Sledge Hammers!

I re-handled grandpa's 16 oz Stanley Ball Pein hammer. Not sure if the electrical tape on it was for the handle crack or over-strike protection, but I put blue paracord on it for over-strike.

This was the first time attempting this, so I watched a few videos. The one person talked about the handle grain pattern needing to be parallel to the head. Other said this did not matter. In the one video the person mentioned not cracking the handle in their attempt, so I ordered 2 handles. One had the grain parallel to the head, the other perpendicular. The perpendicular had the better feel on the coating, but I went with the parallel head. It came out okay, but the wooden wedge they supplied was greenish. Think that may be poplar. Went to put the steel wedge in at an angle and it started to twist as it drove in. Guessing the poplar, or kerf cut in the handle, caused that to happen so I did not bother trying to take it out, and the steel wedge is now in partial place of the wooden wedge. Will see about taking some pictures.

Had I to do this again, I would grab the battery powered Dremel and do most of the handle top profiling with it. Using a file (like in the videos I watched) was time consuming.

Miller '72 · Sep 28, 2020

Meek1 · Sep 30, 2020

Miller '72 said:
I love this hammer!!!!!!!

Sharp Steel · Sep 30, 2020

Do the hammers that have been cleaned up in the last few posts have a forced patina with vinegar? Just wondering how they are blackened. When I cleaned the rust off of the ball pein I left it shiny, but there were some darker spots where the old coating was still present. Ran some Flitz polish over it before mounting the new handle, but wonder if I should have tried to blacken the surface to prevent new rust.

Miller '72 · Oct 2, 2020

Sharp Steel said:
Do the hammers that have been cleaned up in the last few posts have a forced patina with vinegar? Just wondering how they are blackened. When I cleaned the rust off of the ball pein I left it shiny, but there were some darker spots where the old coating was still present. Ran some Flitz polish over it before mounting the new handle, but wonder if I should have tried to blacken the surface to prevent new rust.

I carefully cleaned leaving the patina from its age and use as best i could.
- I dont use vinegar-

junkenstien · Oct 5, 2020

Silly Rabbit · Oct 8, 2020

got tired of chewing up the handle of my other mini sledge so I went to the bay and picked up what seems to be a fairly indestructible implement, helluva tool so far

jblyttle · Oct 16, 2020

IMG_20201016_121413 by Justin Lyttle, on Flickr

IMG_20201016_121420 by Justin Lyttle, on Flickr

IMG_20201016_121426 by Justin Lyttle, on Flickr

IMG_20201016_121429 by Justin Lyttle, on Flickr

IMG_20201016_121432 by Justin Lyttle, on Flickr

IMG_20201016_121437 by Justin Lyttle, on Flickr

IMG_20201016_121443 by Justin Lyttle, on Flickr

IMG_20201016_121447 by Justin Lyttle, on Flickr

jblyttle · Nov 9, 2020

IMG_20201028_111511 by Justin Lyttle, on Flickr

IMG_20201028_132114 by Justin Lyttle, on Flickr

IMG_20201028_132128 by Justin Lyttle, on Flickr

IMG_20201028_132130 by Justin Lyttle, on Flickr

IMG_20201028_132120 by Justin Lyttle, on Flickr

oldblu · Nov 10, 2020

Miller '72 said:
I carefully cleaned leaving the patina from its age and use as best i could.

Hi, When you say “carefully cleaned” what does this entail.
Is there a post on this subject?
Thanks, Bill

Hickory n steel · Nov 11, 2020

oldblu said:
Hi, When you say “carefully cleaned” what does this entail.
Is there a post on this subject?
Thanks, Bill

Use a wire wheel to remove the rust, don't bear down and you'll remove only the rust leaving the dark aged finish of the steel like you see in this thread.

The benefit is it looks good and is distinguished from something brand new, they don't rust as easy, and it takes much less time.
Plus you don't have to worry about removing stamps and such if you were trying to get it really shiny looking.