Hammer Axe Bowling Ball - Black/Smoke

I drilled a Hammer Axe. It is a 3 piece ball (not 3 piece pancake) with a "low friction reactive" cover. I put it on the Haus machine and let it run for one minute on the diamond cutters. I have thrown this on slightly used THS. In that this was a 3 piece ball, I used the same layout as I do on my spare ball, 5/8th positive and 3/4 thumb. I can also see why this can be an effective alternative to urethane or other slow absorption balls. The Axe, at this surface, reads very early and makes a very gradual move to the pocket. It does provide that very slow response, control type of motion that urethane offers. The photo shows, as expected, how little track flare there is. I will want to do a little compare and contrast against the new Purple Hammer 78D and an original Purple Hammer to see the exact differences. One thing, in all honesty, that I did notice and this is probably a function of 3 piece low friction reactive v. 2 piece urethane as well as being older with a declining rev rate, the ball definitely is "quieter" going through the pins and doesn't get the light off hits as effectively. Personally speaking, for me to get the Axe to work, I need to be higher on the headpin in order to see effective and consistent carry.

I gave this ball 5 stars because it does exactly what it's supposed to do, it goes pretty darn straight for picking up spares. In the past year I have gone through about 4 plastic spare balls. The problem is plastic has a very hard & brittle surface. I throw the ball fairly hard, and I throw it pretty end over end at my corner pins and sometimes it will roll over fingers or my thumb and plastic cracks and breaks. The idea behind the Axe is to use a harder, more durable low friction reactive resin and polish to come up with a more durable spare ball. So far so good and on those rare conditions where everything is hooking off the lane, I can see putting this into play as a strike ball. I like it.

I figured it was time for a new spare ball and being a retired Firefighter, what better than the AXE. The Axe utilizes a low friction pearl coverstock with polish, which creates a straighter path for your spare game. And it does just that! The Axe comes in three different color combinations and is available now. The Axe may be the ball for your first time bowlers or your senior bowlers, too!