Hammering Technique

[Quenchcrack]

Well, I went to the orthopedic surgeon yesterday and he said my elbow is on the mend. Been almost 3 months since I lit the forge because I used lousy hammer technique. I was forging out a spatula and was tapering the blade down thin on the edge. Now this was a BIG spatula and the blade was about 6" across and made from 1/8" mild steel. I was using one of irnsrgn's 3# diagonal peen hammers on it. Now a 3# hammer is just no good when you have a 2# arm! I was standing back too far and extending my arm too much. This put a lot of strain on the tendons and ligaments. The right way to do this would have been to stand closer and keep the elbow on my hammer arm tucked in close. Just a word of warning to newbies and weekend hammer jockies. :oops:

[HWooldridge]

Don't know if you have tried one but those velcro arm bands for tennis elbow help a lot. After many years of regular hammer work with no problems, I went out one day after a 3 month layoff and promptly blew out those same forearm muscles. I let it heal a couple of weeks and started wearing an armband. After a couple months, I was able to remove the band and go back to normal use.

[Quenchcrack]

I have one of those armbands and the Dr. recommended I use it when hammering. I have been doing flexor curls with a 5# weight in my truck on the way to work and taking 3 ibuprofins three times a day for the last month. I will definitely use better technique from now on, though. :oops:

[sandpile]

Q.C. You want to be careful, on the ADVILS and TYLENOLS. Several years ago, when I first hurt my neck. I took aobut the same as what you are taking and I almost blew my kidneys out. When I noticed the first pain in my right side. I went to the doc, he pulled me off of them and prescribed another. I came close to losing my kidneys.

When I was having the most trouble(not muscle) with my elbow, I raised my anvil and stepped up as close as I could comfortably work. Went back to a lighter hammer and made sure I did not stop the hammer any more than I had to. Quit squeezing the handle.Grin It is better but will always cause some problems. Too much abuse when I was younger.

Sandpile

[Ten Hammers]

I have a whiners band that I should wear more (leather band about 3" wide that is worn on the hammer arm's wrist). This truthfully helps some. I have one of Juniors #3 straight pein hammers and it's like a wrecking ball. Forges 1/2-3/4 rod/square exceptionally well. Truthfully I just use it in the shop after the power hammer to tune stuff up mostly but I do use it a lot when doin demos. I can draw a tripod leg pretty fast with it. It don't take long to know if your body mechanics aren't right. Hopefully we don't do too much damage and recover ok. Normally the first couple blows tell me if I'm good or not. No fun havin blowed muckskels.

[Quenchcrack]

The Doctor told me to take 3 ibuprofins three times a day so I figured I would try it. I prolly actually took the 3 pills only about two times a day because I get busy and forget. Anyway, the elbow feels a lot better but I am going to give it another week off. And learn how to use Jr.s Heavy Hitter without doing more damage to myself than to the iron!

On another issue, has anyone ever tape wrapped the hammer handle to form a bulge at the end of the handle? I have ground some handles to form a ball at the end so I worry less about the hammer flying out of my hand but I really don't want to mess up the handles on my favorites. I am thinking about friction tape which I could easily remove/replace. :?:

[Stephan P]

when my hammer grip gets too slick I just dunk my hand in the water bucket (clean water bucket, not the slimey slack tub). Do that a couple of times and it will minutely raise the fibres of the wood grain, making a comfortable yet controlable grip. (ps, this won't work if you still have that clear layer of lacquer on the hammer handle, want to sand that off first anyways).

[HWooldridge]

I have a favorite that I made a few years ago and use every day. I did not want to mess with the handle since it worked fine but a friend convinced me to slim it down some. I bit my lip :shock: , put it on the belt grinder and sanded under the head and toward the end so it bells a little in the middle (something like a reverse hourglass shape). This gives me two places to catch if it tries to slide out of my grip.

I also make my handles very slick so they don't wear holes in my hand. I sand to 240 grit, raise the grain repeatedly until it quits coming up then stain and finish with Birchwood Casey Tru-Oil gunstock finish. After that is dry, I burnish with steel wool. I do not like to leave my handles bare of all finish because my hands are usually wet with sweat and makes the wood stick to my skin.

[Ten Hammers]

H Wooldridge, I would have never done this to a handle either until I visited Junior Strasil's shop. He made me a 3# straight pein that day. I bounced a few of his hammers on his anvil and they were absolutely the most lively hammers I had ever had my hands on. I have since had him make me 2 more hammers and am hoping to get a few more in the future. I have modified my commercial handles (for a large part) to the same thinned way you described. Absolutely amazing and the xtra spot in the center is awful handy for peck work sometimes.

[Mills]

Hi I'm mills (hi mills) and I have poor hammer technique.

