BallReviews
Equipment Boards => Hammer => Topic started by: splitcity on December 09, 2013, 12:58:58 PM
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Hello, i know there was a black one, purple one, blue solid, blue pearl, red solid and red pearl, burgandy solid... can someone order these up in terms of oldest to more recent and years?
are there any other color/coverstocks i missed?
how did they differ?
were they basically the same balls?
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Hello, i know there was a black one, purple one, blue solid, blue pearl, red solid and red pearl, burgandy solid... can someone order these up in terms of oldest to more recent and years?
are there any other color/coverstocks i missed?
how did they differ?
were they basically the same balls?
I'll do my best on this one. Let's start with the timeline first.
I believe Black was first, followed by Red, then Blue, then Red Pearl, then Blue Pearl, then Pink, then Purple, and finally Burgundy. So in reverse:
Burgundy: roughly 1994.
Purple: 1993.
Blue Pearl: 1990?
Red Pearl: 1991?
Pink: 1989.
Blue: 1988.
Red: 1987.
Black: 1986 or older.
Before then, the Nail was all over the place.
Now, specs of the balls. From strongest to weakest, the lineup went:
Burgundy - Blue - Purple - Black - Red - Red Pearl - Blue Pearl - Pink.
The difference between all of these balls were coverstock and coverstock preparation. "Pearl" in the name is obvious. The Pink Hammer was the weakest in coverstock preparation, whereas the Burgundy was the strongest. The Blue hammer was (I believe 800 grit abralon), so you can take a good guess at where Burgundy was.
Each of the Fab Urethane Hammers had the same core, so it all came down to the coverstock.
In fact, here's a post on this forum for what you're looking for as far as preparation and performance goes:
And - for those of you Hammerheads that are 'research challenged', I will provide you with the 'holy grail' of hammer ratings - the 1994 Lichstein Guide, showing you the relative hook rating of each ball, durometer hardness range, and characteristics. Y'all owe me big time now!
(Sorry if it doesn't format well when you see it - it never shows up the same going from the text entry window to the regular screen).
Navy Reactive Hammer 14 Reactive(75-78)
2-Piece
New pancake weight block reactive enables ball to skid through
the heads easilly. Used on Tour by high revolution players and those with
slower speed for medium to light oil. NEW
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Burgundy Hammer 10 Urethane(76-79)
2-Piece
The urethane model features the high density core that made the
Hammer famous. It is the best non-reactive urethane in the Faball line
for heavy oil.
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Blue Hammer 9 Urethane(76-76)
2-Piece
This ball is best for heavier oil conditions, but can be polished
up for less oily lanes. Jeff Phipps used the Blue Hammer exclusively to
average 247.89, a new league record.
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Purple Hammer 9 Urethane(76-78)
2-Piece
Designed to get through dry heads, but has stronger back-end
reaction than Blue Hammer.
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Black Hammer 8 Urethane(78-80)
2-Piece
The original Hammer, still effective all-around from dry to oily
lanes. Polishes up well.
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Red Pearl Hammer 7 Urethane(77-78)
2-Piece
The Red Pearl goes as long as the Blue Pearl, but turns harder in
the back. A short oil ball.
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Blue Pearl Hammer 7 Urethane(77-78)
2-Piece
Goes long with good back-end reaction. Good on short oil.
Original Hammer construction.
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Pink Hammer 3 Urethane(81-84)
2-Piece
Original Hammer construction, cover stock make this one best for
dry lane conditions.
That should get you a good idea on what happened and when. Now, by contrast, the first Reactive Resin balls came out roughly between 1991 and 1992, and exploded in 1992/1993.
BL.
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From memory earliest to latest:
Black, around 1983
Red
Red and Blue pearls (released same time, I think)
Nail, around the same time as the pearls
Blue and Pink about the same time
Purple
Burgundy, out by 1992, overlapped the first resin balls
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I love thinking about the OG urethane Hammers. I was a kid when these were all that you saw being used. My first "performance" ball was a blue pearl Hammer, and I darn near slept with the thing at first because I was so excited to have it. If I force myself to try, I can almost make my brain remember the distinctive smell of those coverstocks.
