Also known as sledges, they combine a heavy, double-faced head with a long handle to hit harder than lighter, shorter hammers. The broad face on each end of the head provides a large striking area.

Sledge hammers are large, long-handled striking tools designed to deliver as much blunt force as possible to an area or object. Much larger and heavier than hammers meant for driving nails, sledge hammers are most often used for demolition, or driving objects too thick and heavy to be driven with a regular hammer.

Sledge hammers have heads that weigh from 8 to 20 pounds, which are forged from heat-treated high carbon steel. They usually have two rounded striking faces with beveled edges to minimize chipping. Thirty-six inch handles are common. Handles can be fiberglass or wood.

History of Sledgehammer According to archeologists, this tool was used to break brittle stones into killing tools and cups. The sledgehammer, as we know it now, was invented by William J. Hammer during the first world war.

Etymology 1 From Middle English slegge, from Old English sleċġ (“sledgehammer; mallet”), from Proto-Germanic *slagjǭ. Cognate with Dutch slegge (“sledge”), Swedish slägga (“sledge”), Norwegian Bokmål slegge (“sledge”), Norwegian Nynorsk sleggje (“sledge”), Icelandic sleggja (“sledge”), German Schlägel.

Sledges date back to antiquity; Assyrian and Egyptian reliefs depict huge statues being pulled by sledge. The arrival of the wheel and axle ended the use of the sledge except in its snow-and-ice surface form of sled - a body mounted on runners.

Sledge Hammers and Other Heavy Hammers Sledge hammers are used to break large rocks or concrete slabs, drive large stakes, split wedges for firewood and compact soil in a targeted small area. Most tools in this category have two striking faces, a round face on one end and a wedged face on the other.

Sledgehammers are larger and heavier tools than standard hammers, designed for heavier-duty work. They typically feature a long, straight handle and a head weighing between 2 and 20 pounds. The heads of sledgehammers are usually made of steel and are wider and flatter than those of hammers.

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.

Then it's into a punch cutter which trims the ragged edges of the forged steel the cutoffs go into a bin for recycling.

A sledgehammer is a tool with a large, flat, often metal head, attached to a long handle. The long handle combined with a heavy head allows the sledgehammer to gather momentum during a swing and apply a large force compared to hammers designed to drive nails.

English: nickname perhaps for someone who made, sold, or used sledgehammers, from Middle English slegge, slegg 'sledge hammer' (Old English slecg).

Seamus “Sledge” Cowden It's part of my job to understand where the country shapes the person and Specialist Seamus “Sledge” Cowden seems indelibly shaped by the rugged terrain where he was born. It isn't just his imposing presence and athleticism. I can't help but feel that his personality evokes the wilderness as well.