When we were swinging them all side by side, the Estwing E3-16C felt noticeably lighter and well balanced. Also, with the smaller hammer, your knuckles are much closer to what you’re hitting, so an overstrike or any kind of miss is more likely to put your hand at risk. If you need a hammer only for light-duty use (like installing picture hangers and tapping together knockdown furniture), you can take a step down in weight to a 12-ounce hammer. Even with their fairly light weight, the hammers—each about 2½ inches longer than the 20-ounce Estwing—are still too long for any kind of finesse work. This allows for a nice line of sight when hitting a small picture hanger nail or brad, while still packing enough heft to bury a framing spike in a manageable number of swings.

I have an Estwing hatchet with this style of grip, and after years of use, the coating has become cracked and is starting to chip off. Estwing sells a series of metal-handled hammers with a wound leather grip instead of the blue nylon-vinyl one. During my 10 years working in the construction industry, I saw more carpenters using this hammer than any other model.Only a Stanley hammer distinguished itself here, due to the extremely steep curve of its claw, but that hammer has been discontinued. Compared with steel hammers, these models are lighter in weight, and they have increased striking power and better shock absorption. Also, the neck of the tool has “OXGRIP” carved into it, and it adds nothing except a place for dirt and grime to build up. A curved-claw hammer: This type of hammer has a pronounced arc in the claw that provides great leverage for pulling nails, so it’s ideal for around-the-house use. After countless hours of pounding, pulling, and tapping nails, we’re confident that the Estwing E3-16C is the best hammer for around-the-house use.

And though they offer benefits with weight, power, and shock absorption, they’re simply too expensive for the casual user. And with a nice weight distribution of the head in proportion to the handle, this hammer is easier to swing and hold than other models. During this breaking-in process, the hammer starts to look a little ugly, and you may think there’s something bad going on, but there is really nothing to worry about. I’ve worked with countless hammers, using them to drive everything from teeny-tiny brads to massive framing spikes. The E3-16C’s curved claw is better for pulling nails, and its 16-ounce size hits the sweet spot for general, around-the-house use.With the 16-ounce hammer, it took us, on average, four swings to bury a 16d framing nail (3½ inches long). As a single piece of steel that starts at the head and ends at the base of the handle, there is no way for the head to separate from the handle or for the handle to break. Composite hammers consist of a fiberglass or graphite handle (like a tennis racquet) connected to the metal head with an epoxy. Eventually all of the finish will wear off, and the hammer will take on the nice, broken-in look that’s the mark of a well-loved Estwing hammer. The E3-20S also has a straight claw (as opposed to a curved one, like on our other picks), so this hammer is better suited to demolition work and serious prying.