Edelrid are perhaps better known for producing ropes than piton hammers and we hope their hammers are better than their ropes which are best avoided.

Julius Edelmann and Carl Rider founded the company in 1863 and, as with all these companies, it has been bought and sold a few times since but is still going strong in 2020.

The fine hammer we have here in the collection is in mint condition even though it dates from the 1960/70s, a time when most climbers were still hammering lots of pitons into lots of cracks. Interestingly, the ‘pitoneers’ didn’t like metal shafted hammers very much because they vibrated when being hammered, whereas wooden versions tended to absorb the shock.

This fine addition to our collection of hammers was kindly donated by Ken Rawlinson, one time director of Phoenix Outdoor Equipment.