If this were a “buy this brand over that brand” sort of piece, we wouldn’t mention it here. But in this piece on their website, Lowe’s does a damn good job of laying out all the various types of hammers they sell and their applications. If you’re new to tools — or if you just want to have some fun adding more detailed comments here about their taxonomy — the hammer buying guide is worth a look.
Certainly they stop short of providing all the specifics. For example, though they show the curved claw and ripping claw hammers separately, they don’t really explain why they’re different or why you’d want to buy one over the other. (I’ve always heard that curved claw hammers are better at avoiding damage to the work surface when pulling nails where the straighter rip claw gives more leverage — and works better for prying.) I also like that they specify both a shingler’s hammer and a drywall hammer, which many people seem to confuse since they look sort of similar.
Anyway, if you can think of other specialty hammers (or have comments on their specs or ours) we’d love to hear ‘em below.
Hammer Buying Guide [Lowe's]