In any event, it's strange that they mention the Purple Hammer as having more backend than the Blue and the Red Pearl as having more backend than the Blue Pearl. In today's bowling environment, we know how manufacturers and drillers go about designing and laying out balls to save energy for the backend; however, in the urethane days, there really wasn't a way to do it, was there? I mean, obviously, you could polish a coverstock to give it push, or you could try to lay a ball out to rev up later, but did that really work? Plus, with the urethane cover, there really couldn't be any big release of energy or pop down the lane, could there?
I've heard a lot of interesting tidbits about some of these old Hammers from guys who were insiders back in the days when they were being developed and poured. To put it mildly, I have heard some eye-opening stuff! In any event, I miss the old Hammers so much. If I could, I'd seriously love to get one of each just to have or to use for league. Just talking about those balls brings me back to my childhood!
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I love thinking about the OG urethane Hammers. I was a kid when these were all that you saw being used. My first "performance" ball was a blue pearl Hammer, and I darn near slept with the thing at first because I was so excited to have it. If I force myself to try, I can almost make my brain remember the distinctive smell of those coverstocks.
I remember that scent as well! I remember it more distinctly for my Blue Pearl than the Blue as well. I still have that box at home in Omaha. Told my mother back in 1990 when we bought it to not get rid of it because I'd never find a ball like that again.
Never did I realize how right and prophetic that would be.
In any event, it's strange that they mention the Purple Hammer as having more backend than the Blue and the Red Pearl as having more backend than the Blue Pearl. In today's bowling environment, we know how manufacturers and drillers go about designing and laying out balls to save energy for the backend; however, in the urethane days, there really wasn't a way to do it, was there?
Not that I remember, especially because back then there were mainly two different types of lane conditioning: Long oil, and short oil. You never really saw that tyoe of backend unless it was on synthetic lanes, and even then, while urethane gave you that smooth arc, this was a sharper arc.
I mean, obviously, you could polish a coverstock to give it push, or you could try to lay a ball out to rev up later, but did that really work? Plus, with the urethane cover, there really couldn't be any big release of energy or pop down the lane, could there?
depends. Yes, you could polish up a ball to let it rev up later, but by the time it did that and started its arc, it was already 45 to 50 feet down the lane. So all it meant for you to do was either square up and face the pocket, or set it down earlier for it to start its roll earlier. No way to really save its energy...
.. unless the lanes were really that dry. But by then, we would have either moved so far left to dart and dive, or "balled down" to that Blue Pearl, or if you had it, Pink.
Back then, I was more under the impression that:
Blue Hammer + Polish = Black Hammer,
Black Hammer + Polish = Red Hammer, and
Red Hammer + polish = Pink Hammer.
Pearls just fit in between. I learned I was wrong on that, but at that time, the logic worked out.
I've heard a lot of interesting tidbits about some of these old Hammers from guys who were insiders back in the days when they were being developed and poured. To put it mildly, I have heard some eye-opening stuff! In any event, I miss the old Hammers so much. If I could, I'd seriously love to get one of each just to have or to use for league. Just talking about those balls brings me back to my childhood!
For the past 10 years, I've had a permanent search set up on eBay for anything Faball, just hoping that something would show up. I know that Danny Wiseman still kept a number of his Hammers NIB and was trying to sell them.. but they were expensive. You may want to put your feelers there, even for the used gear.
BL.
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I use these old Hammers all the time. Picked almost all of them up in the last year or so. My sickness started with the new Blue urethane Hammer remake.
Then I found a Burgundy Hammer for $10.00. Great ball even today. Still needs a fair amount of oil to work. Just had it plugged and re-drilled with the target closer to the fingers. Cant wait to roll it.
Next I scored a Red Hammer….currently it is the most used ball I have. I really like this one!
Then scored a Blue Pearl. Have not used it much and it's the only one I have that has a pin on it.
My latest recent score are two Purple Hammers. One is axis drilled and very dull. The other is label drilled and very polished. The polished one still needs to be re-drilled for me. The axis has been already, but I have not figured out what to do with it. Just doesn't really do anything so far.
All in all the Red is probably my favorite one.
