blacklabel Posted November 21, 2016 Share Posted November 21, 2016 Hey every one! Just wanted to say HI! I started smithing a month or so ago. Saturday I spent all day with a smith of 30 years getting some formal instruction. It was a great time and I learned so much. Cannot wait to take some of what I learned back to my home forge and get busy. I am in the market for some hammers, does any one have any experience with BigBlu hammers? Are they quality? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tubalcain2 Posted November 21, 2016 Share Posted November 21, 2016 welcome to the forum! big blue are definitely quality, but very pricey. i would suggest peddinghaus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmoothBore Posted November 21, 2016 Share Posted November 21, 2016 I would suggest a $10 "Horror Freight" drilling hammer. When you've swung it long enough to discern the difference, ... and modified it to your own, personal satisfaction, ... you'll be ready for a "high dollar" hammer. Or, ... more likely, ... ready to make your own, "priceless" personal tool. Either way, ... you can't "buy" skill out of a tool catalog. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Don't take the above personally. It's a theme that I belabor "ad nauseam". Good Luck. . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted November 21, 2016 Share Posted November 21, 2016 Me, I get most of my hammers at the fleamarkets and the rest used at blacksmithing conferences. High dollar does not mean it will suit *you*; so I find a trickle of formerly HDH being sold for half price. How I got my swedish crospeen. I also managed to grab a bunch of lynch collection hammers over the years for $5 apiece; save for the sledge which I did shell out $35 at the Pennsic War as it was the exact style of my favorite light hammers only a whole lot heavier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blacklabel Posted November 21, 2016 Author Share Posted November 21, 2016 1 hour ago, SmoothBore said: I would suggest a $10 "Horror Freight" drilling hammer. When you've swung it long enough to discern the difference, ... and modified it to your own, personal satisfaction, ... you'll be ready for a "high dollar" hammer. Or, ... more likely, ... ready to make your own, "priceless" personal tool. Either way, ... you can't "buy" skill out of a tool catalog. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Don't take the above personally. It's a theme that I belabor "ad nauseam". Good Luck. I was not attempting to buy "skill". I know skill comes from practice, and experience. But with all tools I buy and use, I buy the best quality I can afford. I have been using a Estwing Cross Peen hammer from Home Depot, and I noticed a major difference between my instructors hammer and mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted November 21, 2016 Share Posted November 21, 2016 The issue being that a US$5 hammer at a fleamarket may be a much better hammer for *blacksmithing* than a much more expensive hammer at a retail store, (or it could be trash...) Learning how to evaluate hammers for smithing is an experienced based skill---especially when you throw in handles. However I will say I have seen no commercially sold hammer with a face properly dressed for smithing. You pretty much have to go with the custom hammers made by smiths for smiths to get something applicable---or find an old one that a previous owner had properly dressed and even then both types may not be dressed to suit *YOU*. Quality is not necessarily correlated with price especially when working in a less common craft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blacklabel Posted November 21, 2016 Author Share Posted November 21, 2016 1 hour ago, ThomasPowers said: You pretty much have to go with the custom hammers made by smiths for smiths to get something applicable---or find an old one that a previous owner had properly dressed and even then both types may not be dressed to suit *YOU*. Quality is not necessarily correlated with price especially when working in a less common craft. That was my reasoning behind BigBlu. Their hammers said they were made and dressed by professional smiths for blacksmiths. I also agree more money does not always mean a better product. The better tool isn't always the most expensive one. Which is why I kept going back to BigBlue, I found hammers ranging from $60 to $300+. BigBlu fell in the middle of that range. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted November 21, 2016 Share Posted November 21, 2016 Welcome aboard Blacklabel, glad to have you. If you'll put your general location in the header you might be surprised how many of the Iforge gang live within visiting distance. The tool doesn't do the work, the best on the planet are just refined dirt. The handle is more important than the head for the user's comfort, health and efficiency. An Eastwing with a steel handle can indeed be uncomfortable even injurious, I do NOT recommend them for blacksmithing, though their plastic handles aren't bad. I've owned and carried the same steel handled Eastwing hatchet for close to 40 years and wouldn't carry anything else, it's next to the wood stove now. That's a different matter though, you don't take rebound shock splitting kindling, stripping "squaw wood" (The dry branches near ground level on conifers which are excellent for starting fires) from trees, driving tent pegs, etc. If you're really into buying big $ hammers get on the list for a Dave Custer rounding hammer. Maybe you can find someone making Hofi hammers, they're excellently designed and effective. ESPECIALLY after you learn and develop proficiency with Uri's hammering technique. I highly recommend you NOT get a heavy hammer till you've developed proficient in hammer control, both for the work AND your joints. Bad technique can lead to long term soft tissue damage from your fingers to your shoulders, even though some folk have used what I consider a dangerous grip for decades. That's an excellent example of YMMV. When I take a student I start them with my 32oz. Drill hammer because it's heavy enough to move metal efficiently but light enough and the short handle makes one reasonably easy to control. It's a good choice, beginners can make things happen but their mistakes aren't made permanent too quickly to correct. . . Usually. I also have a cross pein in the rack for folk who THINK you gotta have a "blacksmith" hammer. Once I show them how well a turning hammer works the cross pein rarely leaves the rack. Usability is more about the handle than any specific make or weight of hammer. My preference is a "slab" handle. The wide rectangular profile indexes in your hand automatically so the hammer face strikes parallel, side to side, automatically. Slab handles are easier to grip so you can use a light grip which increases control, improves power and more importantly reduces impact shock back into your bones and joints. I taper mine about 1/2" from head to end which makes it almost impossible to slip out of your hand unless you're staggeringly tired. Garage, Yard, etc. sales are gold mines of hammer heads, chisels, allen wrenches, etc. as stock for top quality smithing tools. