Stiletto

A Stiletto hammer is a titanium framing or trim hammer for carpenters, framers and remodelers, and Stiletto builds titanium pry bars and aluminum squares to go with it. The all-titanium hammers and bars weigh 45% less than steel, and titanium damps vibration over repeated swings. That means less strain on your arm by quitting time.

Stiletto began in 1849, during the California Gold Rush, as the in-house tool brand of Baker, Hamilton & Pacific Co. in San Francisco. Its first tools went to miners, ranchers and carpenters from the Baker & Hamilton building in the South of Market neighborhood. Milwaukee Tool has owned Stiletto since 2007, which is why some Stiletto hammers carry the Milwaukee name. Titanium hammers are the core of the line today. Stiletto introduced the side nail puller and the magnetic nail starter, and both are on every TIBONE.

Which Stiletto hammer fits the job

For framing, take the 15oz TIBONE. Its 180° side nail puller and magnetic nail starter take nails up to 16D plus duplex nails, and the straight claw fits 8D to 16D, so it starts and pulls every nail a framer drives by hand. The 15oz is the head weight, and the whole hammer weighs 33.2oz.

The 14oz TIBONE is the same design with a lighter head. It suits remodelers who do more nailing overhead, in stud bays and at odd angles than long runs of 16s. A light head hits as hard as your swing is fast: a quick swing drives well, and when your arm tires and the swing slows, a light head loses more than a heavy one. For toenailing through a bottom plate, a heavy steel framer does the job with less work.

For trim, take the 10oz TRIMBONE. Its smooth face leaves a clean dent in casing and base. The 15oz and 14oz TIBONE each come in a smooth-face version for framing where the nail heads stay exposed.

What the titanium pays for

The price is in the metal and the casting. Raw titanium costs 3 to 5 times as much as steel, and each head is made with a multi-step investment casting process. The all-titanium hammers are made in the USA. The TIBONE and TRIMBONE also take a replaceable steel face, so when the milling wears smooth, which happens about as fast as on any hammer, a new face goes on and the titanium head stays in service. Replacement magnet kits for the nail starter come from Stiletto at no charge.

Keep a steel hammer for hardened steel

Use a steel hammer on cat’s paws, chisels, punches, bolts, hardened nails and steel form stakes. Stiletto’s warranty excludes damage from striking hardened objects. The warranty covers defects in materials and workmanship for one year for the original buyer, and it excludes normal wear on the face, claws and handle. Keep an old steel framer in the truck for hardened steel and use the titanium hammer for nails.

Faces, grips, mallet caps and handles

For a face you can replace, buy an all-titanium TIBONE or TRIMBONE. The hickory and fiberglass Stilettos have titanium heads, so their faces can’t be replaced. The TIBONE’s milled steel replacement face has an anti-rotational design, and the TIBONE MINI takes milled and smooth replacement faces of its own.

The all-titanium hammers come with a black grip. Red, hi-vis yellow and hi-vis pink grips are sold separately, and a crew can color-code hammers so everyone knows whose is whose. The grips fit the current TIBONE 15, TIBONE 14 and TRIMBONE and change with a few simple tools. The TIBONE II, TIBONE III and TIBONE MINI have fixed grips. Use the mallet cap made for your hammer model, since the TIBONE and TRIMBONE each have their own. A replacement bolt kit fits the TIBONE 14, TIBONE 15 and TRIMBONE. Stiletto also sells an AIRGRIP coldshrink handle wrap, and its limited edition colors come only on the 15oz TIBONE Milled.

To rehandle a hickory Stiletto, you need a pencil, a mallet, a handsaw, a workbench or block of wood, and a handle that fits your hammer’s head size. Tap the handle snugly into place and stop there, because driving it too far into the head damages the lacquered surface and weakens the head. Secure it with one wood wedge and two steel wedges.

Titanium pry bars

Stiletto’s pry bars are made entirely of titanium, which keeps the belt light when a bar rides next to the hammer. Use the clawbar nail puller with the DIMPLER to pull framing nails. The trimbar is sized for trim work, and the glazer bars come in two lengths. Stiletto also makes a titanium drywall axe and a titanium lathers axe.

