Slim The Hammer Man Archives - www.oldtimestrongman.com

The Mighty Atom ~ Biter of Steel!

Posted on Tuesday, October 31st, 2017 by John Wood

The Mighty Atom supposedly had a set of teeth that were twice as thick as a normal person. Sure seems like that’s the case since he could easily bite nails and chain links in half as if they were no more than bread sticks.

Slim The Hammer Man once told me a story that even he was skeptical of The Atom’s steel biting ability, so one day he asked The Atom to bite a nail in half in front of him. The Atom agreed without hesitation and picked a nail up from a nearby table to have a go. “Not so fast” said Slim, who then put that nail down and took another nail that he had inspected out of his pocket. Slim then physically placed the end of that nail between the Atom’s teeth “just in case.” Atom then bit down and with a loud “Crunch!” the nail was now in two pieces. There’s no getting around that one, The Atom was the real deal.

Slim’s New Hammer

Posted on Friday, March 10th, 2017 by John Wood

Several years ago, I found a huge old hammer. It needed a little work but overall was in decent shape. I had plans to refurbish it but never got around to it and since it was just gathering dust at my place, I decided to send it to someone who I knew would appreciate it: Slim The Hammer Man. I didn’t tell the old boy that it was coming either so getting a giant circus hammer in the mail made Slim’s day. Slim set to work, polishing it up and making it “show ready.” As you can see, he dug it — and I am honored that something of mine is worthy enough for a place in Slim’s training area.

The York Crusher in Action

Posted on Thursday, March 24th, 2016 by John Wood

“Mr. Nebraska” winner Andy Kush demonstrates the York Adjustable Crusher, a piece of equipment that is incredibly rare these days. Seems like everyone always saw the ads for them in Strength and Health but only a few saved up their paper route money to actually get one. If you are lucky enough to find one of these crushers, you’ll never get a better chest workout. The York Crusher is a favorite of Slim The Hammer Man.

The Hammer Man’s Hammers

Posted on Friday, November 21st, 2014 by John Wood

Took this shot a few years back at a special dinner honoring Slim the Hammer Man. That’s Slim’s Challenge Ax on the left followed by his two sledge hammers with their distinctive markings on the handles and chromed weights. They are sitting on Slim’s special oak carrying case. If those hammers could talk I bet they could tell some stories…

Slim The Hammer Man

Posted on Wednesday, June 19th, 2013 by John Wood

Slim The Hammer Man

A rare shot of Slim The Hammer Man doing his thing on the streets of New York, circa the early 1970’s. During a visit to Slim’s place I had a chance to try these very same hammers without any added weight and couldn’t budge them an inch – Slim was (and is) the real deal. There’s more to “Strength” than just sets and reps. As a protege of The Mighty Atom Slim learned how to channel his mental energy into physical strength~ a pretty unique skill to have. No one else has even come close to The Hammer Man’s records so it’s safe to say this is a skill that few people are in possession of…

Joseph Greenstein ~ The Mighty Atom

Posted on Saturday, May 26th, 2012 by John Wood

His real name was Joseph Greenstein but he was better known as “The Mighty Atom” …and he became one of the greatest known “Strongmen” of all time despite the fact that he stood only 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighed in at 140 pounds. As a young boy in Poland, young Joseph Greenstein was befriended by a Russian champion named Volanko, who taught him the secrets of strengthening his mind. as well as his body.

The Mighty Atom bent horseshoes, broke chains by chest expansion, bit nails in two, held back airplanes and even once stopped a bullet… The Atom’s student Slim “The Hammer Man” Farman also went on to perform strength amazing feats of strength, many of which will never be duplicated.