Discontinued The Hammer Vaporizer

[OF]

When on a full charge of Power butane, I've found that the flame wants to blow itself out at all but the lowest fuel setting, but is well behaved then.

Thanks, excellent initial report. Squares with my experience as well.

I wouldn't loose any sleep over the above part. As we discussed a bit ago, there's still air trapped in the tank, it will change as that is purged out. I got rid of mine by going outside, holding the valve open and shaking it some. I dumped maybe half the charge, after refilling it's behaving much better. Normally you get such units with a small amount of gas in them (keeping the air out), these guys ship 'dry', my guess is for safety regulations?

OF

 

[gvape]

Thank you for giving me some incite on how to get this vape working. Another reason why I love this forum so much.

Anyways, after about stem #7 or #8 I started to get the hang of it. It definitely hits a bit different then my other vapes. I really think the biggest problem I was having was with the tank needing a really good purge. Since having to refill the unit its been pretty smooth. No combustion here now, I seem to be able to control the color of my abv to a nice medium brown, and if I want it, that chocolate color.

It has a learning curve thats a bit different from my other vapes, I think thats why I got so frustrated at first. As well, the horrible burning smell. It smelled like hair on fire. But now I dont get that smell or huge explosion.

Now that I have things under control with the unit I do want to report that topping a stem off with some wax works wonders! I lost count of how many hits (doubt digits) I got off one stem and it was nice to see the material stayed a medium brown and did not turn a chocolate color. I ended up dumping it out after the flavor was starting to get to me.

Only complaint I seem to have now is that it feels a bit awkward to hold/turn on. The base just presses in to my hand and isnt comfortable. It isnt a huge complaint, just more of an annoyance.

I'm getting great vapor production out of it and my next test is to see how it performs with water.

 

[OF]

Thank you for giving me some incite on how to get this vape working. Another reason why I love this forum so much.


Only complaint I seem to have now is that it feels a bit awkward to hold/turn on. The base just presses in to my hand and isnt comfortable. It isnt a huge complaint, just more of an annoyance.

You're very welcome, glad to help when I can. As I say from time to time, 'it's not really necessary for each of us to make the same mistakes...'.

When I last used it I too found my hand cramping a bit. I was thinking of warping a few heavy rubber bands around the base to see it that gives more grip?

OF

 

[charliedontsurf]

I agree that it can be a little uncomfortable to hold while in use, and also that it's great for concentrates due to its ability to achieve high temperatures.

 

[OF]

I agree that it can be a little uncomfortable to hold while in use, and also that it's great for concentrates due to its ability to achieve high temperatures.

I'm OK with the uncomfortable part, at least for now. I've owned vapes that were very easy to hold onto and try to use. I'd rather have one that was a little hard to hold onto that I really liked using than one that was easy but otherwise had no good reason to want to hold onto? Once they pass the 'not very good' point, who cares how the look or how easy they are to hold and use?

Then again, I'm a form follows function kinda guy usually......so what do I know?

OF

 

[Tweek]

That's the one thing that stood out negatively to me when I viewed the demo video...the fact that you have to hold the button down that way. My hand would start getting spasms if I tried...otherwise, looks like an awesomely rugged little guy.

 

[gvape]

I do have to say that once you warmed the unit up for the first hit, each hit after it is only a few seconds to get it back to the temp. It seems to hold the heat long enough between hits that I dont have a problem achieving that spot right away.

It also seems that I keep moving the dial up to a hotter setting after each fueling. I am about 30% turned up now, whereas before I was running it at the 0%. Maybe I am just getting used to the unit more that it is the reason I need more heat, but it does seem to have a more quite hissing noise.

As far as the grip, its really something you have to overlook since the device does have pretty great vapor production. Its the only vape I have been using for the past few days. I have not found an alternate to making it more comfortable, but I'm trying to think of something to add on.

 

[charliedontsurf]

Review by the rambling and informal numbers:

Taste: 8ish
Apparent build quality: 8, I hope the ignition switch holds up, it seems quite solid.
Speed: 9. Scary fast, only outdone by the MFLB.
Value for money at the 140$ price presuming that the company continues to be as awesome as they've given every indication of being: 8ish
Ability to produce heat and overcome the cooling caused by the user's inahlation: 8.5
Ability to retain that heat even when the flame is cut and the user inhales: 8
Vapor production as a whole: 8.5, limited by bowl size
Compatible and effective with waterpipes: very effective, 9mm and 14mm GonG with an O-ring.
Ease for novice users unacquainted with vaporizers in general: 5ish

Ideal for: someone who camps or travels and is away from outlets but still wants a powerful portable which can do herbals or concentrates and works quite well with any glass they may have with them.

