They are gone, but their memories live on in the tools that they put their hands on.


My dad made this brass hammer for me from a piece of bar stock many years ago. It's only about 10 ounces. This is the only metal hammer that comes near any bikes.


My grandpa had polio as a boy, so he lost the use of his right arm. He still went to college, worked as a teacher, and farmed. To start a nail, he would hold the nail head against the side of the hammer and slam it into the wood, then quickly toss the hammer up and grab the handle on the way down and drive the nail. The side of the head is all dinged up from him using it that way.


I picked this one up at a garage sale without a handle. I cleaned it up and put a handle on. I find myself reaching for it frequently for small jobs.