This is a bad hammer. They seem to have severely degraded the quality. The head is different from her picture. Instead of "American" it says "EMPIRE" upside down. The real problem, however, is the ringing. The steel part of the handle is hollow, and inside are some very small metal beads that rattle back and forth when you pick it up. It will drive you crazy Completely unacceptable for a high-end American-made instrument. I was hoping I just got a bad one so I bought a second one and it's just as bad. I am so disappointed.