Adding the Hammer to a waterpipe really brought out its strengths to me. When gassed up and juicing the flame, but not so much that it blows itself out, I've found that the Hammer can easily overcome human inhalation and continue to produce vapor and indeed increase in temperature if you are not being mindful. You can even vape using retained heat very effectively, building up enough heat in the element and then cutting the flame before you inhale. I'm able to produce large clouds with ease through my bubblers using the Hammer.

My main gripe about the unit is that I can sometimes vaguely smell butane when it's in use. I am using Power brand. Sometimes you can hear the flame quavering when in use, and not because it's turned up so high that it's nearly blowing itself out. Anyone with a collection of torches know how idiosyncratic and potentially troublesome they can be and I wonder if maybe some incomplete combustion is leading to the butane aroma. Anyway, It's my main complaint besides small ergonomic gripes (grandmas with arthritis need not apply), small bowl capacity/heat exchanger size, and a fuel tank that could probably be larger. The Wispr/Iolite smell while in use too and it's something I definitely didn't miss, although the Hammer completely slaughters them as a power vaporizer for a power user.

In the great portable war, ever vaporizer has a niche, and I definitely see one for the Hammer if the company stands behind it and continues to develop on its great potential.

 

[mflb_hustler]

Review by the rambling and informal numbers:

....... You can even vape using retained heat very effectively, building up enough heat in the element and then cutting the flame before you inhale. ...............
My main gripe about the unit is that I can sometimes vaguely smell butane when it's in use.

I cant agrre with you more.....because of the vague amount of butane it slightly affects the taste of the herbals. like a little bitter after taste. No one can really say there is 0% butane being inhaled while you draw. Realistically It may be on the low end like 2-5% The retained heat method is what i now prefer. reminds me of a log vape much better taste IMO.

 

[gvape]

Looks like I will have to test your retained heat method. I tried using my hammer on my water pipe last night but kept charming the material and not getting that big of a hit. I need to do more testing with that. Definitely interested in the retained heat. How high of a temp do you have it set at?

 

[charliedontsurf]

How high I've had the switch has been determined by how much fuel is in the device. As it depletes I move it towards full until I refuel and move it back to nothing.

 

[Tweek]

I inquired about the switch a few pages back, and they said it should last long enough to give you more than your moneys worth. Would still be interesting to see some more videos of it in every day use.

 

[OF]

How high I've had the switch has been determined by how much fuel is in the device. As it depletes I move it towards full until I refuel and move it back to nothing.

This is interesting. As long as there's a reasonable amount of liquid in the tank, feed pressure is set by temperature not fuel level. You don't constantly dial up butane lighters do you?

OF

 

[Hammer Vaporizer]

First of all, I wanted to let you all know that we merged the former store website (www.hammervapestore.com) with our primary website (www.thehammervaporizer.com) so there is now only one website that has info about the Hammer along with links to purchase. All previous links on FC referencing www.hammervapestore.com will remain valid but redirect to the appropriate page on www.thehammervaporizer.com.

I also wanted to let you all know we truly appreciate your feedback. You guys are saying a lot of great stuff about the Hammer and we can't tell you how pleased we are to hear you are enjoying your experiences overall. We also understand that there is always room for improvement and your feedback about some of the changes you might like to see is held in high esteem and will be at the top of the list when creating future iterations of the Hammer or other new products.

The Hammer has been a work of passion for David, the inventor of the Hammer and owner of Head Tools (the manufacturer), for a long time. He is going to jump in here and introduce himself soon (waiting for mod approval) to share his philosophy about vaporization and why he made some of the choices he did when designing the Hammer. David is a glassblower by trade and has been building his own vaporizers for nearly two decades before he ultimately came to the Hammer's current design. I think you will really appreciate what he has to say and how he arrived at the design of the Hammer in it's current form.

I'll answer a few specific questions, but I think David's forthcoming post will address some of the things you guys are discussing...

Hammer Vaporizer, I'm curious, is this a flameless system or is there a jet flame in there basically blasting at the exchanger? Either way, it's effective, and it's silly when you look at this vaporizer and realize that all the components have likely been available for decades, it just took a little effort and intelligence to put them together.

There is a jet flame, which is essentially blasting at the outside of the heat exchanger. The heat exchanger is really the only component that directly creates vaporization, while the rest of the unit is supporting the heating of that component. It's a simple, yet effective design that truly is built around a form follows function mindset. David will expand a bit more when he is able to post.

Normally you get such units with a small amount of gas in them (keeping the air out), these guys ship 'dry', my guess is for safety regulations?

