Glossary
ball-peen hammer
A ball-peen hammer has a flat face on one end and a rounded ball head on the other. It is a metalworking hammer: the flat face drives punches and chisels, and the ball peens metal.
A ball-peen hammer has a flat face on one end and a rounded ball-shaped head on the other. It is a metalworking tool rather than a carpenter's: the flat face drives punches, chisels and center punches, while the ball end is used for peening.
Peening means striking metal to spread it and shape it — rounding a rivet head, closing a seam, or work-hardening a surface. The ball face concentrates the blow into a small area so the metal moves where you want it to, which is why a flat face will not do the same job.
The contrast a question is looking for is with a claw hammer, which has a claw for pulling nails and is meant for wood, while a ball-peen hammer has no claw at all and is meant for metal. A soft-faced mallet is the third member of that family, used where the work must not be marked by the blow.
Taught in
Related terms
- claw hammer — A claw hammer has a flat face for driving nails and a curved two-pronged claw for pulling them out. The claw works as a lever to multiply your pull.
Source: Official ASVAB — subtest descriptions (what each subtest asks) and the CAT-ASVAB scored-question counts (accessed 2026-09)