napakettu

That hold-down looks well clever. Unfortunately I don't have my own forge yet, but this will be one of the first things I'll make when I get one.

That's a cool looking hammer. Interesting pattern and I really like the eyes on it. Nice touch!

Leland, that's an interesting method. What does the oil pocket do to the handle where you hold it (as opposed to the bit that goes in the head)? I would imagine the oil penetrates to the surface of the handle quicker than all the way to the head? I might try this on a store-bought hammer and it seems like a good idea for an axe as well. They should try this in the school where I take blacksmithing classes because a lot of the factory-made hammers there have loose heads. I usually dunk the one I'm going to use in a quenching bucket while I start the fire. That swells it enough to use it for a few hours. -the new guy

Hofi, thanks for your comments. I was going to make the peen a little shorter, but my instructor told be to leave it as it is. Since he's a master blacksmith and I'm a beginner, I wasn't about to tell him otherwise. I'll consider what to do about it after hammering a bit longer. I made the handle after watching your video on hammering technique. It is made pretty much to your description, fitting my hand well when holding it the Hofi way. I'm trying to learn your technique, and the hammer was made with that in mind.

Terve Minotaur! Not a real Finn, but from Finland anyway. I've been here nine years, so it really feels like home. I've been taking courses at the Lounais-Suomen k

blksmth, thanks for the compliment on my English (and on the hammer :-). I'm not actually a Finn. I'm originally from Luxembourg, so I'm not a native speaker either, but I studied in England for four years before I moved to Finland, and I still use English on a daily basis, so I guess that explains it. The edges on the face of the hammer seem a bit sharp to me too, to be honest. They have a very slight curve to them, but only barely. My instructor's hammer had pretty sharp edges too, but maybe a little more rounded than mine, a bit like the edges on the sides of the hammer. I figured I'll leave them like this for now, and after a bit more hammering I'll see if I like it or if I should grind them slightly rounder. It's easier to round sharp edges than the other way round.

Thanks for your comments! About the tar method: I used a wooden wedge (oak) on the handle too. The tar and sand are supposed to act like a glue. It's done by smearing some pine tar onto the handle bit that goes into the head, heat it shortly over the fire, dip it into a bit of fine quarz sand and then shortly into the coal ashes of the fire and put the hammer head on. My teacher told me to file the head so it goes about two thirds through the head easily, the rest is then whacked in. The wedge gets the same tar and sand or ash treatment and is then hammered into the handle, cut or broken off and the the remainder of the wedge is used to hammer the bit that is in the handle a little deeper still. Then the handle is hammered a bit so it spreads over the wedge, locking it in even better. You can sort of see it a bit on the second picture. I can't tell how it is holding in the long run because I made it only recently, but so far it's fine. All the hammers I have used in the classes before were factory made, so they were not fixed this way. The head weighs 1580 g, by the way. I forgot to mention that earlier. I was aiming for 1,5 kg when I set out, but it's a bit hard to estimate where to cut, because I started with a longer piece of steel. I don't know about the traditional Finnish pattern. I based the design on my teacher's hand-made hammer with some inspiration taken from Hofi's hammer design principles. I tried to keep the mass somewhat even on both sides of the handle and I was advised to keep the distance between the handle and the flat face short. The cross-pein is a little longer than I initially aimed for, but shorter than the one on my teacher's hammer. Don't know how traditional the design of his hammer is either. I guess that's how things evolve, copying from more experienced people with slight modifications.

Hi everyone! I figured it's about time that I introduce myself. I've been reading this forum for a while now, and I'm impressed by the wealth of information available here. I'm located in south-west Finland and I started to learn blacksmithing last fall. I initially got interested in the craft because I like making Puukkos (traditional Finnish knives). I made handles and sheaths for Puukkos and other knives, but I wanted to learn how to make the actual blade. Once I got started, I realised how enjoyable it is to be able to make your own tools. So far I only made one puukko blade, because I got carried way making tongs and some other tools. I really enjoy hammering. During a course I took this spring I made my own hammer and what better way to introduce myself here than to introduce the hammer. The head is made of hot working tool steel (because that's what was available). The handle is made of birch and fixed in a traditional manner used here in Finland, using tar and quartz sand (that explains the black stains on the wood).