Why do you think Little Giants were/are so popular?

[KYBOY]

Do you think its because they were so many made? That they were so easily obtained(some sort of finance program from manufacturer?) Im kinda leaning towards that they were just so many of them compared to other hammers..

[SoCal Dave]

I think it is also a timing issue.  It was the right machine at the right time.  My LG has a 1901 date on the ram.  That is the date the patient was established.  They were around for a long time at a period of dynamic economic expansion in the USA. An LG could increase your production and that was important during the 50 years they were a viable machine.   As I have found out, the Little Giants could be modified or worked on by the blacksmiths using them.  You didn't need a computer to analyze an issue with the machine.  It was mechanical and practical and understandable by the people using it.  

[ThomasPowers]

Because they were relatively cheap, heavily promoted and offered a buying on time plan for smiths

 

Nowadays it's because they are easier to get parts for; or to find

[SJS]

They were a more affordable investment for most small blacksmith shops. Bradleys, Beaudrys, Champions, and Fairbanks were industrial grade hammers and were a lot more cash. Self-contained and steam hammers were even more. LGs were available, affordable, and made a smith more profitable. Doesn't matter how nice a tool is if you can't afford it. If you cough up a lung and buy the best tool for the job, you get what you pay for... You then have to make it pay for itself. Most smiths could see buying a LG or a Kerrihard, but the bigger industrial hammers were out of reach. Especially in a time when most people were wisely DEBT averse... "the borrower is servant to the lender" and "neither a borrower nor a lender be..."

[swedefiddle]

Good Morning,

 

Vancouver Island Blacksmith Association has a 50 lb. Jardine. Jardine Hammers were made under license (from Meyer Bros.) in Hespeler, Ontario  Canada. The Jardine Hammers and the Little Giant Hammers are virtually the same.

 

There was a problem that I couldn't identify, it wouldn't hit very hard. We had an awful lot of people look at it, to try to make it work happily. Out of frustration, I modified an ignition distributor from a Mercedes. I ground 3 lobes off, so it only had one lobe to open the ignition points. I mounted an ignition coil and one spark plug wire, I fastened a timing light to the spark plug wire. I could run the hammer and turn the distributor until I got a picture of what was moving and how all the parts were moving with the strobe light. I was able to pinpoint what was and what was not working properly. We now have a happy Kicking Ass Hammer (I also have one of Grant's Kick-Ass hammers).

 

If we don't allow a box to be built, we never think outside the box!!!! :) :)

 

Neil

[Lamey]

They "were" so popular because of price.

They "are" so popular because you can still get parts/support, and there are simply more of them out there.

I would also add that "simplicity" is one of the draws to LG's, at least for a knucklehead like me. If its not running right I can pretty much just look it over and figure it out.... not so easy with some other hammers out there.

[peacock]

The  25 & 50 # were made to sharpen plow shares they were close to where the most of the plowing was going on.  There were other hammers made  in this  area but they just were not as good as the LG s.  At one time our town of less than 2,000 had three shops that sharpened plows each one had a LG 25.

 

The industrial hammers were made on or near the east coast cause that is where there jobs were.   I've rebuilt several

LG hammers that never got more tha50 miles from where they were delivered new.

[Frank Turley]

What peacock said.

 

Sayings and Cornpone

"I was 18 years old before I knew they wuzn't supposed to come off in two pieces!"

     Eldon Boyington, Kansas cowboy, speaking of horseshoes.