ofafeather Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 Hi, All. New to the blacksmithing world and looking for some suggestions for some first hammers. I am told that I can handle a 3lb hammer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Einhorn Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 (edited) I highly recommend acquiring a Hofi hammer. I used the search feature at the top of this page and found threads discussing choosing a hammer. Here is one of the threads on this forum that I found which discusses hammer type and size:http://www.iforgeiron.com/forum/f92/help-hofi-hammer-14462/ Edited October 12, 2009 by UnicornForge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fat pete Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 my first hammer was a vaughn 2# for about 35 bucks from hammersource.com....till i got used to how you hammer this was big enuff for me .... i am a big guy and could handle a 3 pounder..easy...well as i got more used to the handling of the hammer i notice there are different reasons, different metals, different techniques all related to hammering....I just bought 2 little hammers cause the have thier purpose that i found by banging on my own...when i bought them i knew what i was looking for....in the begining i wouldnt have had the experiance to realize what the purpose of these hammers were.....I still use the 2 pounder...I also use a 3 pounder when i am trying to move metal on a larger piece of stock...I didnt go to the three pounder for a long time .... i guess you could say I worked up to it....these r things you discover as you make your way thru the trade.... Personally I have a hrd time with the short handle on a Hofi hammer... I also preferr a rounder type handle as opposed to the rectangular one issued with the Hofi system. Try all kinds of stuff till you feel comfortable.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmy seale Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 well, if your like me, i have aquired more hammers than i can use, but i have 1.5# to 16 #. cross, slash, you name it. but i use a 1.5,2.75# rt made hammers i love em. and a commertial 3# cross pien.but ball piens,drill hammers alll have their uses, but you will probobly need to dress the faces, work on hammer technique,and start at a low weight and find out what is comfertable with, hope this helps,jimmy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 The fleamarket is your friend; you won't find a Hofi Hammer there but you can find pretty much all other types there and a lot cheaper than buying new. I've never paid more than US$5 for a hammer at a fleamarket, though you should factor in the cost of re-handling them. (I buy "seconds" hammer handles that have only cosmetic issues where I'm going to trim the hammer down already and so have no effect on it's usability) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ofafeather Posted October 12, 2009 Author Share Posted October 12, 2009 Thanks. Is it worth it for a beginner to buy a Hofi? I just noticed that there was a group buy going on. I think I missed the cut off anyway. What's a good weight to start with? Can you use the Hofi technique without the Hofi hammer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fat pete Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 is it worth it??? well considering you dont have to feed it and they dont go bad from sitting on a shelf, if ya got the moola go ahead.... I took things a little slower...I pounded many different ways to see what fits....everyone is different....i was once asked in a class ...." why when people throw balls and other items do they use their whole body to throw the object but with a hammer they r rigid?" look at some blacksmith you tube clips and watch the old guys who had to stand at the forge for hrs all day, watch thier swing.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Einhorn Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 Thanks. Is it worth it for a beginner to buy a Hofi? I just noticed that there was a group buy going on. I think I missed the cut off anyway. What's a good weight to start with? Can you use the Hofi technique without the Hofi hammer? This was discussed already, I *really* suggest you click here and read what was said, then ask questions.http://www.iforgeiron.com/forum/f92/help-hofi-hammer-14462/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bentiron1946 Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 My first hammer was a 2.5# cross pien that I bought for fifty cents for the head and a dollar for the handle at a swap meet. I used for a number of years a 6# hammer then I went back to the 2.5# and used it for the smaller things I was making. The 6# was getting to be more than I needed for the odd weekend of smithing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rthibeau Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 My first blacksmith hammers were 2.5 lb cross and straight peins bought from the local hardware store. My teacher taught me how to dress the faces and then retemper them with the handles still on. I used those for a few years while learning before I made my first one out of a track pin. Since that time I have made quite a few and also acquired some from others. IMHO, unless you are absolutely sure you are going to continue blacksmithing for years, there is no need to spend a lot of money on hammers at the start. A good quality hammer can be bought from a number of sources for $20 - $40. You need to be careful though, or else they reproduce lke rabbits. See attached link.http://www.iforgeiron.com/gallery/data/715/ShopHammersb.JPG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 What he said; I counted up when I moved out here and found I had over 100 wooden handled tools, (swages, hot cuts etc as well as hammers). I'm building another rack for my shop extension so I can get them all in order as the number has grown since I moved too. (not to mention the bucket of ballpeens to make hawks from...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ofafeather Posted October 13, 2009 Author Share Posted October 13, 2009 What he said; I counted up when I moved out here and found I had over 100 wooden handled tools, (swages, hot cuts etc as well as hammers). I'm building another rack for my shop extension so I can get them all in order as the number has grown since I moved too. (not to mention the bucket of ballpeens to make hawks from...) Well now I'm in serious trouble. I was already running out of space for my woodworking tools! BTW, I decided to order a Hofi 3C along with Hofi's DVD. Figured it would be a good start. If that doesn't work out for some reason I'm sure I could recycle it somehow Thanks for all of the great posts. It's a good read. I'm happy to have different thoughts and suggestions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted October 14, 2009 Share Posted October 14, 2009 The funny thing is I do 80+% of my work with just a couple of hammers; but it sure is nice when you have a weird job to do to have a hammer just right to do it with! Having a long peened hammer to rivet down in a spangen help for example. Also since I teach I need a bunch of different hammers so my students can find the one that works best for them. (I'm going to have to duplicate one of them because I usually have 2 or 3 wanting to use it at the same time) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinetar Posted October 21, 2009 Share Posted October 21, 2009 Nice hammers rt. Damascus etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arftist Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 Sears sells a "blacksmiths hammer". The handle is a couple inches longer than it needs to be and the cross pein's radius is tool small, but those are both easy fixes. That and a few different size ball piens is a good start. Then, as soon as you find that a cross pein will not reach everywhere you want to go, find, make or convert a straight pein and you will be well on your way. A 3 pound hammer is too heavy to start with, IMHO, around 2 pounds is a good size to start with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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