Hardcore Hammers?

I remember looking at them a couple years ago. I was interested; but I found a number of reports (including here on BF) about them coming unhung.
They may have resolved that - I honestly haven't looked for information on them for at least 18 months.
 
No matter what any company is selling, if they use a girl in Maxim magazine, the words "hardcore" and "zombie apocalypse" and "gunstock" all wrapped up in the USA flag it is obvious they are marketing to the lowest denominator. Also how can a company like this that has only been around four years use the word 'legendary" in their advertising with a straight face?

The True-Temper Rocket that my father bought over 50 years ago and used all his life, that might be "legendary", The Craftsman hammer I bought 30 years ago or all the Maydole hammer heads that are still in good shape after being around the last hundred years or so, those are legendary.

When anyone can go to a flea-market or garage-sale and buy a truly legendary old tool for a dollar that will last them a lifetime, there will never be any reason to purchase anything like this.
 
gben said:
No matter what any company is selling, if they use a girl in Maxim magazine, the words "hardcore" and "zombie apocalypse" and "gunstock" all wrapped up in the USA flag it is obvious they are marketing to the lowest denominator. Also how can a company like this that has only been around four years use the word 'legendary" in their advertising with a straight face?

The True-Temper Rocket that my father bought over 50 years ago and used all his life, that might be "legendary", The Craftsman hammer I bought 30 years ago or all the Maydole hammer heads that are still in good shape after being around the last hundred years or so, those are legendary.

When anyone can go to a flea-market or garage-sale and buy a truly legendary old tool for a dollar that will last them a lifetime, there will never be any reason to purchase anything like this.
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Mmmm...Maydole hammers. Now those ARE legendary.

maydole-hammer-ad-27-03.jpg
 
There is plenty enough metallurgy and technology involved in order to craft a thoroughly durable hammer head. Ordinary folks cannot expect to be able to manufacture them in their basements or garages. I'd love to hear the story behind the making of these. Made in USA very often seems to subtly interchange with Made in USA using foreign components.
 
If a substantial degree of the parts are produced overseas then the legally used term is "assembled in USA". Seymour Mfg., whom I deal with for scythes, sources some of their tools (forks, axes, etc) overseas from various sources and puts their USA-made handles on them, but cannot label them as USA-made like they can with their shovels, scythe snaths, rakes, etc. that they produce wholly in-house.

Most likely they're farming out the forging and heat treatment work to a US drop-forging manufacturer and assembling and packaging them in their own shop.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
If a substantial degree of the parts are produced overseas then the legally used term is "assembled in USA". Seymour Mfg., whom I deal with for scythes, sources some of their tools (forks, axes, etc) overseas from various sources and puts their USA-made handles on them, but cannot label them as USA-made like they can with their shovels, scythe snaths, rakes, etc. that they produce wholly in-house.

Most likely they're farming out the forging and heat treatment work to a US drop-forging manufacturer and assembling and packaging them in their own shop.
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Seems to me these are a casting with an overly hard cylindrical tool steel insert. How strong then is the claw? Far as I know the 'pedestrian' Estwing framing hammer, that I haven't managed to break or bend in 45 years of use and abuse, was forged. I wouldn't mind seeing and hearing about the results of some serious testing of these.
 
Operator1975 said:
Did we figure out if these hardcore hammer are indeed made in the USA?
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If a company claims "Made in USA" and there is any foreign content (beyond a "negligible" amount) then the FTC can get on their case and fine them. Stanley Works was fined $205,000 for this in 2006.
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/media-resources/tools-consumers/made-usa

My guess is that Hardcore's steel and manufacture and handles are all sourced from the USA. (I don't know about the metal wedges, though.) :)

From a 3-year-old thread on Hardcore hatchets, with info from the owner about the steel used and the hardness:

Double Ott said:
Thanks Tom: We use 1080 Steel, and we aim for about 55RC on the bit. The polls end up about 40-45RC. This is for both the hatchet and mini hawk. Hope this helps!
best regards,
Rick

Rick Spencer, owner
Hardcore Hammers, LLC
rick@hardcorehammers.com
913.669.3330

On Tue, Jan 1, 2013 at 1:34 PM, Tom wrote:

You have a rather flowery description of your hatchets. How about some specs on them?
What steel is used?
What is the RC on the bits?
Are the polls hardened?

