# Dead Blow vs Solid Sledgehammer



## IcemanUnlimited

In another topic I recently became aware of "dead blow" hammers and sledgehammers.

I was wondering what you think about each in terms of reliability and effectiveness. Personally I would assume the solid to be more reliable being "solid" as opposed to hollow with moving parts.

I only own a 12 pound solid head sledgehammer. Fiberglass handle and rubber coated head.

What do you think? I'm asking in terms of a SHTF or Apocalyptic event.


----------



## mosquitomountainman

You use a dead blow hammer on softer metals or other objects when you don't want to damage the object of your attack. It's comparable to softening a blow by placing a block of wood between the object and the hammer head. 

I can tell you from experience that if you hit anything with it at 20 degree or colder temperatures you'll have a multi-piece-dead, dead blow hammer.

They're kind of a specialized tool that's only good for limited applications.

My advice ... get the sledgehammer first.


----------



## NaeKid

I have all kinds of hammers from baby-sledge hammers (one hand) to monster-sized ones (two hand) and dead-blows (large and small). They all do different things. I wouldn't use a dead-blow to pound fence-posts in the ground, that is what the monster two-hander is for. I wouldn't use a monster two-hander to tap the side-cover of my motorcycle, that's what the dead-blow is for.

You need to use the tool for what it was designed for and it will give you years of service. Using the wrong one will either frustrate you or harm you ...



Stay safe!


----------



## IcemanUnlimited

I misunderstood I guess. I was thinking a "Dead blow" hammer was supposed to be "superior" not alternate purpose. lol

Maybe I should look into things more before throwing out posts. XD haha


----------



## NaeKid

I guess that you could consider the differences between using the back-side of an adjustable crescent-wrench (All-Sixteenths) as a hammer and using a small ball-peen hammer as a hammer. Ya, they both might get the job done, but, one is the best choice and one is the handy choice.

The nice thing about the dead-blow is that it is covered in a soft material (rubber-like) that will not ruin the finish of the aluminum side-covers on a motorbike, but, still do the job required of it.

On my KLR, there is an internal part nicknamed the "DooHickey". It needs to be adjusted every oil-change - the way to do that is to loosen one bolt on the lower-side of the case, tap the case and tighten the bolt again ... 
there are hundreds of videos on YouTube showing how to upgrade the doohickey and how to adjust it.


----------



## pandamonium

The dead Blow hammer has sand in the head, preventing "bounce". The rubberize coating assists in this. The coated head also has the benifit of, on many hammers, of being "non-marring". As stated, each have their different uses.


----------



## LincTex

IcemanUnlimited said:


> Dead Blow vs Solid Sledgehammer, Which is better?


You Need Both.


----------



## zombieresponder

pandamonium said:


> The dead Blow hammer has sand in the head, preventing "bounce". The rubberize coating assists in this. The coated head also has the benifit of, on many hammers, of being "non-marring". As stated, each have their different uses.


All of them I've seen torn apart were filled with lead shot.


----------



## Jimmy24

I do use small deadblows in my woodworking a good bit. They work very well in making tight joints come together.

Jimmy


----------

