Editing Sledgehammer

{{Short description|Heavy striking tool}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Infobox tool
| name = Sledgehammer
| image = Sledgehammers-1.jpg
| caption = {{convert|20|lb|kg|adj=on}} and {{convert|10|lb|kg|adj=on}} sledgehammers
| other_name =
| classification = [[Hand tool]]; [[Improvised weapon]]
| types = 
| used_with =[[Wedge (mechanical device)|Wedge]]; [[Wrench|hammer wrench]]
| related = [[War hammer]]
}}

A '''sledgehammer''' is a [[tool]] with a large, flat, massive, often [[metal]] head, attached to a long wooden or solid handle. The long handle is combined with a heavy head which allows the sledgehammer to pick up momentum during a swing and applying a large [[impulse (physics)|force]] compared to hammers designed to drive nails. Along with the [[mallet]], it shares the ability to distribute force over a wide area. This is in contrast to other types of [[hammer]]s, which concentrate [[gravity]] and force in a relatively small area.

{{Content|date=February 2025}}

==Etymology==
[[Image:hammer straight pane sledge.jpg|thumb|upright=.8|A straight peen sledge hammer from an 1899 American book on blacksmithing]]
The word sledgehammer is derived from the Old-English "''slægan''", which, in its first sense, means "to strike violently". The English words "slag", "slay", and "slog" are [[cognates]].<ref>''An Anglo Saxon Dictionary'', Joseph Bosworth, The Clarendon press, 1882</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Slag|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=slag&allowed_in_frame=0|work=Online Etymology Dictionary|access-date=27 June 2012}}</ref>

==Uses==
{{More citations needed|section|date=September 2022}}[[File:C&O Railway Heritage Center - Sledgehammer.jpg|thumb|left|upright=.5|[[Spike maul]] used for driving [[railroad spike]]s during track construction]]

The handle can range from {{convert|50|cm|ftin|0}} to a full {{convert|1|m|ftin|0}} long, depending on the mass of the head.<ref>{{cite book | last = Richards | first = Robert | title = Ore Dressing | publisher = McGraw-Hill Book Company | year = 1908 | location = New York, New York | page = 10 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=1ZgLAQAAIAAJ&q=sledge%20hammer%20typical%20handle%20length&pg=PR1 }}</ref> The head mass is usually {{convert|1|to|9|kg|lb|1}}. Modern heavy duty sledgehammers come with {{convert|10|to(-)|20|lb|kg|adj=on}} heads. Sledgehammers usually require two hands and a swinging motion involving the entire [[torso]], in contrast to smaller [[hammer]]s used for driving in [[nail (fastener)|nails]]. The combination of a long swinging range, and heavy head, increases the force of the resulting impact.{{citation needed|date=October 2024}}

Sledgehammers are often used in [[demolition]] work, for breaking through [[drywall]] or [[masonry]] [[wall]]s. Sledgehammers were formerly widely used in [[mining]] 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]] or [[oil field]] 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 [[Special Air Service|SAS]] [[counter terrorist]] team used sledgehammers to gain access to rooms during the 1980 [[Iranian Embassy Siege]]. However, today they use a tool called a "dynamic hammer".{{citation needed|date=October 2024}}

Another use of sledgehammers is for driving railroad spikes into wooden [[Railroad tie|sleepers]] during rail construction. When the two ends of the [[Union Pacific]] railroad were joined at [[Promontory, Utah]], [[Leland Stanford]] hammered a [[golden spike]] into a sleeper with a silver hammer.<ref>Ambrose, Stephen E. ''Nothing Like It In The World.'' (2001) p. 365-367.</ref> Sledges used to drive spikes for rails had curved heads{{Citation needed|date=October 2023|reason=I've never seen a spike maul with a curved head and I don't think it would be possible to drive a spike with one that wasn't straight.}} 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]]s.{{citation needed|date=October 2024}}

==Drilling hammer==
[[File:Verlegung Stolperstein Rathaus Köln - Meißel und Fäustel.webm|thumb|left|A man cutting a paving stone using a drilling hammer to drive a chisel]]
[[Image:SVG Drilling Hammer.svg|thumb|upright=.5|Drilling hammer]]

A '''drilling hammer''',<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wilson |first1=Andrew |date=2008 |title=Determination of Pavement Thickness Using Spectral Analysis of Surface Waves |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9cLlFvWoRGEC |location=Ann Arbor, Michigan |publisher=ProQuest LLC |pages=94–95 |isbn=9780549825500 |access-date=28 February 2015}}</ref> '''club hammer''', '''{{vanchor|lump hammer|Lump hammer}}''', '''crack hammer''', '''mini-sledge''' or '''thor hammer''' is a small sledgehammer whose relatively light weight and short handle allow one-handed use.<ref name="vila">{{cite web|first=Bob|last=Vila|url=http://www.bobvila.com/articles/1092-types-of-hammers/|title=Types of Hammers|access-date=2013-12-23}}</ref> It is useful for light demolition work, driving masonry nails, and for use with a steel [[chisel]] when cutting stone or metal.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.diydata.com/tool/hammer/hammers.php|title=Different types of hammers - what there are, and what each type is designed for|website=www.diydata.com|access-date=5 April 2018}}</ref> 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.{{citation needed|date=October 2024}}

Scouts BSA<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.scouting.org/scoutsbsa/|title=Scouts BSA|website=Boy Scouts of America|language=en-US|access-date=2019-09-17}}</ref> has adopted the shorter sledgehammer, commonly referred to as an engineer's hammer,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/E/AE_engineers_hammer.html|title=engineer's hammer|last=Darling|first=David|website=www.daviddarling.info|access-date=2019-09-17}}</ref> as an unofficial tool referred to as the scout hammer, as a complement to the pocket knife and hand axe. The handle is {{convert|12|-|18|in|cm}} long with a head weighing {{cvt|2|to(-)|6|lb}}. 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 bent objects.{{citation needed|date=October 2024}}

== In popular culture ==

* In [[Professional wrestling|professional wrestling]], the sledgehammer is a widely popular [[Foreign object (professional wrestling)|weapon]], mostly associated with the wrestler [[Triple H|Paul "Triple H" Levesque]], who made it his weapon of choice.

==Post maul==
[[File:Post maul - 20040819.jpg|thumb|upright=.5|left|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.{{citation needed|date=October 2024}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Sledgehammers}}
{{Wiktionary}}

{{Hand tools}}

[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]
[[Category:Hammers]]
[[Category:Improvised weapons]]
[[it:Martello#Tipologie]]
[[sv:Slägga (handverktyg)]]
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