Hand tools are manufactured with more sophisticated materials every year. Nylon and other plastic blends are used to produce striking tools that offer a very saleable word: unbreakable. Are these "unbreakable" composite materials affecting the hand tool market and if so, are distributors finding new ways to market them?

The combination of quality and price is a never-ending area of concern for both distributors and customers. The value of the tool over its lifetime is hard to calculate, but if it's unbreakable, the value is likely high.

Hand tools have become more of a commodity item in the last several years, according to Mike Baker, president of Quality Mill Supply Co., Inc., based in Columbus, Ind. The company's best-sellers are tape measures, hammers, sockets and screwdrivers. However, hand tools — including unbreakables — are not hot sellers this year due to the severe economic downturn in Midwest manufacturing, Baker said. That makes it a priority for manufacturers to add safety and reliability features to striking tool designs.

"A name brand is not as big as it used to be. It's more of a commodity market. [In unbreakable tool lines], a line of engineer's hammers and a new deadblow hammer sells very well and [many manufacturers] are now coming out with similar offerings," he said.

According to the Hand Tool Institute of Tarrytown, N.Y., safety when using hand tools is always top priority. That includes the reduction of repetitive stress injuries from the constant striking of an impact tool. Hand tools are not only developed lighter and stronger, they are designed with specific safety and ergonomic benefits in mind. One of the safety benefits of reinforced synthetic handles is their resistance to breakage.

One example is anti-vibration technology built into the handles of hammers. Many manufacturers use materials like titanium, graphite, fiberglass and polyurethane to dampen radial vibration and shock transferred to the hands when striking objects. Hammers are made with one-piece and two-piece "jacketed" handles for better shock and splinter resistance.

Many of the jobs done in the past by hand tools have been taken over by small, lightweight power tools. Hand tool manufacturers constantly seek ways to improve their products and compete on a more level playing field.

Not everyone, of course, thinks high tech materials are necessarily better. Many manufacturers specialize in wooden-handled striking tools. By far the most popular wood is hickory because of its hardness and density, and resistance to breakage due to striking with the handle instead of the hammer head.

According to a manufacturer of hickory handles for over a century, wooden handles still far outsell higher-tech jacketed fiberglass handles offered by the company. One major feature of hickory handles, according to one manufacturer, is that they are less expensive than composite-handled tools, and replacement is easy and inexpensive should one break.

Most manufacturers of striking tools supply both high-tech material and wooden handles, according to catalog listings of hand tool suppliers. And they are looking for distributors to handle their newest products, while trying to maintain sales of traditional products.

"I think most [distributors] will add a few lines in the hand tool area," Baker said.