Exeter-pattern Furniture-maker's Hammer

Note: Learn more about our family of hammers (and what they're used for) here. Our next batch of hammers should be available in late November. Sign up above to be notified when they are for sale.

After years of research, prototyping and testing, we have developed an ideal furniture-maker's hammer. With a 9.8-ounce steel head and a balanced octagonal hickory handle, the Crucible Exeter-pattern hammer is suitable for many common tasks at the bench.

Lighter than the typical carpenter's hammer, the Exeter-pattern excels at driving the typical 4d and 6d brads used in traditional case construction. Its 7/8" octagonal striking face is slightly domed. This allows you to drive a nail flush without damaging the surrounding wood. 

On the backside of the hammer's head is a 1/8" x 7/8" peen. It is great for starting nails without damaging your fingers. You pinch the nail between your fingers and start it with the peen, which slips between your fingers without hurting them. Then spin the hammer around and sink the nail.

We also use the Exeter for adjusting bench planes. It has enough “oomph” to move the iron. And to drive drawbore pins and pegs galore.

The 10"-long octagonal hickory handle (made in South Carolina by Caleb James)  tapers to a slender 9/16" x 3/4" neck below the head, allowing you to choke up on the tool for delicate tasks. The handle ends with a slight swelling. As you let the handle slide through your hand, you'll feel the slight swelling. That's where you tighten your grip, giving you the maximum leverage for a strike.

The design of our Exeter-pattern hammer comes from old British tool catalogs and examples we've studied. While American woodworkers might find the form unusual at first sight (where's the claw, maw?), the tool's balance and its handy peen should win them over.

The hammer heads are 4-9/16" and are milled at Machine Time in Nicholasville, Ky. Then we assemble and finish them here in Covington, Ky.

We take pride in the work we do here. So each employee now stamps the handle with a touchmark after assembling the hammer. Chris' symbol is a bumblebee. Kale is an “X.” Mark is a shamrock. Gabe is an arrow. And Megan is a cat.

So you can look at the butt of the handle and know who assembled it. Note that we started doing this on Sunday (Oct. 13) 2024. So hammers shipped out before that date don’t have the touchmarks.