Yes, shipping the Hammer empty allows us to avoid the shipping restrictions on butane, which is considered a Class 2 hazardous material. Otherwise, we would be limited to ground shipping only, there would be quantity limitations and we would need special packaging/markings on the package.

 

[mflb_hustler]

Looks like I will have to test your retained heat method. I tried using my hammer on my water pipe last night but kept charming the material and not getting that big of a hit. I need to do more testing with that. Definitely interested in the retained heat. How high of a temp do you have it set at?

Initially when i got the unit i dialed it down via the butane nosil. before that I ended up charing and combusting the material. from that point forward I kept it on the low end but with the retained heat method I have the dial about 40% not quite in the middle.

 

[PDwasmy1st]

This sounds like the mflb , with regards to the learning curve , what gas is best for this? is it like the Iolite and works best with vector (which we can't get over here)

 

[OF]

This sounds like the mflb , with regards to the learning curve , what gas is best for this? is it like the Iolite and works best with vector (which we can't get over here)

Different curve, of course, but both take some learning for the user to get the most out of them I think.

Hammer won't be as demanding most likely, not having the wick that Iolite does. Good fuel is still important. Check cigar shops, those guys are fanatics about purity (go figure....). Look for 'four times refined' or similar markings. Many brands are no doubt good enough, perhaps you know someone making BHO? The requirements there are similar.

OF

 

[charliedontsurf]

This is interesting. As long as there's a reasonable amount of liquid in the tank, feed pressure is set by temperature not fuel level. You don't constantly dial up butane lighters do you?

OF

Doesn't everyone? Every jet torch I've ever owned has needed the fuel dial turned up as the fuel depletes. Even my made-in-Japan Blazer tabletop torch behaves like this. At a full charge it has an absurdly oversized flame and I run it at 5% on the fuel dial; as it depletes I move the dial up, until at about maybe 10% fuel capacity left in the tank I choose to either fill or purge n' fill.

As for gas choices, look for Power, Vector, Lotus, and others which say 3x or 4x refined. Iirc Ronson is a good brand in Europe but the product going by the same name in the States is just terrible.

The Hammer has been a work of passion for David, the inventor of the Hammer and owner of Head Tools (the manufacturer), for a long time. He is going to jump in here and introduce himself soon (waiting for mod approval) to share his philosophy about vaporization and why he made some of the choices he did when designing the Hammer. David is a glassblower by trade and has been building his own vaporizers for nearly two decades before he ultimately came to the Hammer's current design. I think you will really appreciate what he has to say and how he arrived at the design of the Hammer in it's current form.

Awesome, I look forward to it. Thanks for your presence and helpfulness on the forum Hammer.

 

[OF]

Doesn't everyone? Every jet torch I've ever owned has needed the fuel dial turned up as the fuel depletes. Even my made-in-Japan Blazer tabletop torch behaves like this. At a full charge it has an absurdly oversized flame and I run it at 5% on the fuel dial; as it depletes I move the dial up, until at about maybe 10% fuel capacity left in the tank I choose to either fill or purge n' fill.

Boy, not if 'everyone' includes me. My statement above is based on my modest experience using such lighters and similar gas appliances and the physics involved. Pressure is a function of temperature, not fill percentage in such cases. Other examples include spray paints, CO2 airguns and refrigeration systems. This is why commercial propane has some butane in it. Otherwise when the temperature outside gets too low the pressure in the tank (no matter how full) drops to zero and the liquid gas can't be blown into the house to warm up for use.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butane_(data_page)

Notice the graph for pressure has temperature but no factor for volume or percent of fill? That's why. It's not a factor.

Interesting. Anyone else find they have to constantly keep getting the screwdriver out to to adjust the valve?

OF

 

[gvape]

I do have to adjust my lighters as they run low on butane. Especially my higher torch lighters for a nail. The first few blasts with the torch on a full tank almost blow my nail over. I have to turn it down to half way or less. As the lighter runs lower on fuel, I end up putting it on full power by the time it needs a refill. With smaller lighters I dont notice it as much, but it still seems to be a factor.

As far as the Hammer, I keep it at 0-30% depending on how much fuel is left, but I have not let it get too low to see if I need to keep moving it up as it runs lower and lower on fuel.

 

[max]

This sounds like the mflb , with regards to the learning curve

I'd agree with OF- different curve, and certainly not as steep. For one thing you don't have a battery in the mix, where you have to deal with both the charge and the lifespan of the bat.

is it like the Iolite and works best with vector (which we can't get over here)

You'd want to use high quality butane, just like with the iolite. Keeping impurities out of the equation is always best. Vector is just a good name brand. Butane that's been refined multiple times should be available pretty much anywhere.

