Cheap Tools... (a lesson learned AGAIN)

[Bob G.]

A few weeks ago I needed a simple hammer..

. NOW I have quite a few Hammers around the house and shop BUT I was out in the garden shed ... Hey I had to walk down to the garage to pick up a hammer... no big deal..

Shortly afterward I walked into the dollar store to pick up something and I spotted a bunch of tools...NOW I honestly did not look at any but for a buck I said to myself...AH...could use a hammer to be kept in the garden shed... So I purchased one...

Well an hour ago I USED THAT HAMMER... needed to "pull" a nail out of a piece of scrap....

I hooked the claws under the nail and pulled on the handle...and much to my suprise the hammer handle bent and the nail still is in the board..

Really laughed ...as I walked over to the trash AND DID A NICE 2 HANDED SET SHOT FORM 10 FEET...The hammer went swish as it went right in the can withour hitting the rim...

This hammer never even drove a tack, not alone a nail...never did anything hell it could not even remove a nail....

You get what you pay for...BUT To me it was a very good purchase...

CHEAPEST LAUGH I HAVE HAD IN A LONG TIME....

Bob Griffiths

[jo4hn]

You bought the wrong kind of hammer. This one was a throwing hammer as evidenced by your toss. You coulda gone to the Olympics. Sheeesh. mahalo, jo4hn, indicator of lost opportunities

[RKON]

Hercules !! Bending a hammer? You have to post a picture on ABPW.

Cheers Rich

[Eric Ryder]

Good for you - If you had driven a nail with it, the head probably would have chipped and cost you an eye:)

[John Emmons]

You should have bought one of the$1 nail pullers...the $1 hammer is only meant to break when used to drive a nail. You need to learn your tools limitations...;^)

John Emmons

[Trent©]

You bought the wrong kinda hammer. You should have gotten a nail-pulling hammer...if that's what you wanted to do with it.

I've had the same bad luck will ball-peen hammers. I still can't find one that'll take out nails easily. But they seem to put in nails pretty well. lol

It IS pretty funny, though. lol

Have a nice week...

Trent©

Follow Joan Rivers' example --- get pre-embalmed!

[Carlos Moreno]

Well, when you think about it, it's even cheaper if you amortize it taking into account the big laugh that *we* all had reading your anecdote!! :-)

(not that I'm volunteering to chip in to reimburse you the dollar, eh? :-))

Carlos

[Test Tickle]

I definitely would have hung that hammer on the wall. It's something you would likely get many laughs at over the years, and be a good conversation piece to boot.

tt

[p_j]

I bought a Chinese framing hammer about a dozen years ago. It still works fine.

[bridger]

snip story of dollar store hammer.....

the last thing I want hanging in my shop on display is a broken ugly cheap tool.

I do have a few tools that really are on display.... I'll never use them, but they hang in view. 'frinstance, a 3' bowsaw that's prolly 75 years old...

[Jim K]

[Robert Bonomi]

How many Chinese have you framed with it?

Inquiring minds want to know!

[P©WÉ®T©©LMAN]

Great for toenailing.

[Larry Jaques]

On Sun, 30 May 2004 23:49:30 +0000, [e-mail] (Robert Bonomi) stated wide-eyed, with arms akimbo:

Cuuuuuuuuuuuuute.

LJ, whose 2nd Chiwanese framing hammah is the best hammah he's ever owned. And who now knows one watches the grain when choosing a hammer handle.

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[Charlie Self]

Larry Jaques responds:

Hard to watch the grain in steel unless one knows to bring a microscope. Is your hammer better than the Vaughan & Bushnell titanium framing hammer that hangs in my shop? I'm sure it's cheaper. But better?

Charlie Self "The test and the use of man's education is that he finds pleasure in the exercise of his mind." Jacques Barzun

[Larry Jaques]

On 31 May 2004 09:28:04 GMT, [e-mail] (Charlie Self) stated wide-eyed, with arms akimbo:

Time for an optometric visit, Charlie. (See my highlighting above)

Yeah, I love that $2.99 HF special. It's the right size for my hand, the right weight for my swing, and is well balanced. Who cares if it's THIRTY TWO TIMES less expensive than that Yuppie Metal Mutt on your wall? (I do.) ;)

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[Charlie Self]

Larry Jaques highlights away with:

Yes, well, I take it you've never seen a steel hammer handle, then. Curious, because IIRC, the original poster said he bent the handle, something that seldom happens with wood handles.

Actually, no. Yours cost $2.99 (plus tax, I'm sure) more than mine. It was part of an award for an article that I entered in a contest.

Charlie Self "The test and the use of man's education is that he finds pleasure in the exercise of his mind." Jacques Barzun

[Larry Jaques]

On 31 May 2004 17:52:52 GMT, [e-mail] (Charlie Self) stated wide-eyed, with arms akimbo:

OK, so I missed that part, but I was referring to a genuine wood handle there, too. ;)

Had I bought it up here, I wouldn't have paid tax, but I bought it down in LoCal and paid the 22 cent levy. Congrats on the award. Condolences on the yuppie metal thang.

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[Helen J]

Bob My old Dad once told me (probably a few more times after that 'cos I actually remember what he said) is a bargain is something you still have in working order 20 years later. I once brought a cheap hammer and was driving a nail in, when after a blow the hammer was "stuck" to the job. Once I wrenched it free, I found a bubble in the head that was just below the surface. The blow broke the bubble and grabbed the nail head. Now if only I had had a trash bin. I had to pick it up off the ground.

Murray

[Charlie Self]

Murray notes:

IME, the biggest problem with cheap hammers--one I have deliberately avoided for the past 3 decades--is the difficulty they give you in driving a nail straight. I have a hard enough time getting the nails in straight and fast with a good hammer. Screw up the crown so the face slides a bit as it hits the nailhead and forget it. Nothing goes well. Better to pay $30 for a brand-name hammer and not have the agony of 500 bent nails and a major heave to reach the trash can.

Charlie Self "The test and the use of man's education is that he finds pleasure in the exercise of his mind." Jacques Barzun