Classic Hand Tools

Tools for Possibilities: issue no. 115

Professional, shock-absorbing hammer

Stiletto TiBone Titanium Hammer

I drooled over and pondered getting this hammer for a year before I finally took the plunge — and it was well worth the very high price tag. This hammer really absorbs the vibrations as you pound it. I have been framing for about 14 years and have been swinging an Estwing 25-oz. California-style framing hammer for most of that time. My elbow is almost shot from the vibrations of using those all-steel hammers. Since buying the much lighter titanium T-bone (15 oz.), I have noticed a dramatic difference in my elbow.

All-around it’s an absolutely wonderful hammer. The magnetic nail starter isn’t a new invention, but it’s handy, and I use the side nail puller every chance I get instead of relying on the claw. The hammer also features a removable steel head (or face), which can be replaced with a milled waffle or smooth head (depending on which face you purchase to begin with). Stiletto makes other cheaper hammers with a titanium head and a wooden or fiberglass handle. They absorb a lot of shock, too, but tend to break fairly easily – unlike this model, which has a titanium handle covered in rubber.

If you are serious about building and/or want to lessen the impact on your elbow, arm, etc., this hammer is certainly worth the investment. I don’t know offhand what a shot of cortisone costs, but they probably add up. I wouldn’t recommend this hammer for the average Joe, but if you use a hammer a lot, this is the one to get. They come with a curved or straight handle. I have one with a curved handle, which just feels right. — Greg Morris

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Human-powered driver

Three Jaw Brace

Ever have to fight with a thirty foot cord on a cold day? This tool has no cord. And no batteries. No worry about theft, obsolescence, charging. Imagine being able to remove #4 Phillips screws, long embedded with their heads effectively stripped before they were painted over. By hand. The same tool, with a “no moving parts” adapter, is a speed wrench for 3/8″ drive sockets. And you can use 1/4″ hex bits as well.

The traditional hand brace does all this, and weighs less than a commercial-duty battery pack. That’s why I have two old braces in my on-site tool kit, where I do a vast array of kludge-like repairs to building systems — everything from removing the third set of windows in a building’s life, to re-hanging wood and steel doors (remember those stripped, self-tapping, Phillips screws?), boring holes to run a fish-tape through, and taking mechanical stuff apart.

I just bought my first-ever “new” brace from Lee Valley Tools. Made in France this version will accept traditional square-taper auger bits, and with its three jaw chuck, any round or hex shank tool up to about 15 mm (9/16”) diameter. This new one together with two power tools -- a 25-year-old Black and Decker screw gun, and a Makita 7 1/4” circular saw -- makes my tool kit. — Lou Parsons

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Precise start on metal

Auto Center Punch

A simple superior tool about the size of a stubby pencil that punches a tiny depression in metal. It’s used to start a hole or mark a point. But unlike standard punches, which you need to hit with a hammer — whose impact usually misaligns the spot you intended to punch — this one gets its punch from a tiny internal spring that flexes as you press the tip down. You simply press the punch where you want a dent and there it is exactly. A classic. — KK

We in the rescue trade also use these pretty routinely to safely remove the glass in automobiles. They work particularly well on the glass in the side and rear windows and leave all of the little glass bits intact in the window frame until you gently remove them with gloved hands. The bits then go where you want (generally) and not on your patient. I assume that keeping one in your car would let you punch out your own windows in case of emergency. Just remember that it is key to use the device on the lower corner of a window or the glass can shatter and go everywhere. — J. James Bono

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Hole maker

Japanese Screw Punch

This lovely tool can punch through multiple layers of paper, mat board, etc. It is great for making eyelet holes in fabric as well as leather. Used by book makers and mixed media artists. It is amazing in its ease and is very durable! Earns Extra Foofy Points to be able to say you have a “Japanese Screw Punch.” — Jane Wynn

The advantage of this tool (sometimes called a Paper Drill) is that unlike your usual plier-like paper punch, this one is not constrained by where you want a hole. You can drill a hole anywhere on any size sheet — not just the edges — by bearing down on the handle. To compensate for the lack of leverage you do get in a plier-like punch, the shaft of this screw punch rotates as you press, neatly slicing a trim hole. It will go through 15 pages of paper at once; thicker materials will require multiple passes. It comes with five bits, but the largest one will be smaller than the typical paper punch hole, so I’ve found more careful alignment is required. — KK

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Tough analog drill

Schroeder Hand Drill

A hand-powered drill allows a subtlety and control you don’t get from a power tool, so very much more direct and satisfying to use. From a sheer utilitarian perspective, my Schroeder 1/4″ drill is a wonder to behold and use. The gearing is all-metal, so it’s built to last. For the price, you won’t find a tougher drill. I’ve used it for building cabinets and tables, puttering around the house and garden, pre-drilling screw holes, and mounting things to walls, etc. and it works like a champ. I used Fiskars hand drills for years but their inner gears are made of plastic and will strip out if you apply too much torque. They also can’t be opened up for repair either, so once that happens it goes straight to the landfill, which is really disheartening. With the Schroeder, the solid, single gear is right there in the open. You have to hold it in your hands to appreciate it. Like the engineering in a 1970s BMW or a piece of Shaker furniture, it’s logical and simple, direct and pure. It makes me happy just to spin it. — Charles Henry Frieder

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Human powered high torque

Impact Driver Wrench

This hand tool is used to unscrew bolts that may have become rusted into place. One end has a 3/8th inch socket stub over which you fit with the appropriate socket head. You place this over the bolt and then use a hammer/mallet to hit the other end of the cylindrical tool while applying a slight twisting force on the the body of the impact wrench. The perpendicular motion of the hammer is translated (via a system of springs and prawls) into a sudden twisting motion at the head of the troublesome bolt. Since static friction decreases so much when the force is applied over a very short duration —like the time it takes a hammer to smack the end of the impact wrench — bolts that would otherwise require so much force that they might snap off can be easily removed. Very cool tool. Other tool makers make things very similar, but in my experience, the Snap-on version works best. — Gabriel Pilar

This hand-held Impact Driver is not to be confused with the hundreds of pneumatic and power Impact Drivers which have largely replaced it. For occasional use, this little guy will do — although it takes some skill to keep it on the bolt when you hammer it. I’ve used the Craftman’s brand, which is half the cost of the Snap-On. — KK