Originally posted by Gunther Ultrabolt Novacrunch:

It doesn't bother you. But its bothered me...and now my friend is having frustrations with it.

Its easy once you've got 700 hours in..i've finally gotten used to it. I still feel its unecessary.

Necessary or not, it is a pretty minor issue. I only just started playing and have about 70 hrs (not 700) invested in the game. I sometimes forget to unequip crafting hammer, but just hitting any hotbar unequips immediately.

Step 1) Try to open chest
Step 2) hit number 1 on keyboard and equip shield
Step 3) Open chest

I am not trying to be mocking here, but the game does have a few issues that need to be addressed before release. I just don;t think this one is that big.