Better than Stiletto (despite Milwaukee owning both)
I'm a 26 year old concrete Mason in chicago IL. Been doing concrete for about the last year, this is my third framing hammer I've owned, probably the 30th different one I've tried on the job though. First was an Estwing hard strike 25oz that was so damn heavy, it just beat me up day in and day out, so I gave it away to a coworker. That same day I bought another estwing that I've used for the last year. It was a fill steel 19oz that worked well, but had a very slippery grip that would frequently cause me to let go of the hammer unless I held it with an absolute death grip, which again, beat me up and did a number on my hands. The other issue I found super annoying with it was the constant high pitched ring it let out when closing latches or breaking wall ties. Again, good hammer, only problem with it was mainly ergonomics.
On the topic of ergonomics, Milwaukee nailed it (no pun intended). This hammer is 17oz, which seems to be the sweet spot for me at roughly 5'10 and 170lbs, 17oz just feels perfect to me. Aside from being lighter, it's not totally different than my Estwing, but there are three major differences that set it apart and make my job 1000x easier. #1 would be the grip material. Milwaukee uses a more gummy grip material instead of the estwing hard plasticy grip that only seems to like to grip with leather gloves. #2 would be the grip itself, where the Estwing has a very straight grip, the Milwaukee has a nice hook on the end, almost like an ax handle, that feels impossible to let go of, no matter how muddy/dusty/crusty your gloves are. And #3 would be the ringing. As far as i can tell, this hammer is SILENT.
A lot of people at my job, including my boss, seem to think 17oz is "too light" for this job (which is funny cause the boss runs a 14oz Dewalt), but I've found that a lighter hammer also let's you swing faster, which drives nails and latches better, and doesn't beat your joints up when changing direction.
I've used Dewalt hammers, estwing, Vaughn, Husky, fiskars, kobalt, and even stiletto, and this has been hands down the best framing hammer I've ever picked up. Time will tell how the durability is on it, but even if i go through one a year, at $40, which isn't even $10/week, and less than a dollar a day, it's a price I'm willing to pay for comfort on a very physically demanding job.
Main line for me? TRY ONE OF THESE OUT BEFORE SPENDING $120+ ON A STILETTO!!!!
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