I like the band over the elbow, that has done a lot for me. Mostly thinning the handle and watching for gripping too hard solves the problem. I do wrap friction tape on the end of my handle for that very reason QC, so as it won't leave my hand. I usually make my handles from old sledge handles that I find laying around. The grain is usually better than store bought for a smaller hammer.

I find that ibuprofen upsets my stomach, especially in the higher doses. Naproxen goes down easier and seems to work as well or better. Tylenol in large quantities will do a number on you as has been mentioned. It doesn't do much for inflammation in joints anyway so I leave it alone. Sandpile's recipe is pretty good, I'll throw a tylenol in that for the muscles at the end of a hard day.

[HWooldridge]

Well, folks, I think we should all treat our arms like major league pitchers - both activities require about the same amount of work. I usually don't have much arm trouble but if I experience swelling or pain, I use some ice wrapped in a wash towel and take a little scotch with my Aleve...

Another thing I don't see mentioned is stretching. Keep your wrists limber and warm up by swinging a sledge or big hand hammer around your head for a while before you begin. Do some pushups and other light calisthenics every day - an arm is part of a larger machine and doesn't work in a vacuum. Nature is pretty logical about balance and proportion, which is why you don't see Schwarzenegger's biceps on Carrot Top's body. Your overall health and conditioning is important because a long day of forging is a good workout for the whole body.

[Stephan P]

be carfeul about swinging large objects of the head. The arm (that is, the part between the shoulder and elbow) was not made to swing / move heavy objects or exert larger amounts of force when lifted higher than the shoulder. Actually, to be technically correct, it is not the arm at risk, but rather cuff in the shoulder. Just don't over-do it with overhead motions is all I'm getting at.

[Quenchcrack]

I don't know why I do not stetch before forging. I always stretched before I played golf. Of course, I was a really lousy golfer and tha might explain it..... :oops:

Almost done with my shaving horse. Not really happy with the legs but it is very stable............just ugly. :(

[Shane Stegmeier]

As a fulltime farrier and part time blacksmith, and after twenty years of beating my freinds with wooden swords:-) I find that 4 advil is about the right dose for me, on bad days every 4 hours, on an average day maybe only before bed, and right after I get up, on good day (or when I run out:-) none at all... (but I have an iron stomach, hopefully I won't get the iron kidney, and the ironlung to go with it;-)

Handles make a HUGE difference in how good a hammer feels to work with and how hard it is on your hand and arm. I have relatively small hands for my size and cannot use a hammer with a thick handle. I carve my handles down so that they are only 3.5" or 3.75" in circumfrence. I have had another small flare up of my tendonitis late this winter, which was due almost entirely to vibration and tightening my grip just a bit to swing harder. But the pervious bad bout was due mainly to a handle I had not shaved down to the proper thickness for me... That and working too long, too hard, too many days in a row.

You have to really work to improve your posture, hammer techique and adjust your hammer handles to fit you, if you want to avoid making tendonitis a chronic problem. I started having elbow problems about 10 years ago when I was using really long swords two sword style, too much torque on the tendons and I didn't do enough to ensure that they healed properly, and were not re-injured. At this point I have had 4 or 5 major flareups since the intial injury, and if I am careful I can avoid them.

The best way I know to avoid the flareups is to avoid doing anything stupid:-) duh... If you haven't worked real hard for a while, don't over do it. Don't push yourself too hard, when you are too tired to swing the hammer without gripping too tightly, it is definitely time to take a rest...

Things I have learned the hardway!:-)

A damaged tendon is no match for an iron will. Just because you can push through the fatigue, pain and numbness does not mean you should...

Fatigue can wreck your technique, and bad technique will wreck your body.

Gripping the hammer too tightly, just focuses the concussion of the blows into the irritated tissues. A slightly flexible, or "lively" handle will help to absorb some of the damaging vibration, but your best bet is still to consciously develop a somewhat relaxed grip on the hammer. You need to guide the hammer. You do not need to choke the hammer into submission to force it do your will:-)

Rigid posture, and repetative blows with your wrist in a non-neutral position will also contribute to the problem. A lower anvil may be harder on your back, but if you can use good form it is easier on your wrist, and elbow.

Wisdom is the ability to learn from the mistakes of others without having to make them yourself:-)

[M. Stout]

Just a quick question about hammers: I just purchased a 3# cross pein hammer from an online store. Now I am wondering if maybe this will be a bit heavy to begin with. It's not that I am not used to using heavy hammers (I do it every day at work), I am just new to blacksmithing and I don't know how much it would take to move hot steel. All my experience with hot steel is welding and using a rose-bud to alter my tools for work. Should I drop a half pound or so?

