There ways to find out call S&W may be they will tell you. Send a hammer to a lab for testing. Problem is it has to be a destructive test. Non destructive test won't tell what you want to know. As far as material goes what they use has a lot to with it For example in tool steel S7 has high shock resistance wear resistance fair. D2 has high wear resistance shock resistance is not very good. This type of steel is expensive it is used in stamping dies, forming tools and such. It all comes down to how much money you are willing to spend to find out.