![Erweiterte Zündsysteme CC BY-SA 4](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/Erweiterte_Z%C3%BCndsysteme_CC_BY-SA_4.0_by_Grasyl.svg)
The hammer is a part of a firearm that is used to strike the
percussion cap
The percussion cap or percussion primer, introduced in the early 1820s, is a type of single-use percussion ignition device for muzzle loader firearm locks enabling them to fire reliably in any weather condition. This crucial invention gave rise ...
/
primer
Primer may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Primer'' (film), a 2004 feature film written and directed by Shane Carruth
* ''Primer'' (video), a documentary about the funk band Living Colour
Literature
* Primer (textbook), a t ...
, or a separate
firing pin
A firing pin or striker is a part of the firing mechanism of a firearm that impacts the primer in the base of a cartridge and causes it to fire. In firearms terminology, a striker is a particular type of firing pin where a compressed spring ...
, to ignite the
propellant and fire the projectile. It is so called due to the fact that it resembles a
hammer in both form and function. The hammer itself is a metal piece that forcefully rotates about a pivot point.
Evolution
![Codex Vindobonensis 3069 38v](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/Codex_Vindobonensis_3069_38v.jpg)
Firearms, initially known as "
hand cannon
The hand cannon (Chinese: 手 銃 ''shŏuchòng'', or 火 銃 ''huŏchòng''), also known as the gonne or handgonne, is the first true firearm and the successor of the fire lance. It is the oldest type of small arms as well as the most mecha ...
s", first became a viable weapon in 1364 through the advancement of chemical technologies to create a gunpowder efficient enough to launch a projectile at high speeds in a hand-held weapon. The issue quickly arose of how to effectively ignite the gunpowder while maintaining the weapon’s aim at the target. Initially, the problem was solved by using a "
slow match
Slow match, also called match cord, is the slow-burning cord or twine fuse used by early gunpowder musketeers, artillerymen, and soldiers to ignite matchlock muskets, cannons, shells, and petards. Slow matches were most suitable for use aroun ...
":
a chemically treated piece of rope that would stay lit for an extended period of time. The smoldering end of the rope would then be manually brought into contact with the gunpowder through a
touch hole
A touch hole, also called a vent, is a small hole at the rear (breech) portion of the barrel of a muzzleloading gun or cannon. The hole provides external access of an ignition spark into the breech chamber of the barrel (where the combustion o ...
in the barrel of the weapon. when the user was ready to shoot. It proved difficult for the shooter to both keep the weapon aimed and level as well as ignite the gunpowder with the slow match.
The first step to a true hammer system arose shortly after the introduction of the slow match: the
matchlock
A matchlock or firelock is a historical type of firearm wherein the gunpowder is ignited by a burning piece of rope that is touched to the gunpowder by a mechanism that the musketeer activates by pulling a lever or trigger with his finger. Befor ...
system, introduced in the early 1400s.
It acted as an arm, known as a
serpentine, that held the lit slow match. When the
trigger
Trigger may refer to:
Notable animals and people
;Mononym
* Trigger (horse), owned by cowboy star Roy Rogers
;Nickname
* Trigger Alpert (1916–2013), American jazz bassist
* "Trigger Mike" Coppola (1900–1966), American gangster
;Surname
* Bru ...
was pulled, the arm would swing forward from its cocked state (similar to a hammer) via potential energy stored in a spring and bring the lit slow match into contact with the gunpowder. The weapon could be utilized with increased accuracy, since the shooter could maintain both hands on the weapon.
![Acciarino ruota](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/Acciarino_ruota.svg)
By 1509, the
wheellock
A wheellock, wheel-lock or wheel lock is a friction-wheel mechanism which creates a spark that causes a firearm to fire. It was the next major development in firearms technology after the matchlock and the first self-igniting firearm. Its name is ...
system arose to solve some difficulties of the matchlock system, though it was a very expensive system. The wheellock system used a piece of
pyrite
The mineral pyrite (), or iron pyrite, also known as fool's gold, is an iron sulfide with the chemical formula Iron, FeSulfur, S2 (iron (II) disulfide). Pyrite is the most abundant sulfide mineral.
Pyrite's metallic Luster (mineralogy), lust ...
attached to an arm called a dogshead
that would be brought into contact with a metal wheel that rotated when the
trigger
Trigger may refer to:
Notable animals and people
;Mononym
* Trigger (horse), owned by cowboy star Roy Rogers
;Nickname
* Trigger Alpert (1916–2013), American jazz bassist
* "Trigger Mike" Coppola (1900–1966), American gangster
;Surname
* Bru ...
was pulled. This would, in turn, shower sparks upon the gunpowder and cause the weapon to discharge. The wheellock represented a major advancement, for it removed the need for maintaining a continually lit slow match which could go out or give off the shooter’s location in a time of need.
Following the introduction of the matchlock, the
flintlock
Flintlock is a general term for any firearm that uses a flint-striking lock (firearm), ignition mechanism, the first of which appeared in Western Europe in the early 16th century. The term may also apply to a particular form of the mechanism its ...
was introduced in the mid-1600s.
