Beginner Hammers (Weights and shapes)

[Diomedes Industries]

For those that have been doing this for... a while:


For beginners wanting to do a little hybrid knife making (Some forging - some stock removal). What hammers (Patterns and weights) would you suggest. I am 6-5" and can swing decent weight - but don't need to look cool or muscle anything. I want to hear from those who have been doing this on what they recommend in terms of where to start. Maybe 3 hammers as a starter set.

Thank you all so much!

 

[weo]

For knife making, a 2# - 2-1/2# cross pein is really all you need.
For general forging, I would add a similar sized rounding hammer, and to round out your request for 3 (and this is where I differ with many smiths I know) a 4#er.
When i teach my beginner classes, I recommend using as heavy a hammer that they can control when punching holes or using other top tools. This allows the weight of the hammer to do the work instead of trying to swing harder with a lighter hammer, because for beginners, swinging a hammer harder often leads to missed hits or moving the punch.

 

[A.McPherson]

I'd agree with weo but i'd add that I do most of my work with a rounding hammer that I made out of a 4lb engineers hammer. I like the short handle better for some reason...

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Pretty much the same. I use a 2.5# cross peen and a 2Kg (3#) Hoffi for 99% of all forging. I have a 1.5# dog's head I use for refined and small forging and other work.