What's The Notch On Top Of Your Hammer For?

Hammers are some of the most basic tools on the market, both in terms of their construction and how they're used. Comprised typically of a metal or wood handle and a metal head, you simply grab the handle and swing away at your target, typically a nail of some kind. Should you mess up, you can turn the hammer around and use the claw on the opposite side of the head to yank the nail out. This covers the bulk of what hammers can do, but it turns out that many actually have another often-overlooked feature that can save a lot of time and effort on the job.

If you look at the head of the average hammer, you're likely to see a notch toward the middle, favoring the hammer side. On the hammer end itself, there'll likely be an indent running the length of the top of the hammer side. Typically found on the job-specific claw and framing hammers, these cutouts are known as nail starters. They exist so that the nail doesn't have to be held onto before knocking it through a surface, potentially harming your or someone else's hand in the process. It's as simple as setting a nail within it and swinging the hammer wherever you want the nail to go. Once it's in, remove the hammer from the nail and finish the job as usual.

Even though this feature is commonly ignored, some manufacturers embrace it. They go above and beyond to make sure users take notice of it, making it easy to use in an effort to save as many fingers as possible.

So long as you're careful, it's easy to keep a hammer from slamming into your finger when getting a nail started. Nevertheless, the risk is always present, hence why so many hammers come with built-in nail starters. Unfortunately, they can fail in their mission if the head of the nail is too big, the nail falls out on the backswing, or something else goes awry that causes the nail to miss the mark. In an effort to prevent such mishaps from causing user frustration, some tool manufacturers have upgraded the nail starter in a simple yet effective way.

For example, the Walmart-exclusive Hart brand utilizes a magnet in its design. This helps the nail to hold onto the hammer more securely, preventing it from falling out before it makes contact with a surface. Amazon has plenty of hand tools worth buying, and the magnetic nail starter-equipped hammer from Spifflyer deserves a place among them. This hammer features a magnet as well as a deep-set nail starter for easy use, all within a compact design that is shorter than the average hammer.

Overall, most major hand tool brands have included nail starters on their hammers. That's not to say that all hammers you'll encounter have them, but it doesn't mean you have to start nails the hard way, or buy a whole new hammer.

If your hammer doesn't have a dedicated nail starter, it's possible to safely start nails in other ways. First and foremost is to use the claw end of your hammer. All you have to do is slide the nail between the claws, point end facing away from the hammer handle, and swing at your chosen surface as you would normally. After that, just spin the hammer around and keep going until the work is done.

If this trick hasn't worked for you, the hammer you're using doesn't have a claw, or you just want to try another route, you still don't have to buy a new hammer. Instead, you can drop only a few dollars on an individual nail starter, also known as thumb savers. These handy tools come with a magnet inside, which holds onto the nail so that you can use your hammer without fear of hurting your hand. Such stores as Home Depot, the home of other adorable mini tools, sell them, and they're a great, budget-friendly alternative to dropping far more money by buying a starter-included hammer.

Hammers aren't difficult to operate, nor are they thought of as specialty tools, but clearly, they deserve more credit. Nail starters are an excellent innovation that, hopefully, more users will wise up to and make great use of.