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I took American Hammer up on their offer (since expired) for any hammer (under 2lbs.) for $25 shipped. When I browsed their website I was like a kid in a candy store. Which metal? Which handle? Which weight? I’m not a machinist or metallurgist, just your average DIY’er and weekend mechanic kind of guy. The brass hammers intrigued me since I started making red oak dice with brass rod inserts for the divots. Finally I chose the 8 ounce brass hammer.

The hammer arrived well packaged and bubble wrapped in its own little black box. The hammer is just shy of 6 inches. It’s solid cast brass and weighs in at 9.3 ounces. The hammer is smooth with no rough edges. A nice polish finished it all up. The hammer feels good in the hand and is well balanced. I had no problems tapping in 1/4″ brass rod inserts on a new set of dice I’m working on.

As you can see in the photo, the brass hammer is a sight to behold. I almost want to display it on my desk at work. My only quibble is the plastic American name tag. Eventually the tag will probably fall off. I think it would be better if American Hammer had their name cast in the handle instead of the plastic tag.

Due to my honest review, Ted from American Hammer said that they were re-casting this hammer with American's name cast into the handles. Ted offered to send me a new hammer, gratis, when they were completed.

I've waited, patiently, over a year now, no new hammer, no word from Ted at American Hammer.

I still use and like my little 'un-named-because-the-tag-fell-off' brass hammer. I just wish Ted would have honored his promise.


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Pratt-Read did not respond to my letter dated 2/3/11. The drivers were returned to Amazon.

Good customer service is paramount in today's society. Too bad Pratt-Read fell short.
 
 
Initially I was going to return my Pratt-Read drivers to Amazon. Instead, I sent a letter, with color images, to Pratt-Read. I will post updates as they become available.
 
 
Recently I picked a much needed set of hand held metric nut drivers. After searching for a decent price from a US or European manufacturer, I settled on Pratt-Read's nut driver set. According to Pratt-Read's website they have been around since 1798 when they made items for the piano trade.

My PR drivers arrived via Amazon for $31 with free Prime shipping.
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The handles felt good in the hand with no sharp edges or corners. The shafts are made from alloy steel with a brushed zinc coating for corrosion resistance.
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I was starting to like these drivers when I noticed an inconsistency in the lengths of the alloy steel shafts. The handles are properly bored to accept the metal shafts. The shafts, however, are too short.

In the below picture you can see where the 11 mm shaft (brown) almost reaches the end of the bored hole, while the 10 mm shaft (blue) is only inserted halfway.

None of the shafts were fully seated in their respective bored holes. I wonder how this would affect the stability, torque, and longevity of the tools.
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I also noticed that the 6 mm driver (3rd from top) had no end taper.
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 I can live with different length color stripes, and a square end, but the shaft length issues are a deal breaker for me. I want a tool that won't snap or cam out in the handle. I was really looking forward to adding some Pratt-Read USA made drivers to my collection, but I'm sending them back.