STANLEY FATMAX Hammer for Blacksmith, AntiVibe (56-003)

You’ll find this, my hammer review, on several hammer pages.I own them all and use them frequently.Stanley 54-002 FatMax 20 oz. Brick hammerStanley 56-003 2 lb. Blacksmiths hammerFiskars 750810-1001 4 lb. Club hammerStanley 56-004 FatMax 3 lb. Engineering hammerStanley 56010 FatMax Sledge Hammer, 6-PoundStanley 56011 FatMax Sledge Hammer, 8-PoundI am retired, I love the outdoors and hiking so I joined an all volunteer trail building crew. (LTDC) We re-route or rehabilitate long distance hiking trails in the NY/NJ area. Our crew goes out every other weekend Friday, Saturday and Sunday beginning in March ending mid December (weather permitting). We are a technical crew meaning we work primarily with rocks building steps and crib-walls. In the course of building steps we use lots of crush. Crush is gravel or crushed stone. We use crush under every step and for sustainable treadway. Well to get crush stone on the trail, we have to make it all by hand using hammers to break rocks. We break large rocks into smaller pieces using either a 6 or 8 lb. sledge. Then we break those pieces into smaller pieces usually using the 4 lb. mini sledge. We don’t want to always be using the larger hammers because when they strike, that impact disturbs the entire area and kicks pieces out. It’s hard swinging the big hammer and not make a mess. So we use lighter and lighter hammers to make the smaller and smaller sized crush we need . Every project needs crush and a lot of it. So all my hammers get a lot of use. I can say without a doubt that each and every one of these hammers has withstood the hardship of breaking a lot of rocks. I really have no favorites because I use every one depending on the size of crush I’m making. The Stanley FatMax line is terrific. The anti-vibration technology is working. No one ever complains about using these hammers and we all use them every day. I especially love the brick hammer for making the final layer of small crush. It is so perfectly balanced and just the right weight so I can easily snap the hammer down to crack most rocks without having the hammer disturb the surrounding treadway. And I can keep doing it without my arm getting tired. The Fiskars 4 lb. sledge has a nice long 14” handle, large strike face with strike shock and vibrations being absorbed with the IsoCore shock control system. I own other Fiskars products and know and trust their lifetime warranty.We don’t always use all the hammers every day but we do use all of them on every project.No complaints just happy happy. (longdistancetrailscrew. org)So It’s a 5 star rating for each one of these hammers I highly recommend them all.

Been using this hammer for the last year. Great hammer! Very comfortable, to the point that you can go through with some bad habits without problems. For that reason only I won't recommend it for beginners. Otherwise, this hammer is recommended and great!

overview:-Ideal for striking unhardened metalsA quick review for the FatMax 2 lbs. AntiVibe Blacksmith Hammer:Overall I am pleased with the hammer.-AntiVibe technology minimizes vibration and shock at impact-Exclusive rim temper reduces incidences of chipping or spalling-Forged, 1-piece steel construction for strength and durability-Slip-resistant handle for a secure grip and comfort-Precision balancedPros: Durable, Sturdy, Light WeightCons: handle is a little thin.I would recommend to anyone who does light black smithing.

I'm a new blacksmith and I was really getting stressed out trying to get a few good hammers to work with. I've spent as much as $150 for a hammer and as little as $10. Few of the hammers I've bought have made me 100% happy, there's always something that annoys me, either I thought they were over priced or the quality was disappointing, but I have to say, this hammer is awesome, it has not disappointed me in the least! I've pounded the crap out of it and it's holding up perfectly. It seems to be tempered well, the perfect hardness, as the face is holding up super well. Sure, I had to polish the face a little, but not much. I find myself using it a lot more than I expected, not just for sledge pounding, but for finer work too. 100% happy with it and the price/value is exceptional!

Great hammer, I have used it a ton. The finish is gone off the face and is coming off of the head in other places, but it's been striking red hot iron over and over. I've been told that a blacksmith makes a new hammer as soon as his skills allow, but we will see because I like this one quite a bit. Plus the antivibe is supposed to help you to not destroy your elbow.

It is everything you expect from the info provided, and looks good too. So, who needs a 2 pound hammer? Be sure you do before you buy it because this is nothing like your usual hammer, and a big jump from any regular claw hammer. it fits a fairly narrow niche in my collection, quite a bit more heft than most and not what I would call delicate, but if this is what you need, you'll be happy with it. Of course, you can "choke" up on the handle or even just hold the head in your hand skipping the handle part if you need a little more control. I do like the cross-peen configuration, better than the 4 pound version, where it's not entirely clear at first if you are supposed to use the non-face end (I guess you are). For a hammer like this, I really think the integrated, metal handle design makes more sense than a separate, wooden handle. Really a great purchase.

I just got my Hammer.... No wait, no I didn't.. I got the box and there is nothing in it. I just paid $20.00 for a box full of air.

Bought this hammer to beat the [] out of something and it worked and worked well, its a well made tool - has not bent or twisted no edge curl on the cross peen and no cracks - so far so good - would recommend..