Guide to Carpenter's Hammer Handle Lengths

Here is a page from Stanley's Catalog No. 34, 1941, giving handle lengths for carpenter's hammers. In their current catalogs and labels, some handle sellers now say a 16 oz. claw hammer should have a 14 inch handle. According to the old Stanley catalog below and old hammers in my collection, a 16 oz. hammer has a 13 inch handle. See the chart below for more information. When replacing a handle you can choose the length that suits you, but don't be misled as to what is, or was, the standard length.

V&B (Vaughan) and Sears sell 13.5 inch handles which trim to a 13 inch finished length. The Sears handles appear to be made by Burroughs-Ross-Colville and have an octagonal neck and round grip suitable for any style hammer head. The eye is slightly undersized so they may need extra wood wedges glued in to fit 16 oz. heads. V&B handles can be purchased from Vaughan Manufacturing . Bags of hickory wedges in 3 sizes are available by mail from House Handle Co.

Generally a claw hammer with an octagonal neck originally had an octagonal handle. Parts of a hammer (illustration)   

Click on picture to enlarge

Click on picture to enlarge