Wilton B.A.S.H 30" Sledge Hammer, 20 Lb Head (22030)

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Being 40 and not quite the shape I was once in, I took a few more breaks than I expected due to the weight of heaving this hammer. Also I find that using sledge hammers with a fiber glass handle to be better in general then wooden handles. Most purchases from business sellers are protected by the Consumer Contract Regulations 2013 which give you the right to cancel the purchase within 14 days after the day you receive the item.

I laughed and handed it to my wife (who is much smaller) and she could barely lift it over her shoulder. I'm good for short bursts of maybe 10 swings at a time, and maybe a max of 100 swings before the arms turn to spaghetti and my aim is questionable. Your hands will thank you if you ever miss a post with the head and instead hit the handle on the post. I have looked at lots of sledges, I am pretty set in my decision on the Wilton line, they seem to be built the way I would build a hammer.With a heavy metal head and long wooden arm that enables it to be swung overarm, they can make easy work of breaking concrete. I would definitely not recommend it for anyone who is not either above average strength or using an assist.

I preferred the square design over the tapered heads because if you were banging 2x4 stakes in the ground you could use the square head sideways and it wouldn't split the wood so easily as it hit the whole flat surface of the stake. In fact, I don't see any real evidence of the head deforming either (the head on my 16 pound hammer has noticeably deformed over time). The powerful force you can generate is also suitable for demolishing brick and studwork walls as well as driving home stakes. You want something massive enough that its weight dropping does most of the work, light enough that you can lift it as many times as necessary without exhausting yourself. No matter how much care you take, incorrectly hitting the hammer on the handle instead of the head cannot be avoided.Excess weight may have two downsides - one is more wear and tear on you the operator, and the other is that you may get lower velocity on your hits - and since energy is mass times velocity squared, a hammer weighing 12 lbs still needs to make at least 81% of the velocity of the 8 lb hammer to get the same "hit" - so you have to swing 50% more weight only 20% slower. If you are a stronger person, someone who does manual labor a lot, and you find that you are breaking stone/concrete or driving post in to permafrost ground, in an area where accuracy is not important, then you might want to increase the weight to get done quicker.