I got an old rawhide hammer at Trade's Days this weekend. Of course the rawhide is gone and I'd like to replace it. I've found plenty of sources for new faces even copper ones.

This hammer doesn't open up. Has anyone tried to replace a face on a press-in hammer? I found this link and it looks like this might not be possible without a press and that tool that crimps the hammer back around the leather. What do y'all think?

http://www.thorhammer.com/thor_hammer_refacing_hammers.pdf

Well, if you can find the rawhide, you should be able to just hammer the edge closed.

Put a leed or taper on the rawhide, place it in vice and squeese in
Onya mate:rolleyes:

Since both faces are missing I've been thinking about getting a copper face for one side. Is there a good use for it that the rawhide can't handle? Would using the Sikaflex II FC help?

To quote the website:
'Many customers find it more economical to use the copper end to destruction and
then replace the complete hammer.'
I had several boxes full of these things (copper and hide) and all the people that I offered them to said the same thing. It's not worth the effort.

When I first saw the title to this thread I thought, MAN his face must really be messed up to want to repair it with a rawhide mallet!

It's kind of like James wanting to know about welding with his defibrillator. I figured MAN that must be one powerful defibrillator!

Unfortunately I have no practical suggestions other than to say. Anything CAN be done. Is it worth it is the question.

Frosty

I have one just like it. I haven't tried to do anything with it yet. I'll probably try to reface it myself with some rawhide. Good luck with yours and please keep us posted on how it goes.

OK, it IS a dumb question, but what do blacksmiths use rawhide hammers for? I have an old one with slightly mushed heads and would like to put it to use.

Hitting anything that has a surface that you don't want to ding. For instance a fancy collar. You can whack pert'near hard as you want.

Straightening twisted bars against a wood block so as not to marr the corners.

Handling/hanging hammers and axes.