The flintlock is similar to the wheellock system, but instead of the hammer mechanism holding pyrite and coming into contact with a moving wheel, the arm (called a cock) held a piece of flint and would be brought forcefully into contact with a steel plate when the
trigger
Trigger may refer to:
Notable animals and people
;Mononym
* Trigger (horse), owned by cowboy star Roy Rogers
;Nickname
* Trigger Alpert (1916–2013), American jazz bassist
* "Trigger Mike" Coppola (1900–1966), American gangster
;Surname
* Bru ...
was pulled.
This would also cause pieces of steel to flake off and ignite due to the
friction
Friction is the force resisting the relative motion of solid surfaces, fluid layers, and material elements sliding against each other. There are several types of friction:
*Dry friction is a force that opposes the relative lateral motion of ...
thereby igniting the gunpowder. This method was also far less expensive that the wheellock system.
In 1822, the flintlock system was replaced with what can be called the first hammer system.
This arose after Scottish clergyman
Reverend Alexander Forsyth discovered the property of
mercury fulminate
Mercury(II) fulminate, or Hg(CNO)2, is a primary explosive. It is highly sensitive to friction, heat and shock and is mainly used as a trigger for other explosives in percussion caps and detonators. Mercury(II) cyanate, though its chemical formu ...
(Hg(ONC)
2) to combust when struck. Using this discovery, the
percussion cap
The percussion cap or percussion primer, introduced in the early 1820s, is a type of single-use percussion ignition device for muzzle loader firearm locks enabling them to fire reliably in any weather condition. This crucial invention gave rise ...
was created. The cap was a small metal cup filled with volatile chemicals placed at the rear of the barrel over a nipple in what was known as the
caplock mechanism
The percussion cap or percussion primer, introduced in the early 1820s, is a type of single-use percussion ignition device for muzzle loader firearm locks enabling them to fire reliably in any weather condition. This crucial invention gave rise ...
. A true hammer was cocked via a spring system and held in place until the
trigger
Trigger may refer to:
Notable animals and people
;Mononym
* Trigger (horse), owned by cowboy star Roy Rogers
;Nickname
* Trigger Alpert (1916–2013), American jazz bassist
* "Trigger Mike" Coppola (1900–1966), American gangster
;Surname
* Bru ...
was pulled to release the hammer. The hammer would then swing forward and strike the percussion cap which would in turn ignite and cause the gunpowder to ignite and fire the weapon.
![Cartridge, sectional view](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/Cartridge%2C_sectional_view.JPG)
The percussion cap was in wide use for almost five decades until the wide-spread introduction of the
self-contained cartridge which contained the projectile, gunpowder, and percussion cap all in a single shell that could be easily loaded.
The introduction of such a technology led to the implementation of the firing pin and hammer system that is now used in certain weapons. This was done to transfer energy from the still required hammer to the primer within the self-contained cartridge in order to discharge the weapon.
Drawbacks
There are some notable drawbacks to the external hammer system compared to other modern, internal designs. In
single-action revolvers
A trigger is a mechanism that actuates the function of a ranged weapon such as a firearm, airgun, crossbow, or speargun. The word may also be used to describe a switch that initiates the operation of other non-shooting devices such as a trap ...
, specifically, there is an ever-present danger of accidentally discharging the weapon if the hammer is struck with a shell loaded in the chamber.
There is nothing to prevent the hammer from contacting the firing pin and by default the cartridge, in some models, and so the gun will be discharged unintentionally.
![Lemathammer](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/Lemathammer.jpg)
Other models do have an internal safety mechanism that prevents contact between the hammer and the firing pin unless the
trigger
Trigger may refer to:
Notable animals and people
;Mononym
* Trigger (horse), owned by cowboy star Roy Rogers
;Nickname
* Trigger Alpert (1916–2013), American jazz bassist
* "Trigger Mike" Coppola (1900–1966), American gangster
;Surname
* Bru ...
is actually pulled.
Even so, many single-action revolver owners choose to carry their revolver with the hammer resting on an empty chamber to minimize the risk of accidental discharge. Additionally, for those who carry their firearm as a personal defense weapon, there is the ever-present worry that an external hammer may catch on a loose article of clothing in an emergency situation, because the hammer protrudes at an angle from the rear of the weapon, and as the owner moves to quickly draw their weapon, the hammer may snag on clothing and cause the loss of seconds in a dangerous situation. Paul B. Weston, an authority on police weapons, called the external a "fish hook" that tended to snag clothing during a fast draw.
Linear hammer
A linear hammer is similar to but differs from a
striker in that the hammer is a separate component from the firing pin. When released, a linear hammer, under spring pressure, slides along the bore axis rather than pivoting around a pin placed perpendicular to the bore, as with the more common rotating hammer. The hammer then impacts the rear of the firing pin. Designs such as the Czech
vz. 58
The vz. 58 (or Sa vz. 58) is a 7.62×39mm assault rifle designed and manufactured in Czechoslovakia and accepted into service in the late 1950s as the 7,62 mm samopal vzor 58 ("7.62mm submachine gun model 58"), replacing the vz. 52 self-l ...
and the Chinese
QBZ-95 utilize a linear hammer.
Mechanics and Disassembly of the Norinco QBZ-97 / Type 97 NSR
Accessed 3 October 2022.
See also
*Hammerless
A hammerless firearm is a firearm that lacks an exposed hammer or hammer spur. Although it may not literally lack a hammer, it lacks a hammer that the user can pull directly. One of the disadvantages of an exposed hammer spur is the tendency t ...
References
{{Firearms
Firearm components