Sounds like you have some more reading to do, could have saved you some trouble. All the info is on the site. From my limited experience it sounds like you want something on the tougher side not HARD, hard is brittle and your not looking for a durable shard cutting edge but a tool to take a pounding that is gonna hold up.
I just made a pair of them and I think they will be the go to hammers for awhile unless I need something bigger. Very natural feel using the peen and a better view of where your working.
I have been messing around with some roses, and have a commission for 5 of them. Im gettin the hang of all the bending and texturing but am wondering for way to clean up the inside a bit wire brushing only gets the outside and top of the leaves clean but you can still see some scale/ oxidation in between the petals. any tips ideas to try would be great appreciated.
Nice rose das , looks good, your just doin what the rest of us do, super critical of your work . Not a bad thing just seeing how you can improve. Really like the thorns and that it sits on the leaves . Nice work as usual!