Soft-faced dead blow hammer

The hammer 300 includes a head 302 coupled to a handle 301, defining a cavity 312 and a striking end 304. The cavity is at least partially filled with a flowable material 314, such as steel shot. A reinforcement layer 308 is coupled to the striking end. An over-mold 306 couples the head and handle. Another hammer tool includes a single-piece head coupled to a first end, defining a cavity between striking ends. The cavity is at least partially filled with a flowable material. An over-mould is disposed about a handle and the striking ends. A ballistic reinforcement layer is coupled to the over-mould. Another hammer includes a single-piece head coupled to a first end of a handle, the head including a cavity between opposing striking ends. A flowable material at least partially fills the cavity. Striking end caps are coupled to the striking ends. An over-mould couples together the handle, the striking ends, and end caps. Ballistic reinforcement layers are coupled to the striking end caps. The reinforcement may include polymer fabric, fiberglass, or Kevlar(RTM), embedded within the over-mold or disposed on a striking surface of the over-mold. A bladder (515, Figure 5) may be disposed in the cavity.