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I use these old Hammers all the time. Picked almost all of them up in the last year or so. My sickness started with the new Blue urethane Hammer remake.
Then I found a Burgundy Hammer for $10.00. Great ball even today. Still needs a fair amount of oil to work. Just had it plugged and re-drilled with the target closer to the fingers. Cant wait to roll it.
Next I scored a Red Hammer….currently it is the most used ball I have. I really like this one!
Then scored a Blue Pearl. Have not used it much and it's the only one I have that has a pin on it.
My latest recent score are two Purple Hammers. One is axis drilled and very dull. The other is label drilled and very polished. The polished one still needs to be re-drilled for me. The axis has been already, but I have not figured out what to do with it. Just doesn't really do anything so far.
All in all the Red is probably my favorite one.
If you can get your hands of a Fab Blue, do it. You'll love it more than the Red.
If you're really lucky, find yourself a Pink, and have it laugh at you while it skids down the lane after you even try to throw it two-handed. ;)
BL.
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Thanks everyone for the depth of the information you shared! I know league bowlers who use these on todays synthetics andit just seems that the carry is amazing! I am looking forward to grabbing some of these on ebay or garage sales, and looking for that carry i am seeing. I am not an expert by no means, but have given this some thought... It seems to me that balls made in early-mid 90's( hammers, rhino's, original zones) were "built to last".. We know todays ball seem to have an expiration, and why wouldnt they? It is big bucks now, so don't they WANT you coming back for another ball soon? Perhaps in the early 90's.. before the bowling ball craze started they were designed to last much longer, and in my observations, they still hit hard even today, 15-20 years later! Much appreciated
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Splitcity, to clarify a couple of things in your last statement. When the first resin balls came out in 92-93, the general contention was that they had a very short lifespan before they had to be replaced. As little as 50 games in fact. The X-caliber, Purple RP, Turbo-X fell into that catagory. By the mid 90's coverstock durability had improved and the need for continual maintenance became known.
Amazing carry with old urethane? When conditions are condusive (clean back ends, little carry down, free hook to the outside) urethane is an option, expecially for those with good hand. On good pocket hits, anything will carry. But on off hits, and when the lanes open up, resin will out carry everything.
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Original Blue Hammer initial 2500 were urethane with an additive...then the Burgundy actually had additive in the cover but couldn't control the percentages, thus the inconsistency in reactions.
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interesting because the first ball i ever owned was an ebonite turbo x and i got it in 1996 and was from 1992. i used it for 4 years and the thing hit like a truck and unfort i gave it away to a friend!
i know what u mean about the right conditions, but in my opinion, the old eye ball test, the hit and carry seems amazing! i know one guy who uses a black hammer averages 230 and has many 800's and 300's to his name. I feel like resin balls are good too but i think the earlier resin balls mid 1990s were king.
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interesting because the first ball i ever owned was an ebonite turbo x and i got it in 1996 and was from 1992. i used it for 4 years and the thing hit like a truck and unfort i gave it away to a friend!
i know what u mean about the right conditions, but in my opinion, the old eye ball test, the hit and carry seems amazing! i know one guy who uses a black hammer averages 230 and has many 800's and 300's to his name. I feel like resin balls are good too but i think the earlier resin balls mid 1990s were king.
'92 was about the time I got back into bowling and got a ball that was my own. Blue Gyro Pro. Shortly after that went to a Teal Rhino Pro and onto reactives. I missed out on the whole urethane era pretty much. It's been just the last couple years I've gone to using urethane and getting away from resin.
I think a lot of why the older balls are working so well currently are due to the current stuff just being way too strong. Even the lowest performance resin is too much for me.
Using urethane gives me more margin of error. Small mistakes with resin ends up with nasty splits for me. Though I do have good luck with the Arson Low Flare.
Used my Red Fab Hammer again tonite…really enjoy throwing that ball. Most guys kind of crack up when I use it. Especially when they find out I bought it last year!
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If you can get your hands of a Fab Blue, do it. You'll love it more than the Red.
If you're really lucky, find yourself a Pink, and have it laugh at you while it skids down the lane after you even try to throw it two-handed. ;)
BL.
[/quote]How much different do you think it would be from the Burgundy? I like it alot too but can't use it that often. Even today it needs a fair amount of oil on a THS.
