An apparatus comprising gripping member connected to a shaft member and in communication with a hammer member disposed on said shaft member, the hammer member including a lockable member adapted for immobilizing the hammer member on the shaft member. Advantageously, since the hammer member is lockable on the shaft and serves as a handle, and also since a wide range of instruments are attachable to gripping member, this apparatus and its use thereof eliminates the awkwardness and inefficiency inherent with prior art apparatus and procedures for inserting and retracting instruments as, for example, in inserting and retracting surgical instruments in a body in a surgical procedure.