[HWooldridge]

A lot of it depends on whether you are fatigued by using it. It will take some getting used to since it's a new motion to hit an anvil but some large guys use small hammers and vice versa. Part of it is build and part is technique plus it also depends what you are typically forging. 1/4" material can be forged quite well with a 1 lb hammer - 3/4" is probably best worked with a 3 lb.

I started with a 2-1/2 lb cross peen when I was 24, went up to a 3, then went up to a 4 (which was too much) so I dropped back to a 3 for many years. I'm 46 now and back to a 2-1/2 lb so it's gone full cycle. I can still swing a 6 lb in one hand for a while but for most work, I think a fast snappy blow with a lighter hammer is better than a slower, heavier hit.

[Shane Stegmeier]

In a word... Yes.

It is a good idea to start with a lighter hammer than you THINK you should be able to handle. Size your work to your hammer and your skill level. 5/8 stock and anything larger are not suited for beginners no mater how strong. Learn to move the steel with the hammer, and learn how to make the hammer do the work for you, without trying to "push" the metal by gripping just a little harder and driving it just a little longer... I don't know how young, how strong, or how hard you work for a living, but... You have not been blacksmithing, and it is safer and more prudent to start small, and move up as you feel more comfortable, but don't rush it. I take it you read the first post in this thread;-) Quenchcrack had been forging for ~2 years? (I think that is how long I have been seeing him post:-) before he wrecked his elbow. I have been forging for nearly 20 years and I have always worked hard for a living. ANd I have told this story over and over again but if it saves you some pain and chronic elbow, and hand problems, then it is worth telling again. 15 years ago while I was young and stupid I was doing the starving artist blacksmith thing out in California, and I was using a 6# hand sledge for practically everything, I was powerlifting, and at the time it was hard on me but I did ok. 10 years later I had a project were I needed to draw about 40 bow strikers out of 3/8 by 1 1/4, I was using a 4# rounding hammer, I was doing hour and a half session, I was working 5 pieces at a time in gas forge subsequently I took no breaks(which was to physical failure) It took 5 sessions and Trashed my elbow...

I bet you can use a 3# hammer right now, but if your form isn't good, you might not be able to use it 6 months from now?:-) Get involved with your local ABANA chapter, and learn from people who are more experienced. If you can learn good form from the start you will be miles ahead in the longrun. If you have a little disposabe income and some vacation time I would recommend one of the schools that teach blacksmithing. Tom Clark's Osark Blacksmithing School would be a good place to get a start, they use balanced, or Hofi hammers which some people like, some hate, but the hammering technic is solid, and they emphasize results. I have been trying to retrain myself to help with the pain in my hands and elbow, but retraining is a hard row to hoe. I can use the balanced technic that Tom Clark, Uri Hofi, and Rob Gunter teach, when I think about it, but when I loose myself in my work I use the hammer differently and it is harder on me. BUT I do farrier work as well as blacksmithing and the horseshoeing is hard on me. Take the time to learn to do it right and you will be able to enjoy blacksmithing for a long long time. There are a number of places in CA that offer blacksmithing courses, and I have heard good things about some of them, but I have personal experience with Tom Clark having seen several of his demo's over the years and struck for him a time or two (team striking for nail heading the big nails:-) I try to recommend the balanced hammer, and that technic to people who are just getting started, because I think it works, and I would have wanted to learn that style first to save me some of the problems I have had. There are lots of hammers, and lots of ways to hold a hammer, and lots of ways to use it, and any one of them that doesn't wreck you, and gets the work done is a valid style, but I would prefer to teach the balanced method because I believe it does have a biomechanical advantage over some of the other blacksmithing traditions. BUt we all like what we are familiar with and have been employing successfully. I have been disenchanted with my own tradition, because it hurts now:-) Though to be fair and honest I may have abused my body so much, that any technic is going to hurt some. But I am looking for something better for me. YMMV;-) I hope you take your time and learn good technic, and don't push your body past your endurance too often...

[M. Stout]

Thanks Fionnbharr and HWooldridge that's a lot of good info! I know I could "swing" a 3 pounder but can I learn hammer control with it? Nope, I'm going with the 2.2 # Also, I may only be thirty years young, but my arms sure ain't what they used to be.

Just like you said Fionnbharr, I joined the California Blacksmith Association last month and my first "Basic I" class is at the end of this month. I am very excited

Also, not to change th e subject, I'd love to learn Gaelic. What does you user name mean? Fair something.?

[Quenchcrack]

If you can swing the hammer without hurting yourself, the next question you have to answer is how well can you hit what you aim for? Can you hit the right spot many times in a row? Try hitting a 2x4 on which you have drawn targets the size of a quarter. When you can pound a single neat hole in the 2x4 you can claim you have some control. Also, I am finding that you do not swing a BS hammer like you do a claw hammer when driving nails. Keep your elbow close to your side and your head out of the way. :lol:

[Shane Stegmeier]

Fionnbharr means fair haired, I have long red hair and a greying red beard:-) Fionnbharr is my name in the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism.) I could never learn Gaelic at this point in my life, don't have a real knack for picking up langauges any way, and my hearing is poor enough I have trouble hearing the different pronunciation neccessary to learn to speak a language "whats that again?;-) Heck there are sounds in Spanish that I have a great deal of trouble hearing at all:-)

To move back to a related suubject namely the hammer... Cruise the fleamarkets out there in CA looking for hammers. And ask all the guys in the local group what hammers they are using, and ask if you can try them. I am very particular about what I like in a hammer, and how the head is balanced, as well as what shape the handle is and the thickness and length. That eing said I like a number of different styles of hammer:-) Good hammers have a very specific "feel" to them, most hammers just feel clunky to me. Jock over at Anvilfire can pick up practically any hammer, and use it, and isn't mystical or picky about it. Other guys are VERY possesive of their favorite hammer, and won't let anyone else touch it. I know what feels good in my hands, and prefer to use what feels good. Steel handles as well as fiberglass handles should be avoided at all costs, they will transmit too much shock back into your arm. For some hammers a thin neck is wonderful, and can reduce the amount of shock that gets back to you, but you have to be careful not to "over apply" a hammer with a thinned neck:-)

[Rick Barter]

Just my $0.02...

I use a 1.5 lb hammer. It's too light for me. It takes a lot of hammering to move some bigger metal, but I'm just learning and doing hooks and small stuff anyway. I have good control with it and it doesn't kill me. However, it's too light. I bet I'd do better with a 2 or 2.5 lb hammer.

I have a 1.5 lb cross pein, a 1.5 lb ball pein, a 3 lb cross pein (which never gets used because it's too much hammer for me), and about a 2 or 2.5 lb ball pein I inherited from my father. I plan on putting the 2.5 lb cross pein to work for me doing a fireplace poker. We'll see. I hope it works better than the 1.5 lb.

But, pile-driving fence posts for the wife's compost bins has messed up my shoulder and I'm on prescription strength motrin 3 times a day and I got a cordisone (sp?) shot. I'm off heavy work for 2 weeks and then light duty after that.

I don't know that there's any useful information here. I just like to see myself "talk" I guess. :wink:

rvb

[HWooldridge]

This is definitely an individual thing and very worthy of close study by each smith since the hammer is our primary 'weapon'.

A friend of mine and I both work together at a lot of festivals and re-enactments. He never raises the hammer head higher than his shoulder and uses a 2.5 hammer for all work. When forging, I typically raise the hammer over my head and bring it down hard. When working small stuff, (under 3/8"), I usually use a 1.5 hammer but 3/4" and down gets the 2.5 hammer. That way, I can more or less swing with the same speed. I can almost always get more from a heat than my buddy but he does have a bad elbow so I cut him some slack. :wink:

I subscribe to the lighter, faster school rather than slow and heavy but that's only my opinion.

[Glenn]

These are the 3 hammers Whitesmith uses, a 2 pound store bought hammer, maybe 1-3/4 pound hand made Irnsrgn hammer, and a Swedish 800 g. hammer. He will usually goes for the middle one of the 3 shown. The Swedish is new to him and he is still trying to find a use for it. :wink:

[Ed Thomas]

The handle is just as important as the head, both for effective hammer control and a healthy arm. The problem in making a board-general recommendation for hammer handles is that only you can feel what is effective, and that will be based on your own peculiar physique. For instance, there are lots of people who pay $100 for a Uri Hoffi club with the short little handle and declare that it solved all their hammering problems. If you look at Uri's build, it sorta makes sense.

But if you take the recommendation of Nol Putnam and Josh Greenwood (both of whom have helped salvage damaged arms of other blacksmiths) you will have a very long, narrow handle. Again, look at the difference in their body shape. Nol says the handle should be approximately the length of your forearm.

So both extremes are reasonable, and most of us will be somewhere in between.

One thing almost all the smiths seem to agree on is to square up the handle. That is, instead of being oval, sand or shave the handle so it is retangular in cross-section. If you curl your hand, and look through the hole that would be gripping a hammer handle, you can see that your fingers don't form an oval -- they form a series of soft edges as each finger joint makes the next bend.

If you do that, your hand will immediately relax considerably.

There are two parts to learning to relax. One is to focus on hammering without tension. That can be taught but you can usually do it yourself once you figure out your supposed to pay attention to it. The other part is to keep adjusting the hammer handle until you feel that it is helping you to relax.

Instead of learning to "build up strength", try learning to "build up relaxation". The strength will come.

[HWooldridge]

Ed hit all the handle points square on the dot. My hammers also have a slight swell at the end of the handle so my hand catches it naturally as it slides back and forth in the normal movement.