SE Solid Single Piece Drop Forged Rock Pick Hammer with Tip, 22 OZ.

Want a reliable rockhounding hammer without the pro price tag? This guy. Right here. I beat her up in Moat Mountains sites and shes ready for more!

Ok, I've broken more axes, mauls, hammers, hatchets and other hand tools than most will ever own in their life. I've used them, abused them, and feel I can honestly say that I know a well-made tool when I see one; whether it is a true Ames shovel or an Estwing hatchet. This rock hammer falls into that Estwing catagory.Actually, when I ordered this hammer, I was replacing some other old tools that were quite wore out. I figured, hey, I don't want to chunk out $55 for an Estwing rock hammer right now, so I'll take a shot at this. If it can hold me for a few months, I'll do better then.This hammer arrived, and I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised. The hammer and handle are one single forged piece. To the reviewer that said his 11-year old daughter broke it on the first day, got news for him, I'm 6'5", almost 300 pounds, can probably lift my weight plus some, and I am NOT going to break this hammer this year. Considering that I gem-hunt and gold prospect dry placers, that amounts to thousands of blows by a gorilla that knows how to break a tool. Either feed your daughter kryptonite and return her to normalcy, or check to see what hammer you should have reviewed instead. This hammer is a single forged piece of steel, and it is not going to be broken by a human hand.That said, and to address another person's comments that 'it is lacquered and will rust right away'; I have to warn them that most hammers are cold rolled steel, and I've yet to see an actual 'work hammer' that isn't patina'd with rust. I am suspicious of tools that don't flash rust into brown patina, especially striking tools that can seriously injure you. I haven't got a single cold chisel that isn't motley brown in color. FYI, it will take about 200-years at the bottom of the Atlantic for this hammer to rust away. I won't need it then, and it's fine for now.As for the commenter who said 'the pointy end dulls quickly', all I can say is yes, stone chisels dull quickly, too. That's why they make sharpening rocks and grinders. You DO have to maintain cutting and striking tools, if you are doing it all correctly.Again, if it was a wimp, I'll call it one immediately. This is just as good of a tool as any Estwing single-piece forged hatchet I have picked up. It feels fairly balanced, and has LOTS of weight in that head to crack most rocks on first-blow. Yes, you do have to re-form the single point rear pick when it dulls from heavy use. Yes, the handle is rubber (overcoating the single forged piece of steel underneath), and yes, it is a hammer. Yes, you could drive nails with it, though that is NOT what it is meant for. It is a ROCK hammer, for cracking and working rocks. It is a rather BIG rock hammer, the sticker on it said it was 20-ounces, and I didn't weigh it when I got it, but I'm guessing closer to 26-ounces, by the feel of it compared to my ripping hammer (again, I'm stuck on a 11-year old girl breaking this beast...it's like saying, 'and yes, my daughter just came out of diapers yesterday and she threw my 20-pound sledge out in the yard and broke it, right there, on the spot!).Ok, maybe his daughter DID break a hammer yesterday, but I really want to see video of her breaking this one! I'll pay for her to break this hammer, I absolutely cannot imagine it being done.

Perfect tool for rockhounding. Easy to use and lightweight. Very well made with nice grip on handle.

It's definitely a hardened hammer I don't know that it's cold hardened but good quality not the best but good for the price, satisfied with this hammer.

I bought this as a birthday gift for my 11-yr old son who has always held a fascination for "cool looking rocks", and more recently, 'mining' (thank you Minecraft for the positive influence that translates well to the real-life hobby of rockhounding -- at least in a 11-yr old's mind!). This product turned out to be the perfect choice. He can handle it just fine -- the rubberized grip is the perfect size for his hands to wrap around and maintain a secure hold, the handle length is great for a safe two-handed grip, and the weight -- enough to smash almost any rock that he has tried to smash, but not so heavy that it makes it impossible to wield. With that said, he definitely gets a great workout when using it! I've used it myself a couple of times now while teaching him how to cleave rock -- even though this is a rock 'pick' hammer and *not* a chisel edge rock hammer -- and find it does a pretty decent job (depending on the type of rock, of course). I can't yet comment on durability although this hammer feels and looks like it is well-built. I can imagine it will hold up for many years. All-in-all a great value!

Professional grade and durable.

My cousins showed up randomly that night, 2 12 packs of steel reserve in their hands. I wasn't really expecting any visits so it was a pleasant surprise. We got started on the first beer as i excitedly showed them some rock samples i had been gathering from an area i suspected may have gold. Quite a few beers later i suddenly remembered that i had purchased this rock hammer in order to take some better samples in the areas i had been inspecting. Now if you know what steel reserves reputation is, then it would come to no surprise to you that my cousins and i came to the agreement that we had to torture test the rock hammer to ensure its reliability in the field. Sure enough, seconds later, we were smashing the rock hammer full force as hard as we could straight into concrete barriers. The rock hammer survived the first few hits, but then began to bend badly right about the rubber hand grip. Eventually we succeeded in completely bending the hammer at a 180 degree angle. Now you would probably come to the conclusion that this hammer is 100% finished but you couldn't be further from the truth. The pick somehow maintained a fairly sharp tip throughout the entire time and there was 0 deformation to the hammer head itself, only to the thin pieces of metal close to the rubber hand guard. Honestly i could probably unbend the hammer and use it without any problems. My suggestion to you, is that if you are looking for a geologic hammer to sample some rocks, this is your best bet. Its inexpensive and seems to hold up really well even under high demand.To those who dont want to read my whole reviewBuy this hammer.

NICE HAMMER FOR ROCKING