A hand held hammer includes a handle incorporating a series of outwardly extending pegs providing gripping power between the user's hands and the handle. In some embodiments, the pegs are spaced far enough part to make it overly painful to swing the hammer bare handed. In some embodiments, the cumulative surface area of the pegs occupy less than 8% of the surface area of the handle. The pegs may be embedded in a plastic handle, captivated to the exterior of a conventional handle or may comprise an integral part of a plastic handle.