you shouldn't be able to stare at the fire.............you should be hammering one piece whilst 3 others are in the fire
gee, Frosty....I've never seen a stupid tree......
but then I'm not as personally acquainted with them as you.....
yes, welcome.......there's some nice guys up there close the help you.........be wary of Frosty though.......he kissed a tree a while bck.....a mite too hard methinks
the waist, or fuller, behind the hammer faces, if forged in, lengthens the hammer head but doesn't decrease the weight. Some like it for the looks, some like it for the greater leangth it gives for the same weight. Some just don't need it.
I reshape store bought hammers all the time......the Mexican ones are good steel, but poorly heat treated or handled.......then I heat treat them properly and rehandle them
when it gets cold, starting about nowadays, I have the wood stove in the shop to take the chill off. If really cold, I'll light a gas forge to get heat faster while the stove is warming up. Best thing with the wood stove is I use a shovel full of coals to start the coke in the solid fuel forge real easy. I don't wear gloves or a hat in the shop and I end up working in t-shirt and jeans when the shop gets really warm. Then I open the door to cool it down some, even in the dead of winter. It's nice to work inside.......
all hammers I've made or reworked have the requirement that the smith faces North when using them........check yer compass.... it's 'cause of the Fairy Dust I use