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.
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 have largely replaced tacking as an upholstery technique.
