The Hofi Hammer - - The REAL story

[Mende]

I agree with Valentin. There is a lot more soul and energy put in something hand forged or hand made from start to finish then something that's been copied after a prototype and churned out in the thousands . .only for profit. I still would pay 10 times more for a hand forged ring from a gold smith than for a machine weaved gold chain from the jeweler.
I do not say that mass produced items are of poorer quality ( although some of them are . .think Japanese swords and knives) but they lack individuality and spiritual value.

[Glenn]

In 2008 many people no longer know how to harness a team of horses, or know the difference between a single tree and a double tree. Many people with a drivers license can not even drive a vehicle if it has a standard transmission. Times and technology change.

My point is the anvils were forged for many years. When the new technology of casting came along, that became the better way, and improved both the product and the price. We now see hammers being hand forged, machine made, and being cast. Most people do not know the difference. The craftsman that actually uses the tool to earn his living should know the difference, and choose the best tool for the job at hand. Again times and technology change. Use what works best for you.


These tongs were made by Strine of Oz.
If you are fortunate enough to own hand made tools, cherish them.

[firebug]

As far as the cast version of the hammer and the hand forged version of the hammer, I have both of them and like each one. I like the beauty of the hand forged hammer but always use the cast hammer. For some reason I like it better when it comes to forging. The difference between cast versus hand forged is more than beauty when it comes to TOOLS. Tools are used to produce work therefore the tolerances may need to be closer than can be achieved when free hand forging a tool. This can be the case with a hammer. When a hammer is forged you cannot get the metal exactly where you want it to go, it will be close but not as close as what can be achieved by casting it. When you are attempting to make a hammer that is as balanced as possible you will only achieve this with a cast hammer, in my opinion. Cast is the only way to precisely control the flow and placement of the steel, and therefore the weight and balance of the hammer. A hand forged vase is a static object not meant to be used to create other objects like a tool is used. This not only allows for variation from one vase to another but THAT is what makes it beautiful, a work of art. The individual variations and imperfections that make the vase a one of a kind can work against you when those same elements are incoporated into a tool. I am looking forward to Uri Hofi's new hammer. If it is any better than the 3 of his I already have I don't think I will be able to stand it.

On another note. The traditional way of doing things is not always the best. Hand forging a hammer is only one example. Many times it was hand forged because that was the only way to do it. If they had the technology that we have today 200 years ago, I am sure there would be 200 year old cast hammers. There is a saying," prove all things and keep that which is good". Just because it was always done that way does not mean it is the best way.

[rthibeau]

"Better" or "best" and other such terms used to compare one item to another are often used inappropriately and give a false sense of meaning. A hand tool has to be judged by the user. So there are as many judgements of better or best as there are people picking up the tool to use it. Production runs to be profitable tend towards those processes such as casting so a quantity of consistently similar tools can be made relatively quickly. But mass production also tends to limit choices of materials. A hammer can be hand forged from any grade steel the smith chooses to use and the size, weight, etc, can all be changed...or kept consistent...again as the smith chooses. Different markets, different processes. Professionally done, the finished product from either is equal to the other in practical use. Personal opinion of the user then influences the conversation.

[Mende]

I was not talking about whether a hand forged tool does a better job than a cast one. .I simply said that I, personally, consider a handmade tool more valuable than a serially produced one because I think there is more soul in the first one. Also I like seeing the imperfection of a tool . .It makes it unique as no hand made object can be identical to the next. That can't be said for mass produced stuff that are only copies of a prototype.

When it comes to working performance I will always choose a good tool from a reputable brand and not use one I bodged up ..

[Glenn]

This post was originally made by Tom Clark on July 4, 2008. The delay in posting is due to my contacted Tom by phone to clarify some of the information. He made changes and emailed me the post below.


Hofi hammer, the real story part 2.


I first met Hofi in 1994 at the ABANA conference in St. Louis. The weather was miserably hot and he was filling in one day for Paul Zimmerman. I was really impressed with his ability to move iron. I asked the 1996 conference in New York to have him as a demonstrator. He was there with three of his helpers from Israel and his demo was very good. I was so impressed that I wanted to share his knowledge throughout the U.S. so, I arranged for him to come back to the U.S. in 1997 where I invited blacksmiths from all over the United States to come and take a class with him. In all there were 36 people from 23 states, as I remember. I rented a building and set up 12 forging stations for 4 weeks of classes. I was so impressed with the outcome that I asked him if I built a school would he come two times a year and teach. He said yes so, I built the Ozark School of Blacksmithing.