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blacklabel Posted November 21, 2016 Author Share Posted November 21, 2016 Thanks Frosty! We did discuss handle lengths, I was told your hammer handle should be the same distance from where your wrist breaks to just about your funny bone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C-1ToolSteel Posted November 21, 2016 Share Posted November 21, 2016 You should also remember that once you spend money on an expensive hammer. You will still need to buy chisels, tongs, punches, drifts, hardy tools, borax, hot cutters, etc. About handle lengths, the "proper" length is what ever you prefer. You can choke up on a longer handle if need be, but your more limited if you have a short handle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted November 21, 2016 Share Posted November 21, 2016 16 minutes ago, blacklabel said: Thanks Frosty! We did discuss handle lengths, I was told your hammer handle should be the same distance from where your wrist breaks to just about your funny bone. Sounds like a farrier to me, they tend to like long whippy handles. Pick what works best for you not someone else, there is a LOT of old school master, apprentice tradition to things like this. We're no longer practicing a commercial craft and individuality is allowed where it was often not tolerated at all in a working shop. My way or the highway was often how it was. I'd have to measure or gauge them but I think mine are closer to wrist to inside of my elbow joint. I have a template I use to make handles. I use 5/4" clear, tight, straight grain, hickory from a local hard wood supplier. I can call ahead and he'll lay a clear straight grain 5" - 6" x 8' board or two aside for me. I think most of the farriers and many of the smiths in the Valley get their handle stock from him. Nice guy, reasonably discounted prices for us too. When I make a hammer head I use a rectangular drift I made from a rail clip for the eye. The rectangular eye drift is much easier to get straight and square than an oval drift so my hammers come out true more easily and require less tweaking. I much prefer to buy an undressed hammer and dress it myself. It's not like it's difficult and I get to decide on the crown and edge radii. Then again I've been playing blacksmith a long time and have developed preferences that work for me. Below is the first hammer I made with MUCH help from Metalmangler, (Mark). It's about 36 oz turning hammer made from a broken Ford pickup axle, Mark's pickup unfortunately. The handle is actually shorter than it looks but the pic shows the taper well enough. I put the knob on the end just in case it slipped in my grip. The taper has made that a complete thing of the past bu the knob has sort of become a brand so all my handles get one. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc1 Posted November 21, 2016 Share Posted November 21, 2016 3 hours ago, blacklabel said: I was not attempting to buy "skill". I know skill comes from practice, and experience. But with all tools I buy and use, I buy the best quality I can afford. I have been using a Estwing Cross Peen hammer from Home Depot, and I noticed a major difference between my instructors hammer and mine. I have several blu hammers. They are good value. I buy the best tool I can afford always. If In doubt I buy two or three ... Blacksmithing as a hobby has a tendency to be minimalist and big ticket tools appear to be pretentious. I only ever worked in a commercial smithy where the job had to be done in time and within specifications. It was a job and not a hobby. We had good tools always and cheap and nasty tools were not allowed through the door. Today? well I wouldn't use cheap and nasty tool only because I don't have to and I don't want to. It's a no pressure hobby and whatever I do I want it to be a pleasurable experience not a struggle. But we are all different. You can learn making your own tools like 200 years ago. Or you can buy good quality tools and learn making something you like. It's a choice, or rather it should be your choice. Learn always, take notes, ask questions and then learn some more ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WayneCoeArtistBlacksmith Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 The Alex Bealer Blacksmith Association of Georgia (www.AlexBealer.org) meets in shops around the Atlanta area. Come to some meetings, or better yet join, and you will not only make a lot of good friends, you will learn a lot. I will be at the January meeting so come and say hello. Let me know if I can help you. Wayne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderson G. Phillips Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 You should buy a Blu hammer..... but you shouldn't listen to me. No matter what you buy your work is a reflection of the tools you use. Make sure your hammer face is nice and your anvil face is nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blacklabel Posted November 22, 2016 Author Share Posted November 22, 2016 Thanks for all the replies guys! 2 Big Blu hammers are on my Christmas list a 2.4lb #2 Cross Peen and a 2.6lb #5 Rounding hammer. Until then the Estwing will do just fine. If it makes me pretentious well....If only I cared! Happy Smithing! Hope to meet some of you one day and have a beer! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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