I framed for 15 years and sometimes used wafflehead, sometimes not. No real rhyme or reason, just used different hammers. When I started most everything was hand nailed and at age 16 I was spending 8 hour days just nailing out floor decks and roof decks. Just me and a hammer and an apron full of nails. Those old boys taught me how to drive nails fast, thats for sure.
Like others who clearly know have said, for framing nails they are fine. Not necessary but fine. But for smaller nails they actually cause the nails to bend. Nail head has to be big enough to always cover several points of the waffle or you will be cussing that waffle head hammer.

Waffle heads for driving fence staples. Have built a lot of fence and stapled many ground wires while framing power poles. Yup waffle head for that.

Fine for framing but not for finish work.

I know this is going to sound dumb , but waffle head is a must if the nails are wet.

I have hammers of both types.
Framing I use waffle head.
Finish work is a smooth head. Nobody wants waffle prints on their trim and other finished surfaces.

Estwing has been my go to since 80s when I used to build homes. Great hammers.

Jim

When I worked on a framing crew we all used them

I build house from the rough to finish. I have dozens of hammers (none waffled). I can see the utility, but once you start transitioning from framing to things like siding and fascia waffles leave horrible marks. I generally stick with one hammer in my bags. I like the familiarity

Driving a nail is almost a lost art. The guys I knew that were good at it wouldn't have been caught dead with a waffle hammer.

Probably a good chicken and waffles joke here somewhere, if I wasn't hammered. lol.

Lol

Waffle heads are framing hammers, usually 20 oz or heavier, and it grips a larger nail head better, like 10's/16's and up, so's you can swing it harder. Regular hammers, 16 oz and smaller, work just fine with a little practice.

I started working with wood and tools when I was 13 years of age. Worked as a carpenter about 14 years, building nice homes, remodeling, and doing some light commercial work.
Taught building construction at a tech high school, teaching kids to build houses for 23 years.
I would never purchase a waffle head. Why? I suggest using the same hammer for everything. I personally thought that changing hammers to do trim work was not for me. Back then carpenters used a hammer all day long when not cutting. A good hammer actually almost becomes part of you. When doing finish work you don’t want “elephant tracks” all over the trim.


As far as driving nails well, after a fashion you will get pretty good.
Most youngsters today work on jobs where nail guns rule. When teaching, kids wanted to go right to nail guns. I did not want any of my students not knowing how to drive nails the old fashioned way. It is not a natural skill set to most.

If you are going to drive many nails I recommend a Vaughan wooden handle nail hammers.
I was doing an office remodel for an orthopedic surgeon many years ago and they noticed I was using a wooden handle hammer. She commented that she had treated lots of carpenters in her career that had developed joint issues of various sorts of tools and she thought that wood handles were the best bet. I had already figured that out.