Heavy Hammer

General

Item Type

Tool

Wintermute

No

Renewable

Yes (Trader only)

No (Interloper)

Statistics

Weight
2.00 kg (4.4 lbs)

Harvest	Repair
2 × Scrap Metal 1 × Fir Firewood 30 minutes	1 × Fir Firewood 20% Condition 45 to 30 minutes

“

A hammer suitable for metalworking.

In-game description

”

Heavy Hammer is a tool in The Long Dark. It is used for forging, breaking down furniture, making holes in the ice for fishing, or self defense during wildlife struggles.

Overview

The Heavy Hammer is a multi-purpose tool, but is essential for Forging: which is the only means for the survivor to craft their own tools, the Improvised Hatchet, Improvised Knife and Arrowheads. Hammers lose small amounts of condition when used to forge, break furniture, or make holes in the ice, or during a struggle if selected.

Hammers are essential for long-term play as efficient and repairable tools for making holes for Ice Fishing (for food or to avoid Scurvy). On Interloper mode where all Hatchets, Knives and Arrows never spawn, Heavy Hammers are essential to forge these items for self defense, and crafting animal-skin clothing, and using the Survival Bow.

Heavy Hammers are repairable with Fir Firewood and Tools.

Uses of Heavy Hammer:

Self Defense during a Wolf Struggle.
Forging: Improvised Hatchet, Improvised Knife, and Arrowheads (for crafting Simple Arrow).
Breaking down Furniture and Crates (for Reclaimed Wood or Cloth).
Open or maintain holes in the ice for Ice Fishing.
Crafting Acorns Grounds.

When carried and selected for self-defense at the start of a Wolf Struggle, Heavy Hammers deal middling damage with a high chance per-hit to cause the wolf to flee. Hammers take low damage from being used in a struggle, and never inflict Blood Loss to the Wolf. For more information on Struggles, see: Wildlife Struggles.

Harvesting Reclaimed Wood

Heavy Hammer may be used to break down most (but not all) furniture for Reclaimed Wood and Cloth. Destroying furniture in this way is more calorie and time expensive than with a Hatchet, but is faster than by hand and allows breaking some furniture which cannot be broken down with bare hands. Heavy Hammers also weigh more than a Hatchet or Improvised Hatchet, but despite these drawbacks they are easier to repair: requiring Simple Tools (Repair time: 45 minutes) or Quality Tools (Repair time: 30 minutes) and Fir Firewood (rather than the rare Whetstone or Milling Machine for Hatchets).

Locations

Some particular observed locations in which a heavy hammer may be found include:

Ash Canyon

On the floor in the ruins near the entrance of the Gold Mine.

Blackrock

In Cell Block 3 at Blackrock Prison building, in the room where the went exits on a shelf.
In the Steam Tunnels closest to the Power Plant entrance on the ground.

Bleak Inlet

Near The Harbinger at Last Resort Cannery.

Mystery Lake (region)

At Carter Hydro Dam inside the dam complex, at the workbench.
In the Forestry Lookout.
At a fishing hut under the fireplace.
At Trapper's Homestead on the workbench.
At Trapper's Homestead in the outbuilding
Inside of the train car at Derailment.
Inside a trailer by the Logging Camp.

Coastal Highway

In one of the cars at Coastal Highway near Log Sort or at Coastal Townsite.
On the outside wall of the blue trailer at Log Sort.
On a metal shelf, and in the large toolbox in the garage work area, Quonset Garage.
On a metal barrel outside the Quonset Garage.
In one of the ice fishing huts under the fireplace.
At the Abandoned Lookout, under the chair.
Under the workbench in Fishing Camp
In the Cinder Hills Coal Mine
On the ground next to a door at the house on Jackrabbit Island

Pleasant Valley

On the upper level of the Barn in Pleasant Valley.
In the basement at Pleasant Valley Farmstead.
Under a shelf at Signal Hill.

Desolation Point

At Hibernia Processing on the workbench or the tool rack shelves.
Laying up against a knocked over barrel by the fire barrel in Hibernia Processing lower level. (very easy to miss in low light conditions- near the railing with pallets behind it.)

Forlorn Muskeg

In a red box in the Old Spence Family Homestead. (or under the workbench, or outside the wall)
Near one of the pallets at the Bunk Houses.

Hushed River Valley

Near the Mysterious Signal Fire.
Near a corpse in the southern Ice Cave.

Timberwolf Mountain

In one of the Cargo Containers in the Tail Section of Timberwolf Mountain.
Under the workbench at the Mountaineer's Hut.
Under the stove in the fishing hut on Crystal Lake.
In one of the fishing boats next to the dock on Crystal Lake.

Broken Railroad

At a shelf in the Maintenance Yard, in one of the toolboxes, or underneath the workbench.

Ravine

In a train carriage.
In the fallen gondola.
In a cave

Mountain Town (Milton)

In the back of the truck in front of Bank Manager's house.
In one of the low tier houses on a crate.
In one of the low tier houses on a metal shelf.
In the closet at Paradise Meadows Farmstead.
In the small guard shed in front of the Orca Gas Station.

Notes

The shape of the hammer is similar to a real-world mini-sledge.
In real world metalworking, numerous different hammers (each with their own unique head shapes and weights) would be used for different applications, but for all intents and purposes the picture suits as merely just a reference.
It's sometimes called a "Wolf Bonker" due to its high melee stats, capable of crippling limbs and ending Wolf Struggles rapidly (15% chance to scare off immediately, 5% chance to kill instantly).

Gallery

Game History

UPDATE 5 December 2022 (Update):
- Interloper has had its loot positions refreshed and more position randomness added to its important items (like hammers) to add less predictability.

UPDATE 16 December 2015 (Update):
- Fixed issue where the Hammer could not be used to clear Ice Fishing holes.

UPDATE 18 September 2015 (Update):
- Added Heavy Hammer (previously known as 'Hammer').
- Modified struggle damage modifiers for various tools, and added modifiers for the new Hammer.
- You can now clear ice-fishing holes with Hammers.
- Hammers can be used to break down crates, furniture, etc.