THE CUT-DOWN SLEDGEHAMMER
BY RICHARD A. FRITZ
The cut-down sledgehammer is popular in the Chicago (IL) Fire Department and many surroundings departments. It enhances efficiency and safety. It enables firefighters to greatly increase their striking capabilities in confined areas such as hallways and has a larger striking surface than a flathead ax or a splitting maul. The larger strike makes it more likely that the firefighter swinging the tool will hit the mark each time and less likely that he will hit his partner. In addition, the firefighter can use his body and not just his arms to swing the tool. The tool can be cradled at waist level, enabling the firefighter to pivot his hips to drive the hammer.
CUSTOMIZING A SLEDGEHAMMER
The idea is to make a custom-length tool, fitted to your size. Measure the tool, and cut the wooden handle off to make the entire tool length, head included, between 30 and 33 inches. After cutting, sand the tool handle end smooth.
To make a custom or cut-down sledgehammer, do the following:
Select an eight- or 10-pound long-handled sledgehammer with a wooden handle. Do not use a fiberglass-handled tool. The eight-pound sledgehammer is preferred. It has more than enough mass to develop the force needed in most situations. Use the 10-pound sledgehammer if your response area consists mainly of commercial occupancies, warehouses, or noncombustible types of construction.
Protect the handle with overstrike protection. Wrap the handle from just below the sledgehammer`s head with 12- or 14-gauge wire. Keep wrapping until four or five inches of wire are running down the handle. Make the wraps tight. Once the wire is in place, wrap the wire tightly with black or colored (for color-coding) plastic (electrician`s) tape. The tape will help hold it in place.
Place a second wire wrapping over the first one; come down from the head about half the distance of the first wrap, for double overstrike protection.
This simple, inexpensive protection will provide more than adequate protection for the handle and help prevent those embarrassing and potentially dangerous handle-breaking incidents. The overstrike protection is easily changed when worn out and does not interfere with the tool`s performance.
To improve the grip on the handle, make a French sennet wrap (described below) on the handle. This spiral-type wrap has been used for centuries in navies all over the world to improve grips on ships` wheels, handrails, stanchions, and so on.
The French Sennet Wrap
The sennet wrap may be constructed in two ways. Method 1 is more time-consuming and less effective than Method 2.
Method 1
Determine how high up you want to place the grips. They should be at least 18 inches from the bottom of the handle up toward the head.
Wrap the handle of the sledgehammer in friction tape. This will hold the wrapping material in place.
Secure the end of the wrapping material (thin clothesline, twine, or small sash cord) to the bottom of the handle with plastic tape. Make it tight so it won`t pull out.
From there, begin making a series of tight half hitches around the handle, one after the other. Continue doing this, ensuring that all the half hitches are made in the same direction. After about three inches or so, the spiral will begin to appear. Keep tying those half hitches. Tie them the entire 18 or more inches until the handle is completely wrapped and the spiral sennet is apparent. It will take several hours and a few yards of cord to accomplish this.
Once done, secure the end of the cord with plastic tape.
Wrap the entire area you just corded with friction tape, pulling tightly and pressing the tape in place over the cord and spiral. This will create the sticky surface of the grip.
Drawbacks: It takes several hours to wrap (and to unwrap if mistakes are made during the process); it is a major task to replace this type of grip when it wears out.
Method 2
Measure the size of the grip you want, as in Method 1.
Wrap the handle with friction tape.
Secure one end of the material to the handle with plastic tape. Make sure it is tight.
Carefully wind the wrapping material (cord, wire, and so on) around the handle in an even spiral, as in a barbershop pole). Press it into place on the friction tape as you go along. The friction tape will help hold it in place. Secure the other end to the handle with plastic tape when the wrap is finished.
Wrap the entire spiral with friction tape, pressing it in place as you go, covering the cord or wire, tucking it in over and around the spiral. It`s done.
Try holding the sledgehammer while wearing gloves. If the grip area doesn`t seem to be adequate, use a thicker material as the spiral material or wrap it a couple of more times with friction tape.
SOME REMINDERS
Although the cut-down sledgehammer is an excellent tool to use on the fireground, do not forget the laws of physics. You will not be able to swing the short-handled sledgehammer in the same way as you would one with a long-handle. You are giving up some velocity for more accurate swings and control. The slower the velocity, the slower the mass moves and the less force is delivered at the desired strike point. That`s okay. Just don`t try to use the cut-down sledgehammer when you need a long-handled one.
The short-handled version has a variety of uses that would be considered special when compared with the long-handled tool. When carried together, a halligan-type bar and the short-handled sledgehammer constitute a modified set of irons that can be used in areas of high security with steel doors in buildings in which it might be easier to breach the wall instead of forcing open the door. The reduced length of the sledgehammer makes it easier to use in two-person forcible entry situations and in most cases is much safer to use than a flathead ax, since there is no swinging cutting surface to dodge as there is when an ax is used.
Whether to use the cut-down sledgehammer is a matter of personal preference. It is, however, inexpensive to make and doesn`t take up much room in the apparatus. You can never have too many tools. n
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A cut-down sledgehammer offers firefighters a heavy-hitting tool that is easy to use in tight hallways and commercial buildings. Note the overstrike protection and the French sennet grip. (Photo by author.)
RICHARD A. FRITZ is a full-time staff member with the Illinois Fire Service Institute. A retired career firefighter, he has served with the Muscatine and Davenport (IA) fire departments. He is the author of Tools of the Trade–Firefighting Hand Tools and Their Use (Fire Engineering, 1997).
