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A sledgehammer is a
tool A tool is an object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many animals use simple tools, only human beings, whose use of stone tools dates b ...
with a large, flat, often
metal A metal (from ancient Greek, Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, e ...
head, attached to a long handle. The long handle combined with a heavy head allows the sledgehammer to gather momentum during a swing and apply a large
force In physics, a force is an influence that can change the motion of an object. A force can cause an object with mass to change its velocity (e.g. moving from a state of rest), i.e., to accelerate. Force can also be described intuitively as a ...
compared to hammers designed to drive nails. Along with the
mallet A mallet is a tool used for imparting force on another object, often made of rubber or sometimes wood, that is smaller than a maul or beetle, and usually has a relatively large head. The term is descriptive of the overall size and propor ...
, it shares the ability to distribute force over a wide area. This is in contrast to other types of
hammer A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nails into wood, to shape metal (as wi ...
s, which concentrate force in a relatively small area.


Etymology

The word sledgehammer is derived from the Anglo Saxon "''slægan''", which, in its first sense, means "to strike violently". The English words "slag", "slay", and "slog" are
cognates In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words in different languages that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymological ancestor in a common parent language. Because language change can have radical eff ...
.


Uses

The handle can range from to a full long, depending on the mass of the head. The head mass is usually . Modern heavy duty sledgehammers come with heads. Sledgehammers usually require two hands and a swinging motion involving the entire
torso The torso or trunk is an anatomical term for the central part, or the core, of the body of many animals (including humans), from which the head, neck, limbs, tail and other appendages extend. The tetrapod torso — including that of a hu ...
, in contrast to smaller
hammer A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nails into wood, to shape metal (as wi ...
s used for driving in nails. The combination of a long swinging range, and heavy head, increases the force of the resulting impact. Sledgehammers are often used in
demolition Demolition (also known as razing, cartage, and wrecking) is the science and engineering in safely and efficiently tearing down of buildings and other artificial structures. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a bu ...
work, for breaking through
drywall Drywall (also called plasterboard, dry lining, wallboard, sheet rock, gypsum board, buster board, custard board, and gypsum panel) is a panel made of calcium sulfate dihydrate (gypsum), with or without additives, typically extruded between thic ...
or
masonry Masonry is the building of structures from individual units, which are often laid in and bound together by mortar; the term ''masonry'' can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are bricks, building ...
wall A wall is a structure and a surface that defines an area; carries a load; provides security, shelter, or soundproofing; or, is decorative. There are many kinds of walls, including: * Walls in buildings that form a fundamental part of the s ...
s. Sledgehammers were formerly widely used in
mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the econom ...
operations, particularly hand steel, but are rarely used in modern mining. Sledgehammers are also used when substantial force is necessary to dislodge a trapped object (often in
farm A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is use ...
or
oil field A petroleum reservoir or oil and gas reservoir is a subsurface accumulation of hydrocarbons contained in porous or fractured rock formations. Such reservoirs form when kerogen (ancient plant matter) is created in surrounding rock by the presen ...
work), or for fracturing concrete. Another common use is for driving fence posts into the ground. Sledgehammers are used by police forces in raids on property to gain entry by force, commonly through doors. They were and still are commonly used by blacksmiths to shape heavy sections of iron. The British SAS
counter terrorist Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, business, and intelligence agencies use to combat or el ...
team used sledgehammers to gain access to rooms during the 1980 Iranian Embassy Siege. However, today they use a tool called a "dynamic hammer". Another use of sledgehammers is for driving railroad spikes into wooden sleepers during rail construction. When the two ends of the
Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pac ...
railroad were joined at
Promontory, Utah Promontory is an area of high ground in Box Elder County, Utah, United States, 32 mi (51 km) west of Brigham City and 66 mi (106 km) northwest of Salt Lake City. Rising to an elevation of 4,902 feet (1,494 m) above s ...
,
Leland Stanford Amasa Leland Stanford (March 9, 1824June 21, 1893) was an American industrialist and politician. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 8th governor of California from 1862 to 1863 and represented California in the United States Sen ...
hammered a
golden spike The golden spike (also known as The Last Spike) is the ceremonial 17.6- karat gold final spike driven by Leland Stanford to join the rails of the first transcontinental railroad across the United States connecting the Central Pacific Railroad ...
into a sleeper with a silver hammer. Sledges used to drive spikes for rails had curved heads that came down to a "beak" that was only about one inch across. The shape meant that drivers needed to be accurate, and spot where the spike hit was often not much larger than a small coin, as anything larger would hit the plate or the sleeper. The curved head kept the handle away from the rail, as the spikes were driven with the rail between the spike and the driver. These are often called
spike maul A spike maul is a type of hand tool used to drive railroad spikes in railroad track work. It is also known as a spiking hammer. Description Spike mauls are akin to sledge hammers, typically weighing from with -long handles. They have elongate ...
s.


Drilling hammer

A drilling hammer, club hammer, , crack hammer, mini-sledge or thor hammer is a small sledgehammer whose relatively light weight and short handle allow one-handed use. It is useful for light
demolition Demolition (also known as razing, cartage, and wrecking) is the science and engineering in safely and efficiently tearing down of buildings and other artificial structures. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a bu ...
work, driving masonry nails, and for use with a steel
chisel A chisel is a tool with a characteristically shaped cutting edge (such that wood chisels have lent part of their name to a particular grind) of blade on its end, for carving or cutting a hard material such as wood, stone, or metal by hand, s ...
when cutting
stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...
or
metal A metal (from ancient Greek, Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, e ...
. In this last application, its weight drives the chisel more deeply into the material being cut than lighter hammers. Club hammers are common on the British inland waterways for driving mooring pins into the towpath or canal bank. Scouts BSA has adopted the shorter sledgehammer, commonly referred to as an engineer's hammer, as an unofficial tool referred to as the scout hammer, as a complement to the pocket knife and hand axe. The handle is long with a head weighing . The hammer is used for a variety of purposes such as driving tent stakes, establishing temporary fencing using wood or metal rebar, splitting wood in conjunction with a wedge, or straightening all that is bent.


Post maul

Post mauls are similar to sledgehammers in shape, but are meant to drive wooden fence posts or tree stakes into the earth. Newer mauls have broad, flat circular faces that are significantly larger in diameter than the body of the head (where the handle attaches). Older post mauls are significantly larger than sledgehammers like their newer counterparts except the outside diameter (body) of older post maul designs remained the same large diameter as that of the faces of the hammer from one side to the other side. Sledgehammers usually have octagonal faces that are the same diameter or slightly smaller than the body of the head, and they are not nearly as large in overall diameter as a post maul.


See also

*
Spike maul A spike maul is a type of hand tool used to drive railroad spikes in railroad track work. It is also known as a spiking hammer. Description Spike mauls are akin to sledge hammers, typically weighing from with -long handles. They have elongate ...


References


External links

{{Hand tools Articles containing video clips Hammers Improvised weapons it:Martello#Tipologie sv:Slägga (handverktyg) tl:Maso