Please be specific for the hatchet and the Mini Hawk

Thank you, I’ll post your results on a popular axe forum.

Regards, Tom




--
Rick Spencer, owner
Hardcore Hammers, LLC
rick@hardcorehammers.com
913.669.3330
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300Six said:
Seems to me these are a casting with an overly hard cylindrical tool steel insert. How strong then is the claw? Far as I know the 'pedestrian' Estwing framing hammer, that I haven't managed to break or bend in 45 years of use and abuse, was forged. I wouldn't mind seeing and hearing about the results of some serious testing of these.
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Possibly metal injection molded (MIM)?
 
in the Midwest and especially where i live in Mudzoory i can honestly say i know of three carpenters who still use a "regular" hammer on the job site.
one of the carpenters has a red fiberglass handled Plumb. he says when the handle wears out from over strikes he is retiring. most of the younger carpenters around here use air hammers.
 
markv said:
in the Midwest and especially where i live in Mudzoory i can honestly say i know of three carpenters who still use a "regular" hammer on the job site.
one of the carpenters has a red fiberglass handled Plumb. he says when the handle wears out from over strikes he is retiring. most of the younger carpenters around here use air hammers.
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That I can well understand. I'm among the mostly retired holdouts from a previous generation to have earned a living without ever having to run hoses (or refill butane cartridges) from a time when you could buy domestic-made nails by the 50 lb box instead of having to seek out pre-packaged nail belts or proprietary rows of staples.
The (then brand new) early 1970s Estwing 20 oz framer I used daily did not ultimately manage to ruin my wrists and once you develop a rhythm with sorting and orienting roofing nails in the palm of one hand and hammer in the other you do not wreck roof shingles that are located over a split, knot or plywood/board joint such as you unintentionally-but-automatically do with a power nailer.
By the way, unless he lends out his hammer, the fiberglas-handled Plumb guy is never going to be able to retire because overstrikes happen mostly to novices and keeners.
 
quinton said:
Another plug for the toughness of air dried hickory!
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Nope! At age 19 I busted the construction foreman's prize wooden handle Stanley hammer in kicking it while trying to pry out a stubborn forming nail. He was some pissed and I was genuinely surprised at how fragile wood handles are. I bought a 'safe-t-shape' Estwing (and they were 3-4X the price or an ordinary "woody") right after. That was almost 45 years ago.
 
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Well, they certainly have responsive owners.

Mr. spencer was kind enough to advise me that some of their product is cast and some is drop forged.

All seem to be made in the USA.

This seems like a product worth trying, and some models are only 40 bucks.

El Gato
 
300Six said:
Nope! At age 19 I busted the construction foreman's prize wooden handle Stanley hammer in kicking it while trying to pry out a stubborn forming nail. He was some pissed and I was genuinely surprised at how fragile wood handles are. I bought a 'safe-t-shape' Estwing (and they were 3-4X the price or an ordinary "woody") right after. That was almost 45 years ago.
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Yup.. You sure have to go some to damage an estwing handle... but if you do its much harder to fix than a hickory handle... :D
 
Rapt_up said:
Yup.. You sure have to go some to damage an estwing handle... but if you do its much harder to fix than a hickory handle... :D
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The beauty of consumerism and mass production is the $12 Estwing from 1972 is not really different from the current $30 version. You were doing well to be making union wage of $5.50/hr in construction in '72 whereas nowadays that number has gotta be up around $30. I found a bent/twisted Estwing 20oz a few years ago (bulldozer had passed over it) and straightened it via large vise and a sledge hammer.
 
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