If I Had A Hammer

by Teri brown

Simple, effective, and used for multiple purposes, the hammer is not only an implement humans can relate to, but probably one of our very first tools. The original hammers were no doubt primitive stones on a stick, created to pound whatever it was that ancient men needed to pound. Probably each other. Later, someone discovered pounding was easier if the handle was placed through a hole in the stone. The hammer continued to evolve throughout the ages and once blacksmiths got into the picture, the hammer's fate as the most common tool in the world was pretty much sealed.

Steve Johnson is an antique tool collector and hammer aficionado, as well as the creator of tooltimer.com, a Web site dedicated to the preservation of antique tool knowledge. He believes the hammer is our most popular tool because of how it was adapted through the ages.

"We've progressed from stone, to shaped stone, to bronze, copper, steel, and into exotic metals like titanium hammerheads - but the basic need to pound still remains," says Johnson. "Hammers have evolved to suit our building materials and methods, and come in a dazzling array of sizes, configurations, weights and materials."

Johnson says that hammer collectors value condition above all, and then rarity and age.

"An old hammer in pristine condition with the original label intact will be rare - and by old I mean at least 75 years old," says Johnson. "There are double and triple claw hammers that usually spike people's interest, and if you find an antique hammerhead shaped like a fish, goat, or other animal, you've really nailed it!"