For those in the UK - Don't Buy Bergen Brand Hammers

[Whameller]

Here's why:



Turns out that the head was just glued onto the handle. The lack of a wedge was hidden by a thick layer of glue covering the adze hole in the head. Luckily, there was no damage (human or material) caused when this 32oz head parted company from the handle. Ebay purchase, less than a year old ...

[Peerie Maa]

Most new hammers are just set in resin now.
You can still buy wedges and it is not hard to put back together.

[Andrew Craig-Bennett]

Yikes.

It's been many years since I bought a hammer, but I have put new shafts on a few.

[PeterSibley]

I use a wedge and epoxy to attach hatchet, axe and hammer heads, no failures so far.

[jackster]

It seems too many tools are made to LOOK the part but not do the job. Like they copied the tools without actually seeing if they do the work intended.
Motivation is a lower price alone. Sad!!

[Iceboy]

One of my pet peeves is when they put a shaft on a shovel with the grain run out going the wrong way. It almost guarantees a broken handle with minimal effort. I look through the entire stock in the stores and rarely find a good one.

[Whameller]

Now repaired. I cleaned the resin out of the head, re-set the head firmly on the handle and inserted an oak wedge.

It just p***es me off that it was necessary to do so and I wanted to warn anyone else about the brand. Bergen seems to be about mid-range on price on eBay; I stayed well away from the lower end but might have done just as 'well' to have gone there !

[Nicholas Scheuer]

I've got 8 or 9 hammers of various types, in the truck, in the basement workshop, out in the garage, in the boat, and they all have wooden handles I secured myself using hardwood wedges. I like to find nice obscure heads ckeap at garage sales and put new handles in them.