Don't know the answer, but Traverse Tool (and proly MSC) has heavy hammers
w/ plastic ends (dual end), w/ a different hardness on each side. About $35
a cupla years ago.

The cynical answer is that "infinite variety" keeps us so off-balance and
generally confused that overall we spend much more money than we normally
would.
Chaos in fact breeds profit. "Deisgn" at times appears to be a random act.
----------------------------
Mr. P.V.'d
formerly Droll Troll
"Bob Engelhardt" wrote in message
...
I was browsing the MSC catalog and came across a page of soft hammers.
Brass, of course, but also copper, bronze, zinc, aluminum, lead, and
babbitt. I can see lead (the softest), copper (harder), and brass
(somewhat harder yet). But bronze and zinc are about the same hardness
as brass (?), and about the same density. What distinguishes these
three from each other, as far as their use in hammers?

It seems that lead and babbitt are even more similar and yet both are
offered. Why?

Thanks,
Bob

BTW - I've always believed that brass being softer than steel, you could
deliver "... a solid blow to the work without damaging it." (as MSC
puts it). Don't believe it! I recently mushroomed the end of a steel
shaft using a brass hammer. Fortunately it wasn't a big deal.