Hammer post for GuyK's caption contest.

I've owned many hammers over the years and have used more types than I care to remember.

My first was a wooden mallet that pounded those different shaped blocks through holes in a toy workbench. From that point on I was hooked.

As a kid I used to build forts with my trusty claw hammer. I had many a busted and sore thumb because my aim was so crappy.

I took wood shop in middle school and high school and perfected the art of the hammer. People lumped me in with the losers and delinquents that took shop class but all I really wanted to do was build things.

I remember one kid was choking up on the handle and hammering like a sissy because he was afraid of hitting his thumb. My teacher cut off the handle with the band saw and gave it back. He said "looks like that's all the handle you need anyway" He was one of my favorite teachers.

When working at my dad's automotive shop I learned to use body hammers. They had odd shaped heads for reshaping sheet metal or for removing dents.

When the handle broke he welded a piston from a shock absorber in it's place. It gave the hammer a good heft and made it look menacing. This one became my favorite and I carried it on my belt loop for many years as a tool and a defensive weapon.

These days I've got a tool box full, brass hammers for working on guns, tack hammers, rubber mallets, pneumatic hammers and so on.

I find myself losing them every time I turn around and I've resorted to using a rock to hang a picture. Pathetic right?

Even though I like hammers in general this blog is named after the philosophical saying:

When your only tool is a hammer every problem looks like a nail.

And it's true what they say, "Don't force it..get a bigger hammer"