Upholstery hammer

An upholstery hammer (also called a tack hammer) is a lightweight hammer used for securing upholstery fabric to furniture frames using tacks or small nails.

Upholstery hammer

The head of an upholstery hammer is narrow and roughly 12-15mm in diameter.^[1] Commonly they are cast in bronze with fused steel tips.^[2]

Many styles of upholstery hammers have two faces, one face being magnetized to aid in the placement of tacks, the other being larger to drive the tacks home.^[3] A patent existed for a magnetized tack hammer as early as 1861, by G. W. Beardslee.^[4] Sometimes, the magnetized face has a split surface to make its magnetic hold stronger.^{[citation needed]} Upholstery hammers may also have one end shaped like a claw to make removing tacks easier.^[3]

To apply tacks rapidly, an upholsterer will hold tacks in the mouth and spit them, head first, onto the magnetized face of the hammer.^{[citation needed]} This gave rise to the phrase "spitting tacks."^[2]

Staple guns and hammer tackers have largely replaced this traditional way of tacking as a commercial upholstery technique. The traditional method remains important both in antiques restoration and in hobbyist work.