Park Tool Shop Hammer

(discontinued)

When working on a bike, and especially on older bikes, a mechanic’s best friend is often a good hammer. Looking to keep the majority of my tools the same brand, I picked up a Park Tool HMR-2 hammer. Coming up to almost a decade when I first picked it up, here are my impression:

Out of the box:

Just like the majority of Park Tools, the HMR-2 is made out of very good materials and has great appeal. 

The handle is made of reinforced fiberglass and a soft grip which leaves your hand feeling good, even after going H.A.M. on a seized seatpost.

On the striking end, Park Tool gave it a solid piece of steel accompanied with a rubber striking surface. It’s a really nice feature to have so you only need to have one hammer in your tool box. Unfortunately, the rubber isn’t as durable as the steel side and was all broken and chewed up within the first couple years of use. Now, it is nearly impossible to find a replacement for it, making it a typical hammer.

This being the case, the steal on the other end is of awesome quality. Even pointing some of the sharpest and pointed surfaces, the hammer shows very little signs of wear. I’ve owned hammers that have dented which results in denting everything else I used it on which caused it to be completely useless. Luckily, the HMR-2 hammer is solid in that aspect.

Bottom Line:

If you are looking for a solid hammer that is comfy, the HMR-2 is an excellent option. As for the rubber mallet send, it definitely was the weakest aspect of it and is almost impossible to find a replacement for. The HMR-2 has been updated to the HMR-4 which offers a replacement for the mallet side but I feel the mallet on the latest version isn’t as good as the rubber one found on the HMR-2. If only designed as a hammer, I would give it 5 stars. Because it’s meant to be a mallet as well, I have to lower it down to 3.5 stars cus the mallet side is completely useless now.