A slate hammer is a specialized tool that you might also sometimes hear referred to as a roofing hammer. Slate is a common material used in roofing; it is durable, strong, waterproof, and reliable, despite its expense and weight, and for that reason it is a trusted roofing material. However, working with it effectively requires slate roofers to carry specialized tools, and one of these is known as a slate hammer, mentioned above.

Slate hammers, to the untrained eye, appear a bit like a cross between a crowbar, a geologist’s pick, and a regular hammer, but they contain a number of specific features that makes them uniquely situated to working with slate and similar stone materials. Some of them are as follows.

As one of the primary purposes of a roofing hammer like this is to drive nails, the slate hammer has a flat face that is typically checkered. The checkering performs the same purpose that it would have in a regular hammer. Namely, it increases the surface area of the face that comes into contact with a nail, thereby reducing deflection.

In addition to that striking face, slate hammers also have a point on the other end of the hammer opposite the face, in the manner of a rock pick, as mentioned above. This point is used to concentrate the force of a blow directed through the hammer. In this manner, roofers can make fairly precise holes in slate through which nails can be driven. Additionally, this end of the hammer can also be used similarly to a brick hammer. It can be used to score slate and make relatively precise cuts along the margin created.

Most slate hammers also have a claw, except it is not opposite the face of the hammer as would be present on a claw hammer. The claw usually lies alongside the middle of the face where the handle intersects the head. Its purpose is to remove nails.

Another unique feature of most slate hammers is that they have a beveled edge along the ‘shank’ otherwise known as the handle. This edge is used to trim the edges of pieces of slate. Slate roofers use another tool known as a slate stake, along with their slate hammer, to trim the edges and use the bevel on the shank of the hammer. In this manner, they can cut shingles from slate.

Although roofing hammers will vary superficially, for the most part they will also contain some variation of the features mentioned above. If you want to learn more about slate hammers or to see a catalog of high quality slate hammers for sale, check out the collection at Stortz.com. John Stortz & Son has been supplying high quality roofers tools for many years; you can learn more about them in their “Slate Hammer Tips” informational post, or see a catalog of roofing tools including roofing hatchets and hammers, sheet metal cutting and bending tools, and much more. Visit their website today or call them at 888-847-3456.