Latshaw Tools - Cobra Hammer

Editor's Review: Two-Faced Hammer

The Cobra comes with two interchangeable stainless-steel nosepieces--one smooth, one serrated--that thread onto the head. In turn, the head bolts onto a black-painted hickory handle with a hex screw. In a matter of minutes, the hammer can be disassembled, broken or worn parts replaced and then reassembled.

The handle, which is available in both straight and hatchet styles, has a nail-puller inset at the base, but I didn't find this feature particularly useful. The nosepieces each have six magnetic grooves for hands-free nail starting. While you presumably could start six nails at once, I found that starting one at a time is adequate.

Despite the Cobra's large size, I liked its balance and felt like I had good control with it even when toenailing 8d sinkers. I worried that the removable nosepiece would loosen with use. In fact, I never even bothered to use the supplied tightening tool and still found the hand-tightened nosepiece to remain securely in place. The question remains, though, whether there is an advantage to being able to change the nosepiece on your hammer from smooth to checker-headed quickly.

Editor Test Results: