Hello,
I just found this strange looking hammer on ebay, I've never seen one that looks like this, any ideas if that was made like that for a reason or was that just the shape of the stock they made it out of?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4395247487&category=20763&ssPageName=WDVW&rd=1

Other than the smith just having a creative urge to make something slightly out of the normal, I think it looks like someone took a large square billet, heated it and forged the corners down to reduce the cross-section. This would be much easier than forging the flat sides down to reduce the cross-section. :roll:

Looks like a stone cutting hammer. The flutes may be to lighten it while retaining the length.

Looks to my eye that the piece had that shape too it otherwise he would have tapered it more for the crosspein by forging rather than the sharp grind.

Thomas