I'm going to be getting a Hammer from a friend, to try out. I'll report my impressions after giving it a spin.

 

[OF]

I do have to adjust my lighters as they run low on butane. Especially my higher torch lighters for a nail. The first few blasts with the torch on a full tank almost blow my nail over. I have to turn it down to half way or less. As the lighter runs lower on fuel, I end up putting it on full power by the time it needs a refill. With smaller lighters I dont notice it as much, but it still seems to be a factor.

As far as the Hammer, I keep it at 0-30% depending on how much fuel is left, but I have not let it get too low to see if I need to keep moving it up as it runs lower and lower on fuel.

Ah, so! Now it's making a bit more sense. It is temperature. You're significantly cooling the remaining fuel through the evaporative losses. That's what's causing it, high gas usage rates.. The pressure starts out the same (it's gotten 'hotter' again at the same setting if you let it rest a few hours?)and falls off faster the lower it is (less mass to provide the heat). You can see this sometimes on gas BBQs, you get a 'frost line' ( feally a dew line I guess?) where the liquid is because it's gotten very cold by the heavy demand of the burner.

Anyway, that's not going to be happening with Hammer to any serious issue level I think. The draw rate is too low. Guys might like to fiddle with it and all of course.

OF

 

[Head Tools]

What’s up guys… I am David and I created the Hammer. It looks like Aaron is providing great answers to your questions, but I just wanted to give you guys a little background on where the Hammer came from.

When I started the design process, I created this list of requirements:

Pocketable… I can’t use it if it’s not with me

No batteries… they degrade over time and always need charging at the worst time

Convection… it is more efficient and it tastes better

Versatile… I want a vape that works with my entire collection

Fast… I am impatient and would rather burn it if I have to wait too long

Powerful… I don’t like being restricted by preprogrammed temperature limits

Efficient… I am a cheap bastard



As a lifelong combuster, I recognized that the butane lighter is the most important tool in my arsenal. It is small, fast, and you are never waiting for it to charge. In fact, if it didn’t set things on fire it would already be my perfect tool. Of course many other vapes rely on a lighter, but most of these designs mix the butane exhaust into your airpath… and since most of us are vaporizing to minimize the damages of smoke, it seems absurd to replace smoke with other carcinogens. With this in mind, I started with the tried and true platform that we all know and trust and then worked towards separating the flame from the airpath.

The other thing that lighters have going for them is that they work with every piece in your collection. I have been a glassblower since 1997 and it has always bothered me that I have to choose between vaporizing or using a heady piece of glass. I want a portable vaporizer that works all by itself and/or allows me to use my favorite glass. By separating the vaporizer body from the vaporization chamber, I have ensured that the Hammer adapts easily to water filtration. The glass stem is a very standard size, and with the addition of an o-ring it will drop into most old school slides, but even new school glass-on-glass fittings are easily accommodated.

Finally, I have always felt a bit let down by conduction vapes. They do work, but the results are usually a bit uneven… the edges are well done and the middle is raw. This kind of inefficiency does not sit well with a cheapskate like me. In my eyes, convection is a far superior process resulting in better efficiency and most importantly, top notch flavor. Breathing hot air through plastic will never result in the best flavor. So I made sure to construct the airpath out of materials that are nonporous and will never off-gas. I refuse to use anything other than pure, clean glass.

As much as I hate to admit it, there is no magic inside the Hammer. In fact, this technology has “existed for decades”, but unfortunately for you guys, it was in my drawer. There is a high quality torch lighter at its core, but the rest is simple physics. Over the years, I have fanatically refined this design. I have created a number of prototypes that were far more complicated, but at the end of the day, it was the most dead simple design that was the best. I am a true believer in form following function, so the Hammer does not have anything that it doesn’t need. No blinking lights, or superfluous accessories… just the bare essentials to make a highly functional tool at a reasonable price.

I have used a good number of the vapes here on the forum, and I really like most of them. There are a lot of great products out there… but for a daily driver, the Hammer meets ALL of my needs.

This process has been a labor of love and I am really glad to see you guys enjoying the Hammer. Of course the process is never done, and your input is helping guide future improvements. So keep the feedback coming! If you have any specific questions about design or construction of the Hammer, please don’t hesitate to ask.

David

david@thehammervaporizer.com

 

[Head Tools]

Hopefully my long-winded introduction did not bore you guys ...but I love my job!

We have already acted on your suggestions. For those of you wanting more UMPH... we have created a larger stem. Aaron should be posting the details later today.

David

 

[Kofa]

Can someone please post the dimensions of the heater unit, and the mouthpiece stems?

thx