Hi All,

I have been getting into blacksmiths and building a shop for the last year. I also have been going to flea markets etc. for a while and have maybe 30 or so different hammers laying around. I am interested in what you guys use as your primary hammer for general forging. Pics Please!

Cheers,

Kelvin Shaw

I got two. Plumb brand ball pene hammers socket handled like a claw hammer. My favorite is a 32oz. The other one is lighter but it has no weight stamp on it. Might be 24 oz. Face heavy it naturally aligns in my palm the face is round and slightly domed. After many years of use the face shows very little mushroom and has never chipped and hardy dings dont cut deep. Yup, I will admit it. I have cut through onto the hardy, a newbie at this i guess.

Oh, you asked for a picture. Search "a smithy" posted by Josh M. in IFI gallery.It is the hammer sitting on top of my Haybud anvil.

Someone once said "Tools do not make the blacksmith, the blacksmith makes the tools"
If you give a blacksmith a hammer, he can use what ever hammer you give him.
If the blacksmith does not have a hammer, he can make one.

A good question that should get some interesting replies.

A pic of my favorite hammer......which one it is changes a lot....

I have a variety of hammers ranging from a 1/2 lb ball peen to a 4 lb cross peen. When I started out I only had cross peens of 1 1/4 and 4 lb. They shared the work. As time passed I accumulated more variety and now use mostly the 2 1/2 and 3 pounders. It all depends on the work of course, and now the treadle hammer does the heavy work.

depending on the issue at hand it would be either a 1 or 2 lb straight pein made by the Ironsurgeon (Junior Strasil). The 3 lb is used a lot too and also the rounding hammer. The 3 1/2 ballpien is used a lot. No pics sorry.

Favorite two hammers are a 3 lb cross peen and a 1 lb ball peen. Both fit my hand well and are the first two I reach for. I'm still looking for that "perfect" one.

Mark <><

Peddinghaus 1000g (2.2lbs) German Pattern Hammer

I use a 40oz cross peen for 90% of my work and a 24oz cross peen for finesse. I picked up both at a flea market and neither has a name that I can find. I have modified the handles a little to make them comfortable for my personal use.

This one, that I made.

THE JUICE
Forged by me & Brian
2 1/2 lb cross pien
Forged to finish ( no sanding , grinding,or polishing ) except for finishing the faces

I have Just started using a 4 pound Stanley crosspeen a lot until I can make a 5 pounder my self. For years I used a 2 pound craftmen crosspeen it all depends on what I am working on. And what I am doing. for light work I like this one I got to strike for brian and we made this one

For general forging I prefer a Hofi hammer.

When I was younger I went with heavier and heavier hammers until I got my early warning that my elbow was not happy! Now I use a lighter hammer whenever I can and save the OOOMPH hammer for when it's needed.

Two of my favorite hammers are Rthibeau's, a straight and a right cross peen. My other favorite hammer is a straight peen I recently got from Knots43. A very nice hammer that he had modified. About 42 oz. with a large, very wide peen. It moves metal so well. Works very well in my right hand.

I have a lot of hammers but my 3 1/2# big blue cross peen sees the majority of the work..Nicely balanced hammer, I can use it all day with arm pain or getting tired..

my favorite is my 3 lb cross pein hammer, because its the first one i ever used and it's the perfect weight, length, size, and it just plain "feels" like a good hammer

The Channellock Company of Meadville, PA, is known for their slip joint pliers, but they formerly manufactured cross-peen hammers in weights of 2½, 3, 4, and 5 pounds. I think that they quit that line about 20 years ago, when I lucked into buying a few of them, new (and brightly painted red). I used the 3 pound one for years for much of my work. About 5 years ago, I switched to the 2½ pound hammer, having to do with age and common sense. They are a nice pattern, not all that fancy and are made of square stock. The faces are round because of angled corner chamfering. They have the Channellock stamp on the side.

I will occasionally use a heavier, home made hammer of 4½ pounds. I made it on the same pattern as the Channellock, and used an 18 wheeler truck axle for the material.

http://www.turleyforge.com

Thats a great pic...

I believe if a smith has three hammers.... He will always have the right one for the job... But if he has 50... None are quite right for the job at hand... ( I stand in front of my hammer rack going... mmmm, close, nope... almost... mmm well I guess this one will do!) Not sure how that works but I find it to be true!

rthibeau

I understand

The hammer in my shop that everyone else knows not to touch is a 40 oz ball peen I picked up 36 years ago. If there is someone new in the shop I impress on them if you need to use a hammer go to the rack a choose one just don't touch mine except to move it out of your way.
No name but the handle has always felt right to my hand. It also has the right forward weight that give me a stout blow.

I have a hammer that nobody else is allowed to use too. Dug it out of the mud underneath a pile of scrap at a scrapyard in England one trip. Real wrought iron body with steeled faces and probably going on 200 years old or so. I use it now and again; but others are warned off!

I have about 25 hammers of different shapes and weights; mostly salvaged and re-handled ball peens. I do, however tend to gravitate to 2 or 3. One used most is actually a re-handled HF 2# double faced sledge with one face that I rounded. I had a really nice hand-made-from-PTO-shaft 2 #-ish quarter peen shaped by Jr Strasil. Unfortunately, someone liked it better than I. The sad thing is that person will probably never know why its shaped the way it is and from where it originated. To them, it was just a hammer :(

I cant be hard when choosing what hammers to take with me for a ren fair weekend, I take my main one the 4.6# diagonal cross peen RT made for me, but then there is rounding hammers, drawing hammers, not to mention do I need a drift and slitter, what size files, hot cuts and punches? :wacko: