Tools and Steel Supply Question

Cadillac86

Cadillac86

Joined
May 24, 2011
Messages
470
So now that I know I am enjoying this, I feel it's time to start investing. I don't have to worry about most of the power tools/Forge/Anvil at the moment. I thought the first thing I should do is get myself a set of hammers. The Peddinghaus Swiss hammers were recommended to me and I was thinking about getting the 900-2000g set from Blacksmith Depot for $145. Is it worth it or should I be looking at something different? (They also have Nordic hammers which I like the look of). I'm not tied down to a specific set yet, so was looking for other recommendations on a hammer set.

I plan on making my own tongs, so I'm not too worried about that.

Now one thing I want to do, and will be my next project, is a Hammer. I want to make a hammer for myself out of 4140. I have found 2" Round Bars of 4140 on onlinemetals but that is the only place I am finding it. I went through the sticky and got an error on the supplier list. Are there any recommendations on where to get 4140 for making a hammer?

What other things should I be thinking about? (I already have safety equipment for it).
 
If you intend to make a hammer later, I personally wouldn't spend a ton on the one you get now. A 2.5 LB engineer's hammer is a good all around hammer, and can be found most anywhere.
 
Kevin McGovern said:
If you intend to make a hammer later, I personally wouldn't spend a ton on the one you get now. A 2.5 LB engineer's hammer is a good all around hammer, and can be found most anywhere.
Click to expand...

That's kind of what I was thinking as well. Even if I only get one hammer to start though, I'd still like it to be a high quality one
 
Well i ordered a 1000g peddinghaus Nordic hammer. When working with tools, i always feel it's worth it to spend a little more for quality. I only got that one instead of the set and will forge the rest of my hammers! For some reason, as much as I love knives, I'm excited to make tools
 
I agree with Kevin. A 2.5lb engineer's or blacksmith's hammer can be found everywhere and are very effective for forging. A variety of commonly found hammers can work well or be modified to work well without breaking the bank. If I was just getting started out and had $150 or so to spend I'd take a serious look at a carbide faced file guide.
 
I've always wanted to make hammers, but I just don't have the tooling required to make one yet... You need a set of hammer tongs (easy to make), a punch, drift, and probably a matching top fuller and hardie fuller. Doing it by oneself isn't the easiest either, so either a striker or powerhammer is highly recommended. I ended up making one knife, selling it, and then buying a hand-forged rounding hammer. I absolutely love it! Of course I would like the hammer more if I made it, but I genuinely enjoy swinging it.
 
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