Every day I bring you an item on Amazon that I personally use or has been purchased by many members of the audience and I have researched enough to recommend.

Today’s TSP Amazon Item of the day is the Novel Three Ball Peen Hammer Set as we continue our gunsmith kit project for 2017.  A good set of hammers is the next logical addition to the kit after the punch set we added last week.

I put a lot of thought into where to first go with hammers in our kit.  I considered brass hammers, dead blows and multi tip hammers, all have a place.   But when I thought about what a person putting their first kit would mostly need a hammer for (tapping out or in pins, and adjusting things like drift sites) I realized that the hammer I use more than any other is a 2 ounce ball peen.

If you check out the video below you will see a professional gunsmith who agrees very much with that assessment.  You will also note that the hammer he uses about next most often is a 4 ounce ball peen.  Specifically when that pin is just not wanting to come out and just a bit more energy is required.

So I looked on Amazon for a very high quality set to recommend of a 2 ounce and an 4 ounce hammer.  Everything I found was either junk, super expensive or said something like “hurry only 4 left in stock”, given what happens when I post an item at times I try to avoid stuff with limited stock.

So how often will you use an 8 ounce ball peen hammer on a gun?  I hope not very often, it usually means something is really wrong and something like a dead blow or a plastic mallet would be better used.  But the other question is, is a 8 ounce hammer a useful tool?  Of course it is.

So here is my recommendation, put the 2 and 4 ounce hammers with your gunsmith and maintenance kit, and add the 8 ounce hammer to your general tool kit, if you should need it for something with your guns, it will be there but won’t take up space in you kit only to be needed say once a year.

As to what I want in a ball peen hammer for gunsmithing work.  First I want a hickory handle.  I don’t really like fiberglass and if you buy smaller hammers with a metal handle they are always hollow junk.  As to the wood it is either hickory or it is wrong, yes I mean that.

Next I am very concerned that the head is fit properly to the handle, no play in it, and well attached.  Next while it isn’t likely that you will break one of the handles it can happen, so I always want a hammer that is plain designed ball peen that is designed for a standard strait handle.  This way you an always replace it if it breaks or becomes loose.  Every hardware store in America from, mom and pop to giant box sells such handles.

Lastly hammers are something you can still find made in the USA and in my opinion unlike some stuff, we do in fact make the best hammers (and frankly most hand tools) in the world.  This one passes on all criteria.  That said if you went out and simply locally purchased a 2 ounce ball peen (if you can find a good one at a good price) I would not fault you for it.

However if you pick up this set you will end up with a top quality 2 and 4 ounce hammer that if properly cared for will serve your grand kids some day.  So consider adding the Novel Three Ball Peen Hammer Set to your tool collection today.

Remember you can always find all of our reviews at TspAz.com

P.S. – If you just want a good quality 2 ounce hammer I have found ONE that I would recommend on Amazon based on my personal criteria.  It is the Tooltron 20z Ball Peen Hammer.  If you search around on Amazon you can find a number of decent four ounce hammers for about 20 bucks.  This can cut your cost from 51 dollars to about 40, I make the three hammer set recommendation for two reasons.

First the Tooltron only shows three in stock, so you know  how that goes, but the bigger issue is getting a 8 ounce high quality “extra hammer” for about 11 bucks that would sell alone for over 20 dollars just makes more sense to me.

P.S.S. – Below is the video I mentioned this guy works on guns all day every day, you will note that his 2 ounce is used, “more than any other hammer he has”, again I agree with this.  It will also give you a good over view of other hammers, but I will have two more coming in the future that will do almost everything a hobbyist will ever and I mean ever need.

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