Trusty-Cook is a 100% Made in the USA company, which actually invented the dead blow hammer many decades ago. In fact, they pretty much make the current lineup of Dead Blow hammers for most major tool companies today (Cornwell, Estwing, Mac, Matco, etc).
Unlike a cheaper variety, these will hold up to a lot of abuse without splitting, cracking, or chipping. When we tested them against some of the competition, the Trusty-Cook held up fine…..where the other one started to split/crack immediately.
By using a dead blow hammer, you are able to focus all of the force of your swing & the weight of the hammer directly into the strike — without recoil coming back into your hand, or causing the hammer to bounce. It will literally stop when you strike something, allowing the full force to transfer immediately.
Another great feature of a dead blow hammer is that due to its design, almost all damage that occurs (if any) is sustained by the hammer & not by the object you are working on. This is extremely useful when dealing with expensive automotive parts (i.e. — suspension bolts). The dead blow hammer is able to knock them in or out, and if/when you strike the threads, most of the time there will be no damage (unlike a conventional metal hammer — one miss & you ruin a $15 bolt!).
These are very well made, high quality, and extremely well-balanced. If you are looking for an upgrade over the cheap-o models that you have used in the past, check out Trusty-Cook!