ESTWING Rock Pick - 13 oz Geology Hammer with Milled Face & Shock Reduction Grip - E3-13PM

First off, this is my second Estwing geohammer, the first was purchased over 40 years ago and was heavily used professionally in the field. Once I left the field it was put in storage where it eventually disappeared. The new one is the “lightweight” version which is perfect for my current hobby trips in the field. It is ample for light duty rock breakdown, is easier to carry and so far works well. If I needed a more aggressive tool I’d have purchased the regular heavy version. This one is highly satisfying and recommended.I see than many Amazon reviews are by folks who know little about geohammers, or hammers in general. First, all hammer weights are based on the weight of the hammer head, not the total weight of the tool. This is traditional going back to the time when all hammers had wooden handles. For example, a five pound sledge hammer weighs more than five pounds - just the steel head weights that much. This geohammer has a head weight of about 13 ounces and a total weight of one and one-half pounds. Understanding a tool’s terminology helps to avoid incorrect purchases and disappointment.One of the first things I was taught as a budding geologist was that the pointy end of a geohammer is seldom used in the field - the blunt end does 90% of the work required. If you try to pound the pointy end much on hard rock it will bend and become blunt - this is on purpose! If it was tempered hard to withstand the extreme forces from a heavy swing onto very hard rock it would be too brittle and would shatter, potentially injuring the user or a bystander. Machinists should understand this. The pointy end is used for prying apart existing cracks, loosening soil around the edges of rocks, etc. If you don’t know how to use the tool, YouTube has videos made by professional geologists to teach you. There would be fewer unhappy reviewers if folks knew even a little bit about what they are buying.

Bought as a gift for my wife. It is very well made. It is light enough for her to carry and use all day. Estwing products are good quality. The handles are made to fit the hand, are comfortable and stay in the hand when used-grippy handle.

Bought this for a crystal dig. I went on with some friends it worked well ! it’s light to handle and strong.

Good quality

Good quality, arived on time.

Great company producing great tools. I have two different sizes of rock hammers and a 3 lb drill hammer and I’ve have had good luck with them.

This is a great hammer, but a little heavier and bigger than I expected. I was looking for a light rock hammer that I could hook on my belt while hiking and exploring. I have a VERY OLD 18 oz. Estwing from my Dad (brown handled hammer in the pic). I think it's at least 60 years old and still strong! But it's a little too heavy for me. I'm 5'5" and 130 lbs. I thought a 13 oz. hammer would be about right, but it's essentially the same size as my Dad's old hammer, just ever-so-slightly lighter (blue handled hammer). Hmmm...maybe I need to look for a kid's version!!

This item was such a great tool, one of the casual workers decided to make it his own, now I need another one!