Want to help design the next Estwing hammer?
March 6, 2012 in Opinion
Awhile ago, I wrote a post about Estwing hammers and the geologists who love them, which inspired some commentators to reminisce about their first Estwing. Last week I was contacted by an Estwing employee who appreciated these sentiments and wanted to know if I had any suggestions for new products or ways of improving existing ones.
Did I ever.
Ever since I’ve been a geologist, I’ve been breaking sledgehammers. A few years ago in Nicaragua, our field day ended abruptly when an unnamed colleague of mine broke our second and final sledgehammer. I’ve long dreamed of a large sledgehammer with a metal handle designed not to “ring”, which would cause some serious pain after a few days of work. I suggested this to my new friend at Estwing and he actually brought it to the engineers there. Alas, they were concerned about the added weight of the handle and nixed it, but the point is that they listened and want to hear more.
This Estwing employee also asked me if I had any other ideas, so I thought I’d harness the power of the entire Estwing-loving universe out there.
Do you have any ideas for new Estwing products or ways to improve existing ones?
Let’s get creative here. How bout a hammer that has a rock pick on one side and a chisel point on the other? Do you want bigger hammers? Smaller hammers? Other geo-tools? Leave your ideas in the comments and I’ll send the link to the folks at Estwing. They may not go for your idea, but you never know.
And if you want to give a shout out for my full-sized-metal-handled sledge, I’d appreciate it.
Once, visiting a mine camp, I used a large sledge that had a small chisel on the back side. It had a wooden handle, but was very sturdy. Rocks broke with even a half-hearted swing. I haven’t been able to find a sledge like it since.
[...] to help design the next Estwing hammer? http://volcanoclast.com/want-to-help-design-the-next-estwing-hammer/ (via [...]
I would suggest titanium for the handle of the sledge. It has the highest strength-to-weight ratio of all metals. Of course, you could go with cheaper options such as aluminum or magnesium. You might want to include a sacrificial fiberglass or wood section of the handle, (that you expect to break,) to prevent ringing. Carrying a dozen 6-12″ sections would be trivial.
Tension, from twisting an internal cable, might be the best way to attach a sacrificial handle section. This way, even if the handle breaks, nothing will go flying.
I’ve been a geology field studies medic with over 200 students in remote areas. I’ve taken care of many injuries and am familiar with risk management. My suggestion focuses on only improving the grip to both better conform with the hand as well as reduce the shock transfer into your wrist and hand. The object is splitting or fracturing the specimen, not the user. The bottom should be more flanged to both prevent a slip factor as well as facilitating the user to release a tight grip, allowing the weight of the hammer head to do its job.
Respectfully submitted,
Michael Schlags, Fire Captain/Paramedic (Retd.)