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If you can get your hands of a Fab Blue, do it. You'll love it more than the Red.
If you're really lucky, find yourself a Pink, and have it laugh at you while it skids down the lane after you even try to throw it two-handed. ;)
BL.
How much different do you think it would be from the Burgundy? I like it alot too but can't use it that often. Even today it needs a fair amount of oil on a THS.
Burgundy versus Blue? Burgundy should be fairly stronger, as it was the last urethane ball Fab put out before getting thrown into obsolescence by resin. I personally didn't see much of a difference between them, except for the finish on the coverstock. That's what made it get into its roll earlier. Other than that, it was pretty much the same.
Now, I should caveat that with the condition that the same layout is used on both balls. For the ones I used, the layout was 3/8 side weight, with the drill flipped 90 degrees to be parallel with the round part (read: the sides) of the core.
Because of that, I stayed with Blue. It was just more versatile for the lines that I can play.
Compared to Pink? Simple. Compare driving a Ferrari or Maserati in Minneapolis on the freeway the day after having freezing rain and snow on top of that, replacing the wheels with skis...
.. to a Ford F150 or Dodge 2500 or Chevy Silverado with chains on the tires. There's your difference. ;D
BL.
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When you mentioned rotating the drill, does that refer to the target logo being turned in relation to the fingers? I've seen some balls where the target was rotated (my red is like that) and wondered what the meaning and effect of that was…
Last nite in league I was using my Arson Low Flare then went to the Red Hammer…only moved two boards right from the ALF on the same line. That Red still has a lot of hit in it, can't imagine how many games are probably on it!
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When you mentioned rotating the drill, does that refer to the target logo being turned in relation to the fingers? I've seen some balls where the target was rotated (my red is like that) and wondered what the meaning and effect of that was…
Last nite in league I was using my Arson Low Flare then went to the Red Hammer…only moved two boards right from the ALF on the same line. That Red still has a lot of hit in it, can't imagine how many games are probably on it!
Not sure how it would affect today's balls, but going from memory, my coach back in youth bowling in the YABA told it like this:
For the Hammers and their particular core (nowadays would include the Pure Hammer), when you release the ball, it (the core) is going to roll end over end, until the characteristics of the core and cover and the layout kick in, causing it to then turn onto its side where it would be rolling in line with the round shape of the core anyway..
So why not help that along, and get that performance from the beginning? The initial layout would be from the top of the core to the bottom. Flipping it 90 degrees puts it inline with the part that would be rolling anyway.
So imagine taking a balloon, where the hole is on the bottom and the round part is on the top. lay out your ball straight up and down, and then roll it. It would roll over the top and the hole, instead of on its side, which would give it a better roll. If you flipped your layout 90 degrees, you wouldn't be rolling end over end.
That's the difference.
BL.
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When you mentioned rotating the drill, does that refer to the target logo being turned in relation to the fingers? I've seen some balls where the target was rotated (my red is like that) and wondered what the meaning and effect of that was…
Last nite in league I was using my Arson Low Flare then went to the Red Hammer…only moved two boards right from the ALF on the same line. That Red still has a lot of hit in it, can't imagine how many games are probably on it!
Not sure how it would affect today's balls, but going from memory, my coach back in youth bowling in the YABA told it like this:
For the Hammers and their particular core (nowadays would include the Pure Hammer), when you release the ball, it (the core) is going to roll end over end, until the characteristics of the core and cover and the layout kick in, causing it to then turn onto its side where it would be rolling in line with the round shape of the core anyway..
So why not help that along, and get that performance from the beginning? The initial layout would be from the top of the core to the bottom. Flipping it 90 degrees puts it inline with the part that would be rolling anyway.
So imagine taking a balloon, where the hole is on the bottom and the round part is on the top. lay out your ball straight up and down, and then roll it. It would roll over the top and the hole, instead of on its side, which would give it a better roll. If you flipped your layout 90 degrees, you wouldn't be rolling end over end.
That's the difference.
BL.
I see what you are saying now. That's the way my Purple is done. So far it hasn't worked at all for me. Probably me not throwing it right or maybe too dull.