Sledge Hammers!

[Miller '72]

L to R
3 Vaughan...claw, ball and framers

Middle two
Falls City claw and True Temper rock hammer

Two cross wedged no makers marks

 

[Meek1]

L to R
3 Vaughan...claw, ball and framers

Middle two
Falls City claw and True Temper rock hammer

Two cross wedged no makers marks

Very nice rep of Vaughan! And that TT rock hammer is awesome! But my heart belongs to that big cross at the end! I love that hammer! I gotta go saling right now!!!!

 

[Old Axeman]

What you are calling a rock hammer is actually a brick masons hammer, and a very nice one!

 

[Miller '72]

What you are calling a rock hammer is actually a brick masons hammer, and a very nice one!

Thank you for that. I had that feeling it wasnt a rock hammer, that it was a more specific tool...but nothing else was coming to mind when i posted it up this morning. I just went with it
Thanks again @oldaxeman

 

[Miller '72]

7¾" total length
3¼lbs total

 

[the-accumulator]

It's not a sledgehammer, but what it is, I don't know. I've owned it for years, and still can't even come up with any good guesses.
The triangular part spins freely and shows no signs of having ever been used to strike anything. It's very light weight and delicate, suggesting to me that it might have something to do with jewelry making or clock/watch repair. Anybody ever seen anything like it? Thanks for looking. T-A

 

[Old Axeman]

It is a glazier's (as in window glass) hammer. I have, and used, one exactly like yours in historic window restoration. If you use it correctly it will never leave any sign of striking anything with the hammer. For a look at one in use look at the USDA Forest Service training video "These Old Cabin Windows" These glazier's hammers, in usable condition like yours, are very hard to find.

 

[Square_peg]

I learned something new today. You use these to drive glaziers tacks? I always struggled with a wide slotted screw driver. You break it, you fix it was the rule at our house. Sears or Woolworths would cut the glass for you cheap. My childhood home had true divided lights throughout. Over 500 individual panes. And with 5 boys we busted a lot of them. I bet all that old glazing was full of asbestos.

 

[the-accumulator]

It is a glazier's (as in window glass) hammer.

My wife came the closest. She guessed that it was used to strike something while sliding against a flat surface. I've rebuilt a dozen or so double-hung windows in an 1876 home we used to own, but I never used a Glazer's hammer. I wonder if I owned this tool at the time...I can't remember. Thanks for steering me straight. What did we do before the internet? T-A

 

[Old Axeman]

I remember that the glazier's hammer part of the training video is about 3/4 of the way through. It's been 25 yrs and the memory is not what it once was. I know that we filmed the hammer being used to drive the points. Yes to the asbestos question combined with lead paint on the wood sash. Be careful, I wish I had known then what I know now.

 

[Yankee Josh]

That is interesting! I learned something too.. I thought for sure it was a one off! Nope!

 

[Square_peg]

Lee Valley still sells them.
https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/sho...framing/51854-picture-framing-glaziers-hammer

 

[the-accumulator]

Here are a few more hammers I rediscovered while sorting and rearranging some of my old tools:


First, a boat builder's caulking hammer, the head is either ebony or lignum vitae:


As I understand, the slice through the middle of the head reduces vibration. Then a hand forged but never used, unmarked rock hammer:

And here's a very crudely forged tack hammer made from a farrier's rasp:


And finally a precision made ball peen hammer I suspect was made by a borrd machinist. Notice the hollow handle for storing who knows what??

See one more image on the next page.

 

[the-accumulator]

If you haven't already been there, go to the previous page for the beginning of my story. Next time I'll know I can only put ten images on a page.
Each of these four tools intrigues me and for different reasons. Each feels great in my hand and transports me to a different time and a different place.if these tools could only talk... Thanks for joining me on my journey.
Almost forgot measurements: caulking 17" x 14 1/2", rock 15 1/2 x 11 1/2, tack 11 3/8 x 4, ball peen 11 3/8 x 3 3/4.
T-A

 

[Square_peg]

And finally a precision made ball peen hammer I suspect was made by a borrd machinist.

I've seen hammers made like that lying on machinist benches. It was a common thing for machinists to do at a local Boeing plant I was working in.

 

[Hickory n steel]

I've seen hammers made like that lying on machinist benches. It was a common thing for machinists to do at a local Boeing plant I was working in.

I have only ever seen little ones which often contain a center punch or similar inside, but this one sure is much larger.

 

[jake pogg]

My outside,firewood wedge-driving 6-lb-er is taking a crap...It was a good,old US-made one(want to say Atha or something),and i'm surprised at this state of things...I've not abused it Too badly,nor is it the super low temps problem,as when it's cold i use a maul,no pint bothering with wedges.



While at it i figured i'll take a photo of my other sledges.On the left is a 6# Plumb i was gifted not too long ago,and hafted uber short.
As is my other,forge-dwelling 10#,i choke up on them completely,so no use for longer handles.
Nice old USA-made tools,it's sad when for some reason one meets their demise.

I doubt i'd want to re-use steel from that fractured one,the possibility of micro-fractures throughout is too great.

 

[Driller]

Here's my Thor inspired 8 pound sledge. 12 inch leather wrapped shaft.

Got Popeye sized forearms? You'll need it with this!

That's a nice one a bit on the heavy side.
I like that leather wrap. How do you think a leather wrap would hold out in extreme oily & dusty conditions?

 

[Driller]

And my (lately) most-used hammer...a 2-lb (I think) hammer on a short handle. Great for lots of little and big chores. The short handle allows for good control. I think this is called a drilling hammer, but I have no idea why. The pic is pre-cleanup and oiling, but it looks great now, even though the handle is slated for replacement (it's pretty cracked up at the base). No stamp.

 

[Miller '72]

On The Money!