A claw hammer is a tool primarily used for pounding nails into, or extracting nails from, some other object. Generally, a claw hammer is associated with woodworking but is not limited to use with wood products. It is not suitable for heavy hammering on metal surfaces (such as in machining work), as the steel of its head is somewhat brittle; the ball-peen hammer is more suitable for such metalwork.
An early claw hammer is seen in Albrecht Dürer's etching "Melencolia I," dated 1514, halfway up the left side. There are several nails in the lower right corner.
Famous quotes containing the words claw and/or hammer:
“What is the flesh and blood compounded of
But a few moments in the life of time?
This prowling of the cells, litigious love,
Wears the long claw of flesh-arguing crime.”
—Allen Tate (1899–1979)
“Long lion days
Start with white haze.
By midday you meet
A hammer of heat....”
—Philip Larkin (1922–1986)