ended handle, either end with a small rounded peen head. Useful for shaping primary jewelry and often stamping. 

Electrician’s: 

A sub-shaped claw hammer, with an extended head neck. The complete look allows electricians and plumbers to pin out from stuck points in confined areas.  

Drywall: 

Nothing worse than a drywall nail gun. Its straight peen features a special end that almost resembles a half-axe. Whether chopping the surpass of drywalls, or the other head side will help in holding nails in exact places.  

Engineer’s: 

It is nothing special than traditional old hammers which were available in grandparents’ times. Used to help in locomotive applications with rounded and cross peen shape heads. Rounded double heads even impact much while preparing for heavy blows. 

Line Man’s: 

Comes with a solid and conical pein head. Rubber coated handle almost offers a less noisy and shock absorption system. Linemen who fix telephone poles can use this model for semi-hard blow, hammering bolts, and driving leg screws.  

Joiner’s Mallet: 

Almost looks like an engineer’s hammer model with sturdy tapered wood blocks on the top instead of metal for making strong blows. The difference between rubber mallet and this heavy joiner’s mallet is the fact of non-marring and marring workpiece surfaces. For gentle tapping wood joints by the heavy block, or driving the chisels is of great use.  

Mechanic: 

The metal head is something that looks like an arrow-shaped one side, in particular, a long pein tipped with another flat side. The conical die can remove dents or pints out of the panel of cars.  

Piton: 

In particular, a rock climbing hammer. Its noticeable straight peins contain a hole on the end part to remove pitons. Comes with a heavy or lighter hollow handle with an anti-slippery rubber wrapper. Depending on climbing intention, or the fastest time if one wants quick piton removing jobs, should buy a heavier one. 

Power: 

The entire parts start and work with a power switch, yet a large stationary model with a forged hammer. For shaping materials in big commercial sites with less fatigue, its auto-large piston compresses air to move up and down. 

Planishing: 

With a rather slight convex head, in addition to a cylindrical die in short pein-tipped shape is well enough for fine shaping. As well, users can do smoothening jobs, even with metal with planishing stake, that is the way it is worth its model name. 

Rip: 

Instead of a curved and heavy-weighted overall design, it comes with popular and professional claw hammer looking straight claws. During demolition and commercial construction, to rip materials apart, as well as good in interior framing applications.  

Rock: 

Similar to pick hammers, sometimes forged in one piece of Steel or High Carbon materials. This small handy toolkit features a small pick style on the back, but either head side is very flat. The flat front side used to break small rocks, as well as the chisel back part often called a geologist’s work worthy pick for such reasons. Even the pick variant for creating small holes and to break in between old brickwork joints. 

Scaling: 

Instead of normal heads like different types of hammers and their uses, a vertical chisel and pick is noticeable. Uses for removing scales, rather for rust and hard-coatings from sturdy surfaces like boilers. Like jackhammers, dual pneumatic versions with triple-head and single-headed versions are available. 

Shingle: 

Common for roofing purposes. Featuring a spikey square head is great for putting nail holes in both slate boards and shingles as well. Taking into account its smaller claw side helps in nailing out. 

Scutch: 

Scutching is the process name of nailing out ancient mortar from bricks, as well as the most favorite hammer to geologists and especially in historical excavation. Head’s both chisel-like, in short, tooth slotted scutch versatile comb holders. 

Soft-faced: 

Another dual round-faced hammer having plastic, rubber, copper level soft materials in construction. As well, the heads are interchangeable, meaning the high striking power that demolishes materials without marring, yet self-demolished heads you can change with other branded ones. 

Spike-maul: 

The special hammer for a special reason. With a longer handheld coated with anti-slippery rubber compared to a thin head, used to drive railroad spikes, which lay opposite the trackside. The available standard version comes with tapered and square top end which is in contrast to the main driving head. 

Are Different Types of Hammers Dangerous?

While it is about identifying the different types of hammers and their uses, as usual in cross peen hammer identification or versatile mallets various uses. As well, popular lightweight claw hammers are well enough in construction. In the same way, hand-drilling handy hammers to drive masonry drills. Either the biggest sledgehammers are bigger than a hammer. 

Well, in every usage, even if the stationary power hammers application time, users should notice the hammerhead and hitting surfaces as well. Likewise, never should use either pick a head side to hit nails instead of a flat block or similar sturdy material. Applying a scrappy wooden piece between the hammerhead and delicate workpiece can avoid damages. Before the head from the handle gets loosen off, placing the entire tool into water can make it tighten again. Even wearing safety glasses also include preventive actions in the question of different types of hammers and their uses are helpful or dangerous. 

Final Thoughts

Varying different types of hammers and their uses are noticeable in both trendy and traditional jobs to get done, such as climbing rocks, roofing, materials taking down apart, and more. The shapes are the main differentiating counterpart of all hammers. However, they are often interchangeable with other models. 

But handling the timber or metal handle before slipping off can avoid any harm. As well, using the right hammer can assemble delicate to harder works at ease.

Read more:

• The 4 Best Rip Cutting Saws
• Ball Peen Hammer According to Your Need