Whether you are pounding or pulling nails, hammers are needed in every toolbox. Hammers serve many more uses than just pounding nails and just like any other tool, the right hammer for the job can make your life easier and help your project turn out better. So which hammer should you use? In order to choose the right hammer, we need to better understand the various types of hammers and their uses. There is a large variety of handle materials available and the price varies greatly too. Once you have narrowed it down to the type of hammer you need, next pick them up and hold them in your hand, if they feel balanced, comfortable and are inside your budget, then it is likely a safe purchase. The hammer is one of the oldest tools known to man, so it is pretty hard to find one that does not work!

The Tack Hammer is a lightweight hammer that has a magnetized face on one side to help in starting tacks and small nails without having to hold on to them. This type of hammer is traditionally used for attaching upholstery fabric to furniture frames. The hammer in the photo is a Vaughan SBP5 Professional Magnetic Tack Hammer.

A  Finish Hammer is normally lightweight and designed with a smooth face to minimize marring the surface of the work piece. Designed to drive only small finish nails and tacks in to trim and small wood projects, these hammer heads usually weight between 10 to 14 ounces. The example hammer in the photo is a Estwing E3-12S 12-Ounce Straight Claw Finish Hammer

Nail Hammers are your most common type of hammer because of its universal size. These types of hammers look like a finish hammer but are a little larger with the heads weighting between 14 to 20 ounces and with faces that are normally smooth.  These hammers are useful for driving and pulling nails or prying up wood. The pictured hammer is a Stanley 51-621 16-Ounce Curve Claw Fiberglass Handle Hammer.

Framing Hammers are designed with a heavy head and a long handle to maximize the nail driving power. The face of the hammer is usually textured or waffled to give a more positive contact between the nail head and the hammer's face. The heads of these hammers weight any where from 18 to 28 ounces. The hammer shown here is a Douglas Tool DFR-20SA 20-Ounce. Extreme Rip Claw Framing Hammer.

Ball Pein Hammers usually are for heavy-duty jobs that are inappropriate for standard nail hammers or for jobs that a mechanic might have when driving out pins or setting rivets. These types of hammers feature a rounded ball on one end which is good for shaping and a flat peen on the other end for pounding. The head weight on these hammers can vary from as little as 6 ounces to over 30 ounces depending on the use. The pictured hammer is a Craftsman  8-Ounce Ball Pein Hammer with 12 in. Hickory Handle.

Mallets or Soft-face hammers feature plastic, rubber, soft metal or wood pounding faces that can be use for driving chisels or applying force to delicate surfaces. The appearance of these hammers can vary greatly depending on the manufacture and the final use. The pictured hammer here is a Vaughan RM24 14-Inch Professional Rubber Mallet.

A Dead Blow Hammer is a special type of mallet that is useful in minimizing damage to the struck surface and in controlling striking force with little bounce back from the striking surface. The head of these hammers are usually hollow and filled with sand or heavy metal shot which helps to absorb the impact of a blow and reduces the bounce-back. The hammer shown here is a Northern Industrial 3-Lb. Dead Blow Hammer.

Sledgehammers are heavy-duty, two-handed hammers used mostly for demolition and driving stakes. They usually consist of a large, heavy metal head that is attached to a long handle. The sledgehammer can apply more strike force than other hammer due to its large size. The example here is a Ames True Temper 10-Pound Double Faced Sledge Hammer with 36-Inch handle.

Conclusion

The type of hammer you use will be in part determined by the work that you will be doing. You won’t use a tack hammer to demolish a wall in just the same way, you can’t use a sledge hammer to pound in a finish nail. Keep in mind when choosing a hammer to make sure it fits your hands and that it feels balanced.