My friends at Sterling Tool Works recently announced their amazing new plane hammer. I was one of the lucky few who received an early prototype, which I’ve been using in my shop since. I love this hammer so much, that after only a week of using it, I talked to Chris about making some exclusively for me to offer to my customers. That is the very first one, pictured above. These hammers are branded with the Sterling logo on one side and my logo on the other.
What I love about these hammers is that you get the best of both worlds: a smaller brass head for hitting the blade (and the benefit of all the mass of said brass!) and a larger wood head for hitting the plane body. This is a perfectly balanced hammer, and I am proud to offer it right next to my planes. As a friend mentioned on Facebook after seeing the pictures, it is like peanut butter and jelly, the perfect combination.
Now, you may be asking, what is the fate of the Plane Adjustment Mallets that I already make? Well, I enjoy my new hammer from Sterling so much, that I haven’t used my own mallet since, other than to set some cross pins in place. That tells me something: The Sterling hammer is just better suited for adjusting planes. I still like the mallets I came up with; however, I have never enjoyed making them. They are tedious and I never figured out a good way to produce them quickly and efficiently. Because of all these factors, I am discontinuing my mallets and exclusively selling the Sterling Plane Hammer. Here is the best part: at $120, the Sterling hammers cost less than my mallets (hurray for better production designs)! I think everyone wins here.
If you absolutely must own one of my mallets, I will make only 5 more. You can purchase either mallet by visiting this page. I hope my customers are as excited about this announcement as I am. Order the new Sterling Tool Works Plane Hammer here.