New Crescent Fiberglass Rip Claw Hammers Headed to Stores

Crescent recently announced its new Crescent Fiberglass Rip Claw Hammers available in 16- and 20-ounce sizes.

The hammers feature a non-slip flared foot handle, nylon-jacketed solid fiberglass core, Permabond construction between the handle and lacquered head, magnetic nail starter for one-handed nailing overhead and in tight spaces, and a forged finish with contrasting polished strike face, poll, cheek pads, and claw.

“Professionals are looking for a hard-hitting, well-balanced hammer they can use all day long with less fatigue. This hammer delivers that with its specially contoured handle and flared foot.”
– Brendan Walsh, Senior Product Manager

Our Take

There are still some hand tools indispensable to the job. Take the claw hammer – no matter how many framing, roofing, and siding nailers are on a construction site, you’ll still see Pros with a trusty one slung in a tool belt. Now, hand tool manufacturer Crescent has taken a swing at it with the new Crescent Fiberglass Rip Claw Hammers.

Holding Out for the Best Framing Hammer?

The handle’s flared foot jumps out at us right away. To gain the most leverage on the 13.1- or 13.2-inch long handle (depending on the model), you need your hand near the back end. Add fatigue and sweat and it could become, well, a little hard to handle. The flare adds a measure of security to the fairly wide grip, as does the nylon overmold jacket. If you’ve ever held a hammer with a narrow grip, you’ll know what we mean.

The handle itself is a Permabond fiberglass, which is – save for abuse – relatively indestructible while being lightweight. It should also dissipate the shock of the strike to a large extent.

We like the magnetic nail starter – pretty much a standard feature on Pro level hammers these days. Unlike most, you have to set the nail in the holder rather than just butted up to it. We’ll have to see how this changes the mechanics of using it – most of the time we strike it in place and continue the process. Will this force us to pull back toward us after that first strike?

At $10 and $14, respectively, the fiberglass construction and standard steel rip claw head bring the price down. The trade-off is that fiberglass handles dampen vibration better than steel, but aren’t as durable. And of course, they’re heavier than the titanium models running around. There’s also no milled face model that’s at least an option on many framing nailers.

Steel Head Not Your Thing? Try Titanium!

The bottom line is that these new Crescent hammers look like solid general purpose models for both Pros and DIYers – if you like fiberglass handles. Like work trucks, there’s a lot of preference involved in making your decision and there are benefits to going for upgraded materials. Pros will note that the handles are on the short side for a framing hammer though. So far, users have had a positive experience with both models and for the price, they might be hard to beat.