Boss Hammer was introduced as a new, American-Made invention at the inaugural Made In America event less than two years ago. Today, the company is shipping products across the country.
In February of 2019, craftsman and innovator Dan Raymond thought of a unique squaring system design for a hammer to make it more efficient and easier to use. Today, he is founder and CEO of Boss Hammer, an American Made startup that’s quickly gaining popularity.
In 2019, Dan’s hammer prototype won the United Inventor’s Association Pitch Contest at Made in America.
“I’m so thankful that we live in a country where we’re free to chase our dreams,” said Raymond as he accepted the award.
In this interview, Dan discusses the timeline of his idea and his excitement for Made in America 2021.
Jason: Can you give me a brief overview of the company?
Dan: This whole thing started about 27 months ago in February of 2019. I was messing with a framing hammer and while looking at it, I thought about how the thing could be made into a square. So that was the initial thought process and then I proceeded to do a little cutting and dissecting and became acquainted with a small engineering firm here in Michigan called Iron Hand Engineering. I went in to explain to them this crazy idea that I wanted to make a hammer into a squaring system and I think they thought I was nuts! But over the next two years, they’ve been very instrumental in being able to take the ideas I’ve come up with and put them into designs. We started with steel heads which we displayed at Made in America with a hickory handle. Later, I had a business connection that was talking to me about laser engraving, which at the time I had no idea about. But, we were able to produce the hickory handle with all of the angle cuts on it. Then, we figured out how to make a poly fiberglass handle which we just debuted a couple months ago. With more thinking and dreaming, we also decided to do a lighter titanium head. We now offer 10 oz, 12 oz, 14 oz, and 16 oz titanium heads which have a bigger striking face and are much lighter than any competition out there. We’re getting busier by the minute. We’ve actually gotten calls from Lowes and we basically told them we’re not going to sell out small distributors here in the U.S. by partnering with them. We’re gonna stick with the same pricing so it’s a level playing field for Brick & Mortar stores.
Jason: So when did you open for business?
Dan: We actually just opened for business May 15th of last year but we debuted our product at the Made in America show in October a few months before opening.
Jason: And you’re wholesaling as well as selling retail?
Dan: That’s correct. Wholesale is new right now but we have retailers set up all over the country at brick & mortar stores and we’re also going direct to consumer.
Jason: From the feedback I’ve read online, people seem to love the product and the price along with it being American made and innovative.
Dan: It’s very cool, we’re doing all kinds of custom hammers for people–whether it’s a political statement, a patriotic statement, a personal name, company name, logo, you name it. So there’s a real interest in that. It’s very cool that they can get their pictures printed and popped on the hammer.
Jason: Well, I’m excited to share your story with the audience. It seems like you’re not selling out to ‘big box retailers’ and staying true to small American business.
Dan: Yes, we’re making it happen and down the road we’ll hopefully have something even more than we have today. I’ve got friends that own brick & mortar and their complaint is that they can’t compete with the prices at big box stores like Lowes. So I told Lowes, I can’t partner with them unless we do not sacrifice quality & pricing and sell out our other distributors and partners in the process. They seem open to further talks after I shared this. I’m excited for Boss Hammer to attend Made in America this year so I can make some more connections with suppliers and retailers.
R&M Engineering not iron hand. I made all the prototypes and molds. Our firm did all the design work.
This is a good thing what does the square head do for me vs. round head? Also do you need invester?