Why You Should Upgrade to a Titanium Hammer

If you’re like most people, you bought a standard claw hammer a long time ago and never gave much thought to its weight or design. I was like that for a long time too, but I noticed that every time I worked on a project that involved a lot of hammering, my arm would tire quickly and the last half of the job would be a misery. I recently fell down a rabbit hole when it came to hammers – the different weights and types – and decided it was time to splurge a little and buy a titanium hammer (specifically this one). This is one of the best purchases I’ve made recently.

Titanium or steel hammer

Most hammers are made of steel, with a fiberglass or wooden handle. They get the job done: Steel is a great material for a hammer and it will last a long time. I still have an old steel hammer passed down from my father; it has a bent nail over the head to hold it in place, but it still works. And steel hammers are pretty cheap: this 16-ounce model from Estwing costs just $25 as of this writing. You can’t beat this price for a tool that will likely last for decades.

The problem with cheap steel hammers is the strain they put on your body. If you use your hammer once a year, you will never notice it. But when I started doing work around the house regularly, I started to feel it: my arm was getting tired and my elbow and shoulder were a little sore after a few hours. Steel doesn’t absorb the impact of each strike very well and transmit it to your arm. You can minimize this impact a little with anti-vibration bands or handles, but it will never completely go away.

Fed up with suffering through each project, I did some research and splurged on a 10-Oz TiBone in titanium. Hammer Trimbone – and it worked incredibly well. The TiBone weighs only 10 ounces, but because it’s made of titanium, it has the same impact force (the force it delivers to the nail) as a much heavier steel model. In other words, no matter what hammer weight you’re used to, you can go much lighter with a titanium hammer. This means less weight to swing and less strain on your arm.

The Trimbone has a few other features I like: you can easily swap the face and handle, so it will last longer and is more flexible for different jobs, it has a side nail puller and a magnetic nail starter, and the grip is comfortable. But it’s mostly the lighter weight without sacrificing performance that I (and my shoulder) appreciate. This is specifically a framing hammer, but I find it to be great as a general purpose hammer for most jobs.

The big drawback is the cost. It currently costs $370.49, which is, you may notice, almost 15 times more expensive than the mint condition steel hammer I mentioned above. You might be able to find it cheaper somewhere with a little effort, but it will still be an order of magnitude more expensive. For me it was worth it: I haven’t needed to take a lot of ibuprofen after working all day since I bought it. If you also suffer from arm fatigue with your current hammer, it may be time to consider an upgrade.