Hammer Sub-pages:

DAMMERR Handles

The first 23 DAMMERRs were mounted on handles from various manufactures. Most of
these were wood but a few were mounted on fiberglass handles. The wood handles all
had to be modified by turning down the end on a lathe to fit into the heads. I didn't like
the wood handles I could find because the only handles I could find that were fat enough
at the head end to fill the hole in the head were mallet handles and the cross section of
the grip was nearly round. A round handle section does not give feedback about which way
the head is pointed. Although functionally fiberglass handles may be the best, I think they
 are ugly and they are a pain to mount on the heads and get everything square.

I decided to make my own handles out of hickory. I got a big slab of hickory and ripped it
down into 1 inch thick strips. The strips were cut to rough length and then a handle was
shaped from each piece after aligning the handle pattern to the grain as best I could. The
shape was cut out on a trimming router bit using a template. The edges were then
rounded with a round over router bit. Lastly, the the handle was mounted in a lathe to
 make the round part that fits into the head.

The latest modification was to ream out the head so I can fit a steel tube into the head and
over the handle making an extra strong and robust handle.

#'s 25, 26, 27 & 28 on shop made handles

#31 with reinforced handle

#31 with reinforced handle

#37 with a protective steel collar below the head, the Klutz

The most recent modification to the handle was to expand the lower portion of the tube to fit a fatter and thus stronger handle.

Stronger handle with swaged steel tube

Fiberglass handles cost ~$10-15 but are hard to find. Ordered from websites often take 3-4 weeks since they usually drop ship them and they can't find them either. What you want is Nupla part number 59853 or product number A8513 which is a 13" handle that is 0.85" in the large dimension of the cross section. It has the regular grip not the weird grip that the Omega Pacific hammer uses. They are a pain and somewhat tricky to put on.

#25 fitted with a fiber glass handle

I have some heat shrink handle grip which I think is really great. It is very grippy
even when wet. It won't last forever but should last longer than tape. If you get
a DAMMERR, ask me to put some on the handle to try out.

DAMMERR #14 on an early wood handle with a Chouinard hammer for comparison

Hickory slab

1-3/4 inches thick