Deadblow Hammer

A dead-blow hammer is the bike-shop default for any strike against a finished component. The polyurethane shell absorbs the impact and won't mar surfaces; the lead or steel shot inside the head absorbs the rebound, so the strike energy goes into the workpiece and stays there. No bounce. No second strike where you didn't plan one. 866 grams of energy delivered in one direction.

This is the same dead-blow that ships in our 1600 Pro Kit, the toolbox used by sponsored team mechanics on the road and at races.

What it does well

Two separate engineering decisions make the dead-blow what it is:

• The polyurethane outer shell is the face material. Hard enough to deliver real energy to the workpiece, soft enough to not mar a finished bike component. A direct strike against a brake-rotor surface, a fork dropout, or an alloy crank arm won't leave a witness mark.
• The shot-filled head is what kills the rebound. A normal hammer bounces off its strike; energy returns to the head and back to your hand. A dead-blow's internal shot mass converts the rebound into a damped thud. The workpiece feels the full strike; the hammer doesn't bounce; your wrist takes less shock loading.

The combined result is a hammer you can use against a precision part without worrying about a second uncontrolled impact, and without worrying about marring the finish.

Where it earns its space in the bike shop

• Seating a headset cup the last fraction of a millimeter after the press has done the bulk.
• Persuading a stuck quick-release skewer through the dropout when penetrating oil isn't enough.
• Setting a bearing into a seat after the press is removed.
• Tapping a stuck cassette body off the freehub with the wheel held vertically.
• Final-seating a dust cover or spacer on hubs or pedals.

When the locksmith hammer is the better tool

For strikes against other tools (a pin punch, a chisel, a punch driver) the steel-faced locksmith hammer 812 delivers more energy. The dead-blow is for striking the component directly; the locksmith hammer is for striking the tool that strikes the component. They're a pair, not a redundancy.

Specs

• Weight: 866 g
• Head/handle material: acid-and-oil-resistant polyurethane (one-piece construction)
• Shell: shot-filled, non-rebounding
• Use: direct strikes against finished bike components

Made in Slovenia, since 1919

Unior has been forging hand tools in Zreče since 1919, and is the official technical partner of multiple World Tour and downhill teams. The single-piece polyurethane construction is the durability choice for a tool that lives in a workshop where solvents, chain lube, and acidic cleaners are part of the daily environment. A wooden-handle hammer needs a re-set every few years as the wood absorbs and releases moisture; the polyurethane handle doesn't; same tool, twenty years later, same fit and finish.

Pro tip from our mechanics

If you only own one hammer, make it this one. It's the safe-default that won't mar a customer's bike, and the weight is right for almost every bike-shop strike that doesn't involve a chisel or punch. For the framework on which hammer fits which job: Hammers and striking tools in the bike shop →.