Modified Store-Bought and Handmade Hammers

[Rick Marchand]

I would like to see other folks contribute to this thread with pics and explanations behind the making of their own hammers.:thumbup:

Over the years, my family of hammers has grown in both number and diversity. Most of them have been modified from old sledges and mauls. Here are the two most recent additions. They are basically rounding hammers... one side flat and one side rounded. The flat side has rounded edges to facilitate the Hofi-style hammer technique I use. The round side is not a sphere but rather a squished ball. I swiped the concept from Brian Brazeal. It allows you to tilt the head to achieve various diameter peen sizes. As with the Hofi approach, the length of the handle is around 9-10" under the head. I hold it approximately in the middle and find the shorter handle to work well for me. I had never really considered rounding hammers to be applicable to bladesmithing but I gotta tell ya, these things move metal well... and the control is out the wazoo! There is no "one hammer to rule them all" but these have become my go to swingers. The larger one is 1600g(3.5lbs) and the other is 1000g(2.2lbs).





Here is a great video of Brian Brazeal using his rounding hammer. He isn't using it to make a blade but it shows the versatility of the design.(you might need to turn up your volume)

[video=youtube;pCiMitLk5GI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCiMitLk5GI[/video]

 

[Czechmate]

Awesome hammers & video Rick!

Saved my spot for my modded hammer... :thumbup: Here it is:

Finally got it posted! This is a little 2 1/2 pound hammer I got from Canadian Tire for $6 bucks on sale. I added the overstrike collar made from a section of 1/2" copper plumbing pipe that I split down the middle flattened and then wrapped around the handle; it's secured with tacks. The middle section is sisal twine wrap coated in epoxy and the bottom is a rubbery slip on grip that's epoxied on as well.

Super solid and fun to hit stuff with. I've only used it a couple times on my mini anvil though as I don't really have a good setup for forging (need to rebuild my first attempt at a forge... :foot and need more time to do it!

 

[Willie71]

Thank you for this. My forging journey started a few weeks ago. Two simple blades and one damascus 1st weld at this time only so far. I can use all the help I can get.

 

[Salem Straub]

A couple of mine that I'll mention- I took an 8 lb. splitting maul, torch cut the edge off, and re-worked it into a big straight peen for breaking down big stock back when I did not have a power hammer. Worked well! I had an odd little double jack with long ends, cut off the worse end and did some grinding- got a 2 lb. cutler's hammer for finishing out of it. Both of them got purpleheart handles, it was all I had to make handles from for a while after my stash of oak pallet lumber dried up.

Other than that, I have been very fortunate to find three very nice cross peen hammers over the years, second hand. A 2.5# for fine work, and two at about 4# each- one with a very flat face/sharper peen, one with a longer handle and slightly more crowned face/milder peen. I use them interchangeably depending on what I'm working on and how I feel at the moment.

Most second hand hammers can be improved quite a lot with just a little time crowning and polishing the flat face, and a little time modifying the radius of the cross or straight peen.

 

[rustyboy]

I always wanted to try a sawyers hammer be because i had been a fan of offset japanese hammers. Never able to afford or find one i decided to make one out at storm crows work shop. It was a cut little 2 pounder. After we made that one i found a 3lb atkins sawyer on ebay for 60 bucks, bought and proceed to use those two hammers almost exclusively for 2 yrs. Then may tool bag was stolen from my truck so not only did i lose the hammers i lost my favorite sets of tongs as well. after much crying i got off my duff and decided to make some new hammers.

This i my personal hammer. It's 3 lbs made of 4140 and what i do most of my general forging with.

Then i went a little hammer crazy and decided to make some to trade for cash.

the larger are 2 1/2 lbs and the smaller are 1 1/2 made of 1045.
I know eric fritz has one and so does mardi the other two i cant remember who got those.

Then i made this one as part of a trade for mardi's large spear.

8lbs of 4140. Hey i only make what the customer wants, but it's a beast. Left it with a flat face and just softened the edges.

I still use the 4lb cross peen i started with for the heavy duty stuff, it has a nice round face. I also use a re-handled 8lb sledge for moving a lot of steel.

As far has hammer technique i use a modified hofi/stormcrow approach. Basically its wrapping the thumb and index finger around the handle and using the hammer in a whipping motion with the remaining fingers. For the drummers out there its a controlled single stroke roll with a very tip heavy stick. And the great thing is you can use this technique on real anvils and ASO with almost the same result. As a bonus it also relieves stress on the elbow and shoulder so you can forge longer.

I teach the technique in my simple knifemaking class and you can tell who's doing it right because they're not sore at the end of class.

 

[Rick Marchand]

I am also a drummer, so the Hofi method made a lot of sense to me. After using it for a while, I was able to forge longer and more effectively. It's amazing how much more weight you can throw down faster when your hammer is moving linear as opposed to an arch. Sure, you can whip a long handled hammer pretty good on the down stroke.... but it is the up stroke that puts the most strain on your body. Anyway... it works for me.

 

[rustyboy]

Exactly, that's one of the things i like about the hofi method, it's all about the economy of movement. An why i like sawyer hammers, it takes that economy of movement and adds more force behind it by putting the mass of the hammer out front.
And forging with such short bursts you see why file makers hammers are so heavy yet have a small handle, because the handle is only a means to facilitate liner motion and nothin else.

 

[Rick Marchand]

Still, I know a lot of great smiths who hunch over the anvil and swing like they are trying to beat down a rabid pitbull. I recently met a 4th generation Master Blacksmith who doesn't approve of the Hofi method. He doesn't seem any worse for wear. I just couldn't do it and had to change something.

 

[Storm Crow]

It helps when you have a team of sasquatch strikers wielding 16 pound sledgehammers in each hand, though, doesn't it Rick?

That gigantic sawyer's hammer that now belongs to Mardi Meshejian was a booger deluxe to forge. I had a name for it that is not fit for polite company. It doesn't look as big in that picture as it is in real life. That's a 148 lb. Peter Wright it's sitting on.

Mardi is a hoot to hang out with. He definitely marches to the beat of his own bagpipe. I was the transporter of the spear going from the Denver Custom Knife Show last year to Tobin in San Antonio.





For point of reference, I stand 6' 2". Yes, it is all integral, all patternwelded.

 

[Rick Marchand]

Looks a tiny bit tip heavy, James.

I'd trade any one of those striker 'squatches in my shop for you in a heartbeat, bud. Just clean up first, K?

 

[rustyboy]

the tip is slightly thin actually haha thin tip.

 

[Czechmate]

Added my hammer picture as promised... :thumbup:

Great stuff above.