The Pulverizer: Reconstruction of the hammer

There's no job too tough for the Pulverizer, a brand-new demolition tool from Ames True Temper. From busting up concrete and ripping out wood framing, to yanking nails and prying up shingles, this compact brute of a tool takes over where conventional tools stop working.

And although it's meant for dirty, dusty demolition work, this is a precision-engineered tool that combines the proper heft and balance with thoughtful, user-friendly features.

Fully forged and heat-treated from a single piece of steel, the Pulverizer is virtually indestructible. It weighs 3 1/2 pounds, is about 13 inches long, and unlike most demolition tools, can be carried in the hammer holster of most tool belts.

The Pulverizer has a 1 1/2-inch-wide striking face that's specifically made for busting up concrete, but it's also ideal for knocking loose wall studs and floor joists, dismantling roof trusses and pounding plywood sheathing and siding off of buildings.

The tool's claw has aggressive-cutting teeth for superior gripping and ripping jobs, and at the bottom end is a 2-inch-wide scraper blade that's fitted with a nail-pulling slot.

The exposed steel shaft that extends from the shock-dampening hand grip to the hammer head is triangular in shape, and designed for ripping through drywall and thin paneling.  

The Pulverizer costs about $40 and will be available at most hardware stores this-coming spring, but is available now at selected on-line retailers.