Sledgehammer

A sledgehammer is a tool with a large, flat, often metal head, attached to a lever (or handle). The size of its head allows a sledgehammer to apply more force than other hammers of similar size. Along with the mallet, it shares the ability to distribute force over a wide area. This is in contrast to other types of hammers, which concentrate force in a relatively small area.

Etymology

The word sledgehammer is derived from the Anglo Saxon "slægan", which, in its first sense, means "to strike violently". The English words "slag", "slay", and "slog" are cognates.

Uses

The handle can range from 50 centimetres (1 ft 8 in) to a full 1 metre (3 ft 3 in) long, depending on the mass of the head. The head mass is usually 1 to 3 kilograms (2.2 to 6.6 lb). Modern heavy duty sledgehammers come with 10 to 20 pounds (4.5 to 9.1 kg) heads. Sledgehammers usually require two hands and a swinging motion involving the entire torso, in contrast to smaller hammers used for driving in nails. The combination of a long swinging range, and heavy head, increase the force of the resulting impact.

Sledgehammer (disambiguation)

A sledgehammer is a large manual impact tool which has a metal head distinguishing it from a mallet with head made of softer material.

Sledgehammer or Sledge Hammer may also refer to:

Entertainment

Music

Film

Television

Games

Persons

Military operations

Dave Matthews

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David John "Dave" Matthews (born January 9, 1967) is a South African-born American singer-songwriter, musician and actor, best known as the lead vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist for the Dave Matthews Band. Matthews was born in Johannesburg, South Africa and moved to Westchester County, New York at the age of 2. Matthews mainly plays acoustic guitar, which he started playing at age 9.

From 1991 to 2003, Matthews predominantly focused on songwriting and performing with the Dave Matthews Band, which he started in Charlottesville, Virginia in 1991. Since then, he has also done various solo performances and produced other records. During the period from 2000 to 2010, his band sold more tickets and earned more money than any other act in North America. The band's most recent album, Away from the World, released in 2012, made them the only group to have six consecutive studio albums debut at number one on the Billboard charts.

Dave Matthews Band

Dave Matthews Band (often abbreviated to DMB) is an American rock band that was formed in Charlottesville, Virginia in 1991. The founding members were singer-songwriter and guitarist Dave Matthews, bassist Stefan Lessard, drummer/backing vocalist Carter Beauford and saxophonist LeRoi Moore. Boyd Tinsley was added to the band as a violinist soon after the band was formed. Moore died suddenly in August 2008 due to complications from injuries sustained in an ATV accident. Grammy Award-winner Jeff Coffin (of Béla Fleck and the Flecktones) has since filled Moore's spot as the band's saxophonist. Rashawn Ross and Tim Reynolds have also become full-time touring members of the band. The band's 2009 album Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King (the first album since Moore's death) debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, earning the band their fifth consecutive number-one debut. Their most recent album, Away from the World, released in 2012, debuted at number one on the Billboard chart — making them the only group to have six consecutive studio albums debut in the top spot. As of 2010, the Dave Matthews Band has sold over 30 million records worldwide.

David Rasche

David Rasche (born August 7, 1944) is an American theater, film and television actor who is best known for his portrayal of the title character in the 1980s satirical police sitcom Sledge Hammer!. Since then he has often played characters in positions of authority, in both serious and comical turns.

Early life

Rasche was born in St. Louis, Missouri. His father was a minister and farmer.

Rasche received a graduate degree from the University of Chicago and also worked as a teacher and writer, including several years at Gustavus Adolphus College in Minnesota.

Early career

Rasche was at one time a member of Chicago's Second City improvisation group.

After Second City, he starred in the Organic Theater's 1974 production of David Mamet's Sexual Perversity in Chicago, which established the playwright's characteristic blend of earthy, sometimes brutal dialogue.

In 1974, he invested $1,000 to help start Victory Gardens Theater in Chicago.

He began appearing on television and films in 1977, making his film debut in 1978 in An Unmarried Woman, directed by Paul Mazursky. The following year, he had a small part in Woody Allen's Manhattan.