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I Forge Iron

First Hammer


Andy Ternay

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Hi, I have signed up for a beginners blacksmithing course via local community college. I am thinking of purchasing a hammer for this class. It's been suggested to me that I just go to Harbor Freight and get a 3lb cross-pein sledge as my starting hammer. But I was considering the Blacksmith's Depot Czech style hammers:

What attracts me to this is the description which says:

Blacksmiths Depot brand - quote removed due to copyright.

Basically it says the hammer was designed for a beginning blacksmith. The soft(er) head and less squareness allowed them to sell at a lower price.

Does this sound like a good first hammer for someone just starting out?
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with beginners the hardest skill to learn is to not grip the handle tight. Home depot has a stanley and east wing cross peen 2 pound and 4 pound with a fiberglass handle. for around $20.00. With the fiberglass handle it is more forgiving plus the handle is longer with 2 transition so when you need the volisity it is there and when more control you just choke up to the first position.

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This story comes up often.
The real story about the CZECH style hammer ---> click here

A good starting weight for a blacksmithing hammer is suggested to be about 2 pounds. A lighter hammer is ok but a heavier hammer may cause problems with a body not used to that type work with that heavy a hammer.

Harbor Freight sells a 2 pound cross pein ($8 or so) and you can find a 20% off coupon in the paper or on line.

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Thanks for the input. If there is no compelling need to buy a hammer specific to blacksmithing, I will go to Home Depot or Harbor Freight if only because they are local to me. I was looking at a 2lb hammer... did not want to go too heavy at the beginning.

I understand that there are advantages to using a true Hofi hammer but I believe you also have to use his methods to reap those advantages? I think I had better keep it simple and let the person teaching my class show me his techniques first.

Again, thanks.

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You may be right, that experience will help take advantage of the Hofi hammer, but I don't think there's anything about it that would make it less useful for a beginner. Since his design theory is to take advantage of a hammer that is balanced around multiple axis, it may be somewhat easier for a beginner, I don't know.

But a Hofi hammer will be just fine, as will a "standard" cross peen, straight peen, or even a ball peen. My understanding is that ball peens are more common in England for general forging than they are in the US, but that may be mistaken. In any case, the thing you're looking for is a 2 to 2-1/2 pound forging hammer.

When is your class? If it's several weeks away, why don't you go to your local swap meet for a few weeks and see what you find? I found my first forging hammer for less than $5 at my local one. It was three pounds, and I've since gotten others (mostly lighter), but I still use it.

If your class starts up soon, and you're not sure you can find one at a swap meet, go ahead and buy the Czech hammer, or go to your local hardware store and buy a 2lb ball peen.

If you get the Czech hammer, as you get better, and want a harder face, I presume you can learn to harden and temper using that hammer. If you get the ball peen, you'll still use it later for dishing, welding, and all sorts of other things.

After you have completed your class, you'll be in one of two places: continuing blacksmithing, in which case you're going to have lots of hammers in short order, or uninterested, in which case you'll be glad you didn't spend a whole bunch of money on something you can't use to pull bent nails out of the wall.

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After you have completed your class, you'll be in one of two places: continuing blacksmithing, in which case you're going to have lots of hammers in short order, or uninterested, in which case you'll be glad you didn't spend a whole bunch of money on something you can't use to pull bent nails out of the wall.


Well said! B)

I think I am going the inexpensive route for now... Harbor Freight and then we'll see how this hobby develops.
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Why not contact the instructor and get his or her thoughts?


It's a good suggestion but I have not been able to get the instructor's contact information because it is a continuing education class and the instructor is not faculty with a college provided email address. The course description states:

Supplies: An anvil and forge are available for in-class use only. Students must provide their own tools and steel for projects. A list of needed tools, steel stock and suppliers will be discussed at the first class meeting.


I could wait but I must admit I am pretty much counting the days until this starts on January 21st and thought a hammer was a pretty safe investment as a tool choice.
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January 21: That's plenty of time.

I bet there's a swap meet in the Dallas area. You should go this weekend. I don't know much about Dallas, but I know in my neck of the woods, there are parts of town that tend to have lots of older Navy retirees. They have more garage workshops than younger neighborhoods. Their yard sales have more bit braces, files, vises, and yes, hammers, than other places.

Any locations like that around you?

Spend a half day the next two weekends, and I bet you find a perfectly serviceable hammer. If not, you have plenty of time to go to Harbor Freight, or order one from an online source.

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I tend to pick up hammers at fleamarkets and look for ones without handles! Cheaper and a lot of times the handles are trashed or poorly replaced and will require replacing anyway---why pay an extra couple of dollars for a handle you will have to spend time removing and throwing away anyway? (One dealer kept wanting too much money for hammer cause "it had a new handle in it". Job was so badly done I was able to pull out the new handle and hand it to him and ask "how much for just the hammer head?" When it's that bad you can't even re-set the head on the same handle!)

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Ergonomics is a science and I have asked Uri for the data to substantiates his claim I have yet to receive a response. I feel that it is just a buzz word he uses and not based on fact.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This story comes up often.
The real story about the CZECH style hammer ---> click here

A good starting weight for a blacksmithing hammer is suggested to be about 2 pounds. A lighter hammer is ok but a heavier hammer may cause problems with a body not used to that type work with that heavy a hammer.

Harbor Freight sells a 2 pound cross pein ($8 or so) and you can find a 20% off coupon in the paper or on line.
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I'd say forget a cross-pein for a first hammer and get hold of a rounding hammer... Like Brian Brazeal, myself, and others make. They are way more versatile, of course, they also aren't cheap. Though, I sell them cheaper than Brian does, you are still looking at $150-$200 for one of our hammers. If I were going to get a Hofi, czech, Tom Clark, whatever you want to call it cross pein, I'd invest in a better quality one. Of course, if you aren't sure this craft is for you, get any old piece o junk and give it a whirl. If you decide to pursue it... good hammers are a good investment. Also, before you buy a particular hammer style, see if you can use other smith's hammers to see how you like them.

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I'd just stick with a cross-peen hammer. Rounding hammers are nice, but a lot of the beginning instruction includes elements of using the peen as a fuller, and it will be easier to follow the initial lessons with the same equipment as everyone else.

If you like smithing, there's no reason a rounding hammer can't be your second hammer.

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It is more to do with technique than style of hammer from my research style is very much dictated by your location in the world. Or what you have been exposed to. I teach beginners to use a hammer with a fiberglass handle the biggest mistake made by the beginner is gripping the handle and studies show that fiberglass helps protect the body.

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Hammers are a subjective subject. Everyone has their own favorite style. I prefer a straight peen. But, I started with a cheep cross peen made in Mexico. I still use it and its a good hammer. There are lots of hammers out there. Heck a ball peen hammer is a blacksmiths hammer and they are everywhere. Go to any industrial supply or Home Depot and get one for less than $20. Get some sand paper and dome the face and polish it. And you will use that hammer for the rest of your life. You don't have to spend an arm and a leg for a blacksmiths hammer. Just go for it.

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