[Glenn]

The following is an email rec'd from Johannes Angele of Germany. I wish to extend my sincere gratitude to him for giving us permission to use the Haberman hammer and other copyrighted photos on IForgeIron and this post.



Johannes Angele
I was a lot together with Alfred Habermann and can tell you about his hammer.
Habermann was born in 1930. He is a member of the German population in Czechoslovakia. His father had to be a soldier in the German army during world war 2 and he died there.

So Alfred made his apprenticeship with his grandfather. This family has a long tradition in blacksmithing.

Round about the age of 14 when Alfred needed a hammer for forging, his grandfather told him to make his own hammer. And he tought him how to do it. It is this very hammer that Alfred kept with him all his life, took it always with him. The two photos I add to this e-mail show this original hammer.

Compared with the common German blacksmithing hammer, the Habermann hammer is shorter, the face is bowed, the corners are rounded, the peen has a plane part. The Hofi hammer is almost the same size and shape but with one big difference: The material that is pushed out when making the hole for the handle is not taken away, the hammer is not straightened or planned. This material makes the hammer higher or thicker in the axis of the handle.

This means that more material is in the axis or in the center of gravity. This makes the hammer more balanced. You don't need to accelerate as much mass when moving the hammer.

Habermann used this system also for his repousse hammers (see other photo). But not for his famous blacksmithing hammer. We do not know the reason.

We are now producing the Habermann hammer in license of Habermann as a drop forged hammer. It is the one you see in our shop.

Do not hesitate to ask if you have other questions.

Mit freundlichen Gruessen
Johannes Angele