In the beginning Hofi was really high on Alfred Habbermann. He told me that he had brought him to his school in Israel two or three times and he had learned the Habermann style of forging from Alfred. When he started to make hammers, they would duplicate the process of Habermann and Hofi chose to widen the eye to accommodate a bigger rectangular handle, but he incorporated the Habermann style of forging. So, not only is the hammer important, but also the technique in using the hammer.

I am a firm believer in passing on the credit where credit is due and I learned a lot from Hofi. I learned to make hand hammers from Hofi. I could follow Hofi’s lead and call my hammers the Tom Clark hammer, but I don’t have that type of ego. I prefer to call it the balanced hammer. The difference in our hand hammers is that my hand hammers are truly balanced and the cross peen of his is almost always over forged leaving less weight on the peen side of the hammer for proper balance. Proper balance is when the same amount of weight is on both sides of the centerline on the handle. Consequently the peen has to be longer as there is less metal out there. The low profile of the hammer reduces the tendency of the hammer to twist when hitting on edge or when hitting a piece of stock with the face of the hammer off the edge of the stock.

Doug Merkle and several other people who were having problems with their arms came to the class and learned the system. I was also having trouble with my arms from using a long Swedish style Peddinghaus hammer. Myself and all of the students that were having arm problems no longer have arm pain. I can forge for hours now with no consequence of physical abuse to my arm from the hammer.

Hofi has spread the system pretty much around the world but the system is the Habermann system.

I think when people are referring to the Czech hammer they are referring to the Habermann hammer but not until recently have there been any Habermann hammers available to the public.

Tom Clark, Sr.

[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

[Glenn]

I found and ask for permission to post a photo of the original Haberman hammer to help inform the IFI viewers reading this article. We request that you please list references to support your discussion on the different style hammers or techniques. This will allow the viewer to seek out those original references, and read the original material to better form their own opinions on the subject.

[Valentin]

Nice story's ! and nice to see the photo of the original Haberman hammer !10x Glenn

[Glenn]

The following is an email rec'd from Hofi. Posting was delayed so minor corrections could be approved.


The letter of Mr. Clark is full of inaccuracies and perceptions. This is one of the reasons I terminated my relationship with him on Sept 11, 2001.

He never new the real relationship with my first teacher in blacksmithing, the late Mr. Fredi Habermann. From the first visit of Fredi to my smithy in Israel we disagreed on many things, but always on the end he came to me and said ''Hofi you are right, you are looking to the future and I am the past”.

Three weeks before his death I called him which I did very often to see what I can do to help him. He was hardly talking and said “Hofi if I’ll be better and healthier I would like to come and finish my life at your forge”. For me it was a very great compliment.

Mr. Clark still does not understand what makes a ‘balanced hammer’ and his explanation is completely twisted. The balance of the hammer is achieved not with the equal mass on both sides of the hammer but as less ‘momentum’ on the peen side. On the Habermann hammer the distance from the handle to the face is 30 mm or 1.181 inches and from the end of the peen to the handle it is 46 mm or 1.811 inches. In my hammer it is 34 mm or 1.338 inches from the face to the handle and 36 mm or 1.417 inches from the end of the peen to the handle.

If one tilts the Habermann hammer more then 35 degrees it will rotate and damage the wrist. In my hammer even if one goes more then 45 degrees it will not rotate and therefore is very much more balanced and most of the forging energy is going into the steel.

Now if we add the type of handle eye that I developed that the mass is not gone or removed, it stays in the middle it makes the hammer more balanced and you can hold the handle better. The glue of the handle with the pu sikaflex 11 fc gives better rebound to the hammer and also absorbing the vibrations from effecting the forging hand. All this makes the Hofi hammer – Hofi hammer. If you look at the hammers photos they will see the difference.

I attach here a photo of a hammer that was forged in my smithy 20 years ago on my 53 birthday. The small 5 pound striking hammer was forged as a present to me by Fredi and was broken on the first use because the hammer was not tempered, but I still keep it because I love it. One can see the dimensions that make it not balance enough.

And final line the ''Habermann hammer'' was developed by Fredi's grand father. No Czech hammer is existing. Every family of blacksmith in the Czech Republic forge with a different hammer. And I know them all.

I am now in the process of designing a new and more balanced hammer, with two different materials and two different specific gravities. This is not simple and will take more time to finish.

Uri Hofi