Estwing EMR16C Surestrike All Steel Curved Claw Hammer 16Oz

Precision and hammer? Not an oxymoron in this case.

I'm not the best DIY'er, but I do hit the nail on the head with this hammer.Its got a nice feel to it and worth the money to me.

Estwing hammers aren't cheap and this is possibly their cheapest, but it still retains the quality. Very comfortable to hold and perfectly balanced to allow for all-day hammering.

"Made in Taiwan" - the immortal words that once upon a time ended a thousand jokes about shoddy, mass-produced merchandise. The jokes may have gone but the thought remains, and when it comes to Estwing, a company that has marketed itself and its products on the basic principle of "Made in America", those jokes just aren't funny any more.And so it is with the Sure Strike, a hammer for the 21st Century - both in terms of its unique design and the premise that we are all now part of a global community and outsourcing is part and parcel of daily life. As soon as I took it out of the box, I knew that something wasn't quite right; the steel looked tarnished and scratched, the rubber grip wasn't quite central around the shaft, and the emblematic "Made in USA" sticker was notorious by its absence. Further investigation revealed a tag with that 'other' country on; I'm all for outsourcing if it means bringing costs down, but when I buy Estwing I expect American, and I don't mind paying for it.Its multinational roots aside, in most ways the Sure Strike is a very traditional tool, 33cm long from tip to tip and made entirely of steel, its only nod to comfort is the aforesaid tough rubber grip covering the handle. This grip feels fairly comfortable in the hand and helps absorb some of the shock from striking, although I definitely wouldn't favour this design over a proper shock-absorbing hammer if I was using it for prolonged periods.The two obvious deviations from the norm are the Sure Strike's low-placed and angular head and its thin 'blade' style shaft. While the thinking behind the head is that it supposedly gives it a larger striking area and so gives the user more chance of hitting the target, there seems to be little reasoning behind the shaft design other than as a way to make the Sure Strike stand out. Having used the hammer, I find myself a little perplexed about the head; while it gives the Sure Strike a definite look and feel, and works well enough, I'm not convinced that it works any better than any other. Also, the thin shaft design, coupled with the questionable Taiwanese steel, raises the question of how well the hammer will stand up to hard, daily use.As a tool, the Sure Strike is fine - it looks ok, feels ok and works ok, but I'm just not convinced that it has the Estwing pedigree or durability that I was hoping for. However I won't mark it down for not being quite as I expected because a quick web search reveals that all Sure Strike hammers are indeed Taiwan and not American-made and this is something I should have checked before I bought one. I will, however, mark it down because when I look at it I just don't see a true Estwing product.

Comfy, easy swinging and a pleasure to use. What more can you ask for

Quite good and value for money!

SUPER STRONG UNBREAKABLE

Heft feels good and it does what it's supposed to. In essence a well made and well balanced hammer