does a hammer work or do I actually need a crimping tool ? there pretty proud of them 140$ and shipping

Yes a hammer will work? But the proper tool for crimping ferrules & stops on cable is a Swager!!!!
A good bench swager with a cable cutter on it is a pleasure to operate and your connections will be stronger also. I Like Snares!!!!

You can get a handheld swager for 20-30$ from any store that sells fencing supplies. Bit more cumbersome than a hammer or bench swager though.

Vevor 24 inch bench swagger/cable cutter (new) $62 free shipping
They sell them new on eBay

Or Google vevor tools and on their actual site there a little more

Seems like the initial response is swager over hammer.
Is there a reason other than ease/more satisfying to operate?

Hammer is rough on your elbows when your making a lot of snares at one time.

Somebody had a thread on rigging up a handheld swager like a bench mount, thought I book marked it but not having any luck finding it

I have a set of hand swagers, about the size of 18" bolt cutters. Serves my purpose but if I was going to do a lot of swaging I would invest in the bench mount

Found it

https://trapperman.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/8048094/Searchpage/1/Main/573434/Words/%2Bgenius/Search/true/re-swagger-crimping-tool#Post8048094

Not really, hammer will make just as strong of a product. If you look around on this site there are arguments over it, with some claiming hammering or hammering and then using a flathead screwdriver to give it an extra "spike" in the middle are stronger than swagged connections. Others argue the other way around. Either works fine, hammering is fast and easy, but not as easy and fast as a bench swager, and a handheld swager is even more portable than a hammer because you don't have to find something to use as an anvil.

A properly crimped stop or ferrule with a swager has the same strength as the cable. Example: if the cable is rated at 950 pounds the properly crimped ferrule or stop will be 950 pounds.

yes it will work but I much prefer swagged... You can get brand new vevor bench swagger from eBay for $62... cant beat that

Never had a problem with the hammer

The strength of a swagged ferrule comes from matching the round wire with the round grip of a ferrule without significantly flattening the cable. With that said, there is not a coyote on this planet able to pull the cable through a hammered ferrule.

Hammering works. It sucks to do it that way and I'll never go back after buying a bench swagger. Don't believe anyone who tells you one way or the other works better for holding power if done properly, both methods will hold equally well.

$62 bench swagger --> click here

Cable ferrules are designed to achieve a set specification of crimp for maximum hold. Think overhead lifting in construction applications. To achieve this they need 360° compression to fully deform into the cable lay.

Now that said we aren't asking our snares to operate at near maximum stress so a hammer works just fine for what we do. But you'll get better and more consistent results using the proper tools as designed.

BTW, proper spec calls for two or more crimps per ferrule based on ferrule/cable size and there is a specified order in how they are done.

Also use the right ferrule for cable type. Stainless requires copper never aluminum. Aluminum and stainless can set up galvanic corrosion.

what is the specified order in how they are done ? thanks

Not positive what you are asking but I crimp stops twice, and double ferrules 3 times, middle then both ends. Basically crimp the whole thing. No matter if its a stop or ferrule.

So for the "only have a hammer crowd", is there a correct process?
I just made some extensions the other day and just hammered it flat with an engineer hammer.
Hoping I didn't mess anything up.

You got it

theres a process..

1.put cable through ferrule
2.place ferrule on anvil
3.swing hammer at ferrule.
4,swear after sending ferrule across shop
5.repeat steps 1-4 until successfully hitting ferrule until its flat
6. swear after grabbing hot ferrule.