In fact, the hammer is one of the most used tools in any home. Abraham Maslow, the great psychologist, said,

“If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.”

Perhaps that’s true, but it would sure be hard to accomplish much around the house without this basic tool. For everyday tasks, you'd keep a small 7- to 10-ounce household model in your kitchen tool drawer and a midsized, 14- to 16-ounce version in the garage tool kit. Depending on your needs, you may also want a large carpenter’s hammer for jobs like deck building or wall framing. Though hammers are simplistic in theory, there are many new hammer technologies on the market, ranging from those with tuning forks in the handle, which cut down the reverberation on your arm, to $200 contractor models made with titanium heads.

Before you buy, visit your local hardware store or home center and try out several types of hammers until you find one that’s a good fit for you, especially if you will be using it frequently. If you’re going to be hammering above your head or in a strange position, look for a hammer with a magnetic nail-holder in the tip that makes a hard-to-reach place much more accessible. Specialty hammers such as a rubber mallet and sledgehammer can also be useful for certain projects. Rubber mallets should be used on materials that are easily damaged or broken, such as a brass faucet handle or a tile backsplash. And a sledge-hammer is just the ticket when extreme muscle is needed for jobs such as breaking apart a sidewalk or tearing down a wall.