I have a couple of estwing "weight forward" hammers, and I generally like the balance and performance. My one complaint is that the claws are so soft that they regularly bend when I attempt to pry things. Not usually when pulling nails, since that is done so close to the handle, but any time the tips are used they tend to twist or bend rather than lift the object in question. Is there a way improve the performance using heat?

It's possible that you COULD harden the claws a bit more by heat treatment... but I think you are misusing your hammer!  Those claws are not meant for heavy pry work!  You need to switch tools for such purposes!  I have a friend who uses a railroad pick and a grubhoe for that kind of work... the very thick boss of the handle at the prying end makes it work... but I have seen him putting dangerous bows in the handle anyway!  I like to have a selection of pry bars for that work.  Ranging from light pocket models to bruising giants that take serious strength to lift, my pry bar collection is able to handle most any such tasks!  I particularly like to work with two pry bars at once, gently nudging the work apart with a see-saw prying action working back and forth along the seam!  I will often rock the pry bars sidewise with the angled end under the work... this technique tightens the fulcrum distance to give a near irresistible force!  I have done a LOT of demo with a straight claw hammer assisted by a small Gorilla bar by using this rocking technique and the two-bar system in tandem!  When I get to something that takes real force though... the big bars come out and work together... ideally with a helper on one bar, if available!

It would be very natural to assume that a company such as Estwing would not make a tool that so readily deformed, but I am a skilled hammer operator (well, at least I carry one a lot!). The claws don't even rebound to their origional position. They just stay kind of bent.

I can't even use it to seperate two pieces of wood that are nailed together. I drive the claw into the wood by swinging it, and the side leverage will misalign the claws rather than seperate the wood. Definately a pry bar would be optomial, but my esteemed collegues and I would rather use the tools at hand. I just don't know if heating the claws will remove whatever temper they have, or if it would make them more resistant to deformation.

Why not contact the company that made it and let them know - they may send you a new one, no sence in cutting the product down before the company knows about it.

Thank you for your suggestion Jeremy. I like the product, and it is not my intention to cut it down. I own several of their "weight forward" hammers, of different weights, and the "soft claw" is a charistic of each. They are 5 years (or more) old, and I honestly wouldn't expect Estwing to do anything about it, since it appears to be intentional. They are, in my humble opinion, one of the better mass producers of striking objects, and I probably have a dozen or more of their products. I can attach a photo if you are interested.

In this case, would prefer the claws were less flexable, and I am wondering if heating them with a torch, or setting them on a hot piece of metal and letting it heat the claw would likely improve the situation, or make it worse. Generally I find it easier to "customize" tools to suit my use, rather than ask others to do it for me. My problem is ignorance in this case, and I simply don't know enough about tempering to determine the proper course. Any thoughts on this?

itsme

 

Bending the claws through nail pulling sounds suspect to me.  I wonder if you might have gotten a dud or one that was subjected to some heat. 

Heating the claw with no other treatment would most likely make them softer. I'm a carpenter by trade, and have used and abused my estwing hammers to no end for the past 8 or so years. They've never deformed in any way. I disagree with bigfoot, I buy estwing hammers SPECIFICALLY so I can abuse them in such a way. No wood handled hammer would hold up to what I've done, particularly in certain demolition situations. I'd recommend contacting the company.

Ok, I will contact them, but like I said, I have several of the weight forward type hammers. Bought at different times and places, and they behave the same. The only thing I can erlate it to would be mild steel. Easily deformed, easily corrected.

I guess there is little to lose if I take a brazing tip and heat the claws, But what color should I aim for?

itsme,

 

Contact Estwing and let them know what your doing and how it's affecting the hammer.  They may have a solution (different style or temper).  My brother is still using the Estwing my father bought about 40 years ago.  It's been used and abused around the farm with no deforming.  and yes we do us the lever method a lot du to it's metal shank instead of wooden handle.  Also, they my take your suggestions in and design a new style and send you one to proof test. Never can tell.

Ok, I will contact them, but like I said, I have several of the weight forward type hammers. Bought at different times and places, and they behave the same. The only thing I can erlate it to would be mild steel. Easily deformed, easily corrected.

I guess there is little to lose if I take a brazing tip and heat the claws, But what color should I aim for?

read up on hardening and tempering, by heating the claws and letting them cool you will only make them softer. my bet would be that is where the problem lies

Joshua,

 Than you for answering my question, the head is near the plastic handle, which connects it to the fiberglass handle. If I need to get it red, I could suspend the head out of a bucket of water (so the plastic is in the water and doesnt overheat)? Do I want bright cherry to re harden?

What you've suggested will result in normalizing the head and melting the handle.  Unless you can separate the two and have a forge to heat the head enough that it is demagnetized (probably a bright orange, close to 2000 degrees) you're going to end up with something softer than what you have now.  And if you don't temper it properly after hardening (assuming you're able to) you'll then have a tool that would be brittle hard which could be very dangerous to yourself or others around you. 

 

Considering that only Estwing would be able to tell you the proper method of hardening & tempering as it's unknown steel, it isn't something I'd attempt without having considerable experience.

Years ago I had a Estwing brick hammer.  Most of the masons I worked with never cared for them much.  They could not hold an edge on the chisel end nor on the square head compared to the brick hammers made by Vaughn or plumb (or the local blacksmith, Ralph Frieze, Chgo.).  We were cutting brick and block with them only and not any stone.  Their mash hammers were not too bad though.  The rubber handles tended to slide off with extended use.

I do have a forge, but the effort doesnt sound worth the risk. I will learn about tempering on something else. It is one of those annoying little things that I thought I could possibly remedy if I knew what I was doing. It works ok as it is, I just constantly have to straighten the claws.

I actually have one of their brick hammers, though I dont use it for brick work. It has a nice shape for adjusting things that I am welding. It is great for levering things into alignment, and even for chipping slag when it is at hand. I have never had any of their rubber handles come off

Sometimes the steel is OK, but the heat treatment department employees might be smoking doobies. One never knows for sure.

I've been using Estwing hammers for 30+ years and I've never had this happen.  Was a contractor and rough carpenter, trim work, drywall ect.  I used to abuse the heck out of them and never had one bend on me.

you could reharden and temper the whole head,but it sounds like you need to read up on that first