Good Morning Lin! can't wait to see you hammer, I use my old trusty Swedish pattern hammer 1500 ( 3.3 #) The head is polished and buffed, an old blacksmith friend told me to sand and buff it so it would not leave marks in your work! It helps, Ray

This past fall/winter I picked up a few fun hammers. Probably my most often picked up hammer recently has been a Hofi 3 lb. cast hammer (on the left) and if my arm is getting tired I also have a 2.2 lb forged version. (on the right)

Let's see,.....Alan uses 3 lb, Ray uses 3.3, and I use 2 lb.

I'm a wimp!

Wow Lin! That's beautiful. Seriously, it's a work of art! I can see the usefulness in the two different ends too. Looks like one end is for finessing the drop at the ricasso and the other is for moving steel efficiently.

Are you planning to make more to sell?

BTW, it's not the size of your hammer that counts... It's what you can accomplish with it that matters!

Rick

Thanks Rick. No, I wont be making them to sell. I'd go broke. Takes me too long. Yes, one end is for drawing and the other is pretty flat. This one is about 4 inches from outside of face to outside of face. I'll try to make the next one at least 5 inches to increase the weight and the impact per sq inch, but about the same face size and shape. I'll use this one for a few blades and see what else I might want to change on the bigger one.

I like a long handle in my hammers. I have a Tom Clack hammer similar to Alan's and really like it, but the handle has always seemed too short for me. I like 4-5 inches past my hand. I think the longer handle makes it easier to use.

Thanks Lin!

I forgot to ask... What steel did you use to make the hammer head? What HRC are you shooting for? High 40's to low 50's

I ask because I have some 5160 in 1 1/2" round stock that I was thinking of making a hammer head with.

Thanks!

Rick

This was from a piece of a drive shaft off of some heavy equipment, not a car type. 2 1/4 solid with keyways milled in the ends. Nearest I can figure, it's 4130 or 4140, but I may be off some on the steel. What I did was to thermocycle it and harden each face, then draw it back till it would cut with a file. I did a triple draw thinking it might help since its so thick in comparison to blades. In my way of tinking the thermocycle would be very important on a hammer.

Thanks again Lin! I can't wait to hear how it works for you. Please keep us posted.

Rick

Wow, Lin. That hammer head looks great! I like the looks of the hammmers that Allen has too.

I've got a whole bunch of hammers that I use. Guess I need to take some pictures of them. <img src=' http://www.americanbladesmith.com/ipboard/public/style_emoticons//smile.gi f' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' />

Now that is a good looking hammer Lin. I like it, a lot. My everyday using hammer is a Vaughan 3 lb blacksmiths crosspein, very nice hammer. I also have a german pattern 4 lb. My favorite hammer is an old Mongomery Wards 2.5 lb crosspein, like 50 years old with a long handle. I am like Steve, I guess I will have to take pictures as I have a number of them. I tend to favor the crosspein style, but would like to try a japanese style hammer.

Brion

Very nice hammer Lin!

|quoted:

Let's see,.....Alan uses 3 lb, Ray uses 3.3, and I use 2 lb.

I'm a wimp!

My three pounder is actually my big hammer. The other hammers I tend to use are around 2.5 lbs. I can get tired with the 3 pounder, but things go faster. However, with the 2.5 lb and less hammers I can hammer for a long time without getting too tired.

Heck Lin Diane uses a 2 1/2 pound hammer. Just kidding, but she does. Here are my main hammers. From left to right. The german pattern 4 lb, the Vaughan 3 lb, Wards OLD 2.5 lb, 1 lb crosspein for straightening, and a 1/2 lb for detail work. All just standard crosspeins.

Brion

Now Brian....do you have to point that out? <img src=' http://www.americanbladesmith.com/ipboard/public/style_emoticons//rolleyes.gi f' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':rolleyes:' /> I said I'm trying to work up to 3 lbs. Just give me time.

That's a nice selection of crosspiens. I prefer straight piens, but I have to have a cross pien for some things.

I do 95% of my forging with a two pound sledgehammer. I have heavier hammers, all the way up to 16 lbs, if I need them, but the two pounder sees most of the work. I think control is more important than weight and a heavier hammer can be harder to control.

Dale