Olympia Tool’s Nail-Holding Hammer
By Benjamen Johnson
We’ve covered hammers that allow you to start nails without holding ‘em with your other hand, here and here. Olympia Tool’s new nail-holding hammer stands out because it’s not an “As seen on TV” product and you won’t have to take out a small home improvement loan to buy one.
Olympia makes the hammer head from drop-forged alloy steel and then hardens and tempers it. They bond the handle to the head with epoxy, and they make the cushion grip by means of a double-injection process. As for starting nails, the magnetic slot on top of the hammer head accepts 3D to 6D nails and finishing nails.
Olympia Tool also makes heavier framing hammers with the magnetic nail slot, but you can buy the pictured 16oz. claw hammer for $12.
Nail-Holding Hammer [Olympia Tool]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]
June 2nd, 2009 at 12:02 pm
Certainly a reasonable price. Some of my guys - probably influenced by watching Tom Silva on TOH use one - wanted a Douglas Framer. These do bite into the mortgage payment a bit:
http://www.toolbarn.com/product/douglas/DFR-2016CX/
June 2nd, 2009 at 12:33 pm
Looks to me like it makes the sweet spot a bit smaller. I don’t really see this one in the ol’ tool bag… If I can’t get to it with two hands, I don’t really want to be hammering it…
June 2nd, 2009 at 2:18 pm
Isn’t Douglas now defunct? I’m still trying to find a new framer…
June 2nd, 2009 at 2:18 pm
Nevermind!
June 3rd, 2009 at 12:25 am
Stanley Fatmax hammers also have this, it’s not exactly the same, but it’s a magnetic nail holder, plus they’re great hammers.
June 3rd, 2009 at 12:28 pm
Maybe a ladder is called for?
June 3rd, 2009 at 2:10 pm
It’s a little tricky, but any curved claw hammer will hold a nail while you start it.
June 3rd, 2009 at 2:19 pm
@David Bryan:
I’m not questioning that you can do it, but would you mind telling me how, I’ve never seen the technique. The only way I can think of involves two hammers.
June 3rd, 2009 at 2:58 pm
Turn it around, use the claw. It takes a little getting used to, but it’s an old, old trick.
June 4th, 2009 at 12:13 pm
What David Bryan says. You wedge the nail down in the claw with the head of the nail on the backside of the neck, perpendicular to the handle. With the right hammer you can hold most any size nail.
Does take a fair amount of practice, but nifty to be able to do.