I bought this for someone as a gift but I did it because I have had my own Estwing hammer for over 12 years and I love the design and look of it. I like the old design a little more but it's close enough. So it's a solid piece of high quality steel with an aerodynamic neck that transitions into a full shaft, housed in a blue, shock absorbing, rubbery plastic handle, you really can't go wrong with this hammer. This hammer is called smooth and has some sort of clear coat all over the steel, but I don't know what it's made of. My hammer has a milled surface and will slowly rust over time, so a smooth surface looks nice.