Stiletto carpenter and trim squares

The 7” Carpenter Square is CNC-machined from aluminum. Its hard coat anodize cuts glare and keeps the laser-etched markings readable longer. The BOMBER cutout carries common lumber measurements, so you can lay out a stud pack or LVL in one full motion. Pick the version with the level if you want to check level with the same square you mark with. Stiletto sends replacement vial kits at no charge. For finish carpentry, the 4-1/2” Trim Square has more scribe holes for faster marking.

The Stiletto line at a glance

Tool	Model	Size or fit	Build
15oz TIBONE Milled/Curve	TIB15MC	15oz head, 17.3” tall, 33.2oz total	All titanium, curved handle, replaceable milled steel face
15oz TIBONE Smooth/Curve	TIB15SC	15oz head	All titanium, curved handle
14oz TIBONE Milled/Curve	TIB14RMC	14oz head	All titanium, curved handle
14oz TIBONE Smooth/Curve	TIB14RSC	14oz head	All titanium, curved handle
10oz TRIMBONE Smooth/Curve	TRMB	10oz head	All titanium, curved handle, replaceable smooth steel face
TIBONE MINI	TBM14RSC, TBM14RMC, TBM14RMS	14oz head	Smooth curved, milled curved or milled straight
TIBONE III	TB3MC, TB3SC	15oz head	Milled or smooth
16oz Milled/Curve Fiberglass	TI16MC-F	16oz head	Titanium head, fiberglass handle
16oz Milled/Curve Hickory	TI16MC	16oz head	Titanium head, hickory handle
14oz Milled/Straight Hickory	TI14MS	14oz head	Titanium head, hickory handle
10oz Smooth/Curve Hickory	FH10C	10oz head	Titanium head, hickory handle
TIBONE milled replacement face	TIB-MR	TIBONE	Milled steel, anti-rotational
TRIMBONE smooth replacement face	TRMB-RS	TRIMBONE	Smooth steel
TIBONE MINI replacement faces	TBM-MR, TBM-SR	TIBONE MINI	Milled or smooth steel
TIBONE mallet cap	TIB-RMA	TIBONE	Mallet cap
TRIMBONE mallet cap kit	TRMB-RMA	TRIMBONE	Mallet cap
Replacement bolt kit	TBR-B	TIBONE 14, TIBONE 15, TRIMBONE	Bolt kit
Replacement grips	TBRG-Y, TBRG-P	TIB15MC, TIB15SC, TIB14RMC, TIB14RSC, TRMB	Hi-vis yellow, hi-vis pink; T25 screw, washer and nut included
Curved hickory replacement handle	STLHDL-C	18”, for 12oz and 14oz hammers	Hickory
AIRGRIP handle wrap	AG-102	8”	Coldshrink
Titanium clawbar nail puller with DIMPLER	TICLW-12	11.5”	All titanium
Titanium trimbar	TRIMBAR5	9.5”	All titanium
Titanium glazer bars	FB7G, FB11G	7.5”, 11.5”	All titanium
7” Carpenter Square	STSQ7, STSQ7-L	7”, with or without level	CNC-machined aluminum, hard coat anodize, BOMBER cutout
4-1/2” Trim Square	STSQ4	4-1/2”	More scribe holes for finish marking

Frequently Asked Questions

Are Stiletto hammers worth the money?

A Stiletto hammer pays back fastest for someone who swings a hammer most of the day, because the lighter weight and titanium’s vibration damping add up over thousands of swings a week. For a hammer that sets a few nails on a weekend project, a good steel framer does the same work. Either way, keep it off hardened steel, since that damage falls on the owner and not the warranty.

Does a titanium hammer hit as hard as a steel one?

Stiletto says the 15oz TIBONE hits like steel, and the reason is swing speed: with less weight to move, your arm brings the head around faster, and speed does much of the driving. That holds as long as the swing stays quick, so on a long run of 16s, keep the swing crisp instead of muscling it.

What’s the difference between the 14oz TIBONE and the TIBONE MINI?

Both have a 14oz head, but the current 14oz TIBONE comes milled or smooth on a curved handle and takes the replaceable color grips. The TIBONE MINI is an older model with a fixed grip, sold smooth curved, milled curved or milled straight, and it takes its own milled and smooth replacement faces. If you want a straight handle at 14oz between those two, the MINI is the one that has it.