# So... what do I do with a rock hammer? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 4, 2014, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-do-i-do-with-a-rock-hammer/692363 "2014-07-04T19:58:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2014, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-do-i-do-with-a-rock-hammer/692363/1 "2014-07-04T19:58:42Z")
Picked up a “survival” kit at a garage sale, mainly because it included a hatchet that I can use. I also got a folding saw, a folding shovel, a (crappy) knife with a hollow handle with various stuff (matches, etc.) inside, a mylar blanket, plastic water bag, tent stakes, battery powered mini lantern, a marginally-better-than-toy-grade compass, length of braided cord, … and a rock hammer. Now I spent a bit of time in the Boy Scouts as a kid, but I don’t recall ever hearing exactly what a rock hammer can do for me if I was stranded in the wilderness. Any suggestions? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2014, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-do-i-do-with-a-rock-hammer/692363/2 "2014-07-04T20:02:01Z")
Pounding in the tent stakes for one. Or if you’re attacked by a rock monster and there’s no digital conveyer handy. ---
**Author:** ![Buttercup\_Smith](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buttercup_smith/32/473_2.png) [@Buttercup\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buttercup_Smith)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2014, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-do-i-do-with-a-rock-hammer/692363/3 "2014-07-04T20:06:19Z")
Dig out of prison? ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2014, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-do-i-do-with-a-rock-hammer/692363/4 "2014-07-04T20:09:49Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > Now I spent a bit of time in the Boy Scouts as a kid, but I don’t recall ever hearing exactly what a rock hammer can do for me if I was stranded in the wilderness. Any suggestions? Are we talking a [geopick](http://www.estwing.com/g_leather_rock_pick.php) here, or something else? Because a geopick is good for breaking rocks, and that’s about it. Could make a serviceable ice hammer in a pinch, maybe. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2014, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-do-i-do-with-a-rock-hammer/692363/5 "2014-07-04T20:18:52Z")
if an animal attacks then hatchet in one hand and the rock hammer in the other; pointy end forward for both. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2014, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-do-i-do-with-a-rock-hammer/692363/6 "2014-07-04T20:26:33Z")
You can do a lot of things with it. It is a good tool for breaking hard things into small pieces. You live in Minnesota. One of the best uses there would be chipping ice to make drinking water or to make a hole in lake ice for ice fishing. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2014, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-do-i-do-with-a-rock-hammer/692363/7 "2014-07-04T20:55:01Z")
Well, if I had a rock hammer, I’d hammer rocks in the morning. I’d hammer rocks in the evening. All over this land. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2014, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-do-i-do-with-a-rock-hammer/692363/8 "2014-07-04T21:00:51Z")
[Hammer time!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otCpCn0l4Wo) ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2014, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-do-i-do-with-a-rock-hammer/692363/9 "2014-07-04T21:04:22Z")
Is there hard clay under your topsoil? Maybe they were implying you’d use it and the shovel in tandem to dig some sort of fox hole? I’m not sure if the “pull a door covered with dirt over your fox hole” is still recomended for surviving fallout. Hey, how amd I supposed to know what that kit was trying to help you survive? ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2014, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-do-i-do-with-a-rock-hammer/692363/10 "2014-07-04T21:28:24Z")
I use mine to bang on metal when I’m welding. Hey, I found the damn thing. Gotta do something with it. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2014, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-do-i-do-with-a-rock-hammer/692363/11 "2014-07-04T22:00:53Z")
When all you have is a rock hammer, everything looks like a rock. ---
**Author:** ![Absinthe\_Anecdote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f6c823/32.png) [@Absinthe\_Anecdote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absinthe_Anecdote)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2014, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-do-i-do-with-a-rock-hammer/692363/12 "2014-07-04T22:20:17Z")
You can use it to cut and shape rocks for building shelter and fire pits. Also, if you locate deposits of flint and chert, these rocks are useful in making stone tools, and primitive weapons. Plus, it probably is versatile enough of a tool to be used for a multitude purposes like cultivating plants and processing food. If another band of doomsday preppers wanders into your wilderness hideout, you could possibly use it in a trade for something more useful. Sorry, you don’t sound like a very resourceful survivalist to me. If you want to be a successful doomsday prepper, you need to learn to over exaggerate the importance of every single tool and skill. A real survivalist would easily be able to give an impromptu 5 minute speech on each tool in their Kit. ---
**Author:** ![mascaroni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dc4da7/32.png) [@mascaroni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mascaroni)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2014, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-do-i-do-with-a-rock-hammer/692363/13 "2014-07-04T22:36:07Z")
> [@Absinthe\_Anecdote](#): > > A real survivalist would easily be able to give an impromptu 5 minute speech on each tool in their Kit. Five minute speeches on a corkscrew and a bottle opener… Blimey… ---
**Author:** ![Absinthe\_Anecdote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f6c823/32.png) [@Absinthe\_Anecdote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absinthe_Anecdote)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2014, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-do-i-do-with-a-rock-hammer/692363/14 "2014-07-04T22:43:08Z")
> [@mascaroni](#): > > Five minute speeches on a corkscrew and a bottle opener… > > Blimey… Yep, a survivalist can never over emphasize or exaggerate enough. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2014, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-do-i-do-with-a-rock-hammer/692363/15 "2014-07-04T22:44:55Z")
Get a country saw, a jazz screwdriver, and a blues wrench to complete your inventory. ---
**Author:** ![Absinthe\_Anecdote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f6c823/32.png) [@Absinthe\_Anecdote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absinthe_Anecdote)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2014, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-do-i-do-with-a-rock-hammer/692363/16 "2014-07-04T22:52:46Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Get a country saw, a jazz screwdriver, and a blues wrench to complete your inventory. Yes, you can use jazz screwdrivers to open up big cans of sarcasm to help you give your 5 minute impromptu speeches on all your tools. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2014, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-do-i-do-with-a-rock-hammer/692363/17 "2014-07-05T00:32:05Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Are we talking a [geopick](http://www.estwing.com/g_leather_rock_pick.php) here, or something else? Because a geopick is good for breaking rocks, and that’s about it. Could make a serviceable ice hammer in a pinch, maybe. Yup, that’s it. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2014, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-do-i-do-with-a-rock-hammer/692363/18 "2014-07-05T00:39:20Z")
Used to verify that the Pope of Rock is indeed dead. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2014, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-do-i-do-with-a-rock-hammer/692363/19 "2014-07-05T02:52:19Z")
> [@Absinthe\_Anecdote](#): > > Sorry, you don’t sound like a very resourceful survivalist to me. If you want to be a successful doomsday prepper, you need to learn to over exaggerate the importance of every single tool and skill. > > A real survivalist would easily be able to give an impromptu 5 minute speech on each tool in their Kit. Correct, most survivalists aren’t very realistic. They tend to greatly over-emphasize threats like human or animal attacks while being under-equipped for much more pressing concerns like water and fire. A rock hammer could be useful but it would rarely mean the difference between life and death especially if you have similar tools like a hatchet. I personally find my Victorinox Swiss Army knife with many tools a life-saver even in everyday life. I think I could live in the woods indefinitely with just that and some fire starter. ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2014, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-do-i-do-with-a-rock-hammer/692363/20 "2014-07-05T03:00:08Z")
Do you have a big poster of Rita Hayworth too? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-do-i-do-with-a-rock-hammer/692363.md?page=2)