This post is primarily for fans of the original Faball Blue Hammer.  All are welcome, but this could get long.

 

Part One

I missed out on the original Blue Hammer back when it originally came out.  I had a Black Hammer, which I liked a lot, but never obtained a Blue Hammer.  Throughout the bowling media world, I always heard great things about the Blue Hammer--well into this century.  Sometime around 2005, I was browsing around in an all-around sport shop in St. Clair Shores, Michigan (my home town).  This shop sold equipment for all sports, but seemed to be primarily aimed at hockey and baseball players.  They had a perfunctory bowling department, and as I meandered through it, what did I see on the shelf, but an original Faball Blue Hammer--new and undrilled!  I decided that I had to have it.  Their price included drilling, but I had no intention of letting such a place drill my ball, especially since I had--and have--an excellent ball driller.  They would not reduce the price, even if I wanted the ball undrilled.  After arguing unsuccessfully, I bought it anyway.  Even after buying 6-8 reactive balls a year for many years, this Blue Hammer is still my main ball.  In several centers (old wood, AMF synthetics, Brunswick synthetics) over the last 7-8 years, this has remained my benchmark ball and the one I use more than any other.

 

Part Two

Sometime ago, the new Ebonite incarnation of Hammer released a couple of balls that played on the fame of the old Blue Hammer.  These were not even urethane, and, to me, bore no resemblance to the original Blue Hammer.  Now, Hammer has once again released a new Blue Hammer, and this time it actually is urethane.  Even though it has the Vibe core, I couldn't resist a new urethane release and I bought it.  It is a fine ball, and I don't regret the purchase.  On the other hand, once again, it bears absolutely no resemblance to the original Blue Hammer.  I find that the new Blue Hammer requires about a 10 board move right with my feet (I'm a righty) and a four board move right with my mark just to get it into an approximation of the pocket as compared to my Faball Blue Hammer.  I fully expected the new ball to be different than the old one, and for a different condition, so I'm happy with this result since it will allow me to stay with a urethane ball when the lanes dry out too much for my old Blue Hammer.  I don't regret the purchase.

 

Part Three

Here's what I don't understand.  Hammer obviously understands that the original Blue Hammer has a huge fan base.  So....why don't they just release a new urethane Blue Hammer that actually IS comparable to the old Blue Hammer?  The original's core was essentially, perhaps even exactly, the same as the core used in the Blade series.  The same formulation of urethane must be available at least in a known chemical formulation that can be duplicated.  I may be hopelessly retro, but I know what works for me.  I'm a stats fanatic, and I can see what I bowl with my Faball Blue Hammer.  I appeal to Ebonite.  Please stop messing around with balls that have the APPEARANCE of the original Blue Hammer.  I will continue to buy urethane balls in any case.  But I tell ya, if you were to release a ball that actually IS like the original Blue Hammer, you can put me down for a case of four of them--at least.

 

 

I haven't measured the pin but I think the box says 2-3" pin.  The color is lighter than the picture.  My punched out blue hammer is darker than the one in the pic and I think it's lane oil soaked into the cover that changed the color.

I checked the box and it's a 2 3/4 inch pin.  The serial number is F90356.  Not sure where that's poured at.

 

Edited by r534me on 3/27/2012 at 8:57 PM

I have a 14lb OG Blue Hammer with a pin that measures a little over 2".  It's still drilled with the classic 1 o'clock label drill.  I'm taking it down to my pro shop tomorrow for him to sell it!

 

 

YGM
 

Just since I started this post, I managed to get my hands on an old Burgundy Hammer.  It's badly beat up and has cracks and chips around the finger holes, but I don't want my finger holes where the ones presently in the ball are anyway.  I think it can be repaired and resurfaced and should be just fine.  I don't really remember how the Burgundy compared to the Blue in ball reaction, but I seem to remember that the Burgundy was supposedly the most aggressive of all the old urethane Hammers?  Is that true?

 

Whatever it may mean, the serial numbers on both balls are long.  The Blue's starts with 097K, and the Burgundy's starts with 098D.  Does anyone know what that means?  The pin in the Blue is the same color as the ball.  The pin in the Burgundy is yellow.

 

Edited by da Shiv on 4/4/2012 at 1:26 PM