Emergency hammers - Safety Alert - Are you putting your life at risk with cheap vehicle hammers?

Beware of unscrupulous eBay sellers advertising single point car hammers for use on both domestic (house) and commercial (office) windows, to include double glazing. These hammers are only designed for use on vehicles that have 4mm toughened glass (side windows).

A good example is this eBayer:  love_2_buy_2  and his description... Emergency life hammer double glazing fire break glass - You would expect more from a power seller as this is a cheap car hammer and the glass will without doubt slice through your knuckles if you attempt to use it!

And another recent example: acmillard1 and the description... Car / Home 4-in-1 Emergency Safety Hammer **BN** - Again a power seller who should know better!

These hammers are not suitable for or recommended by the manufacturer for annealed (ordinary) glass or double glazing (which can be up to 8mm in thickness). Only one hammer has been designed specifically for this purpose, the Lifeaxe (see Lifeaxe.com).

Recently, my company (who manufactures fire safety products) carried out a survey by contacting all the major manufacturers of emergency hammers (within the UK) to determine if any would confirm their products are designed, approved and tested for use on domestic and commercial glass. NONE would confirm any testing had even been carried out on this type of glass (within the UK), and only one could recommend the use of their products on vertical glazing (window glass)...

A certain well known company who manufactures their product in CHINA (whom I can not name for legal reasons) did confirm their product is suitable for house and office glazing (look around eBay and you will soon find out who it is), however, when pushed for more information with regard to the type of glass and the recommended maximum thickness of glass it is suitable for use on, I was informed the product had been tested in CHINA and this information is not available!!!! This is a safety product that people rely on in an emergency....

Having tested almost all of these imported hammers we found all failed in one way or another, handles breaking, hammers falling apart when used etc etc, but much worse, the strike tip that is supposed to break the glass became blunt and couldn't penetrate the glass...

As a warning to everyone... Please, please do not buy this type of hammer for use at work or at home, they may simply fall apart or not work at all, or worse, trap you in a fire situation. Buy a tool that has been specifically designed to do the job properly.. Its worth the extra expense for the peace of mind in knowing one day your life (or your families) may have to depend on it...

Lastly, for anyone who shops at the £ shop.. most of the hammers advertised on eBay are actually available from there too so save yourself some money (if you really want a cheapy). If you get one try it on an old piece of glass (even vehicle glass)... Then ask for your money back and go to the Lifeaxe.com web site (or see them on eBay) for a tool that I highly recommend, and one that has been designed and tested for use on double glazing!

If you are after a vehicle hammer take a look at the new heavy duty versions at Lifeaxe.com.... they make the cheap ones on eBay look like toffee hammers (guess you get what you pay for...).

Happy buying and be safe!

Warning: The car hammers to the right of this guide or not suitable for double glazing!

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