hi, i've been reading this site for a while now, this is my first post. i love this site and it's a great service.

 

serious question, i'm just getting started in blacksmithing on a budget. went to menards and found a 2lb cross peen hammer for $9. The octogonal face has concentric ridges in it, and the edges are a bit sharp. Likewise the cross peen has some sharpness on the edges.

 

finally it has a fiberglass handle. I've picked up a hickory handle for it, i suppose my first question is whether to use the fiberglass handle or put it on hickory immediately? i haven't seen any blacksmiths using fiberglass handles, is it going to be detrimental?

 

i'm assuming that i'll need to put some sanding work into both faces of the hammer, smooth/round the edges a bit? should i finely polish the face of the hammer? what's the best way to go about getting a good face on it?

 

i have plenty of time to spend on this, just not much money, so any help anyone can offer in improving my cheap hammer will be appreciated

I forged for quite a long time with a 2.5-pound cross-peen that cost me a similar amount. round the edges on the face starting with a 60 grit sand paper, then 80, then 100, then 220. 220 grit paper will not give you a mirror polish, but you don't need that. 80 grit would actually probably be all you really have to have.

Just round the edges. Those sharp little grind lines (called facets) are not good for forging. Round everything off. (If you've got a corded screw gun with a disk sander attachment, that works great. Just finished one of my hammers like that the other day.

 

Switch out to the hickory handle! I believe natural materials are much better and comfortable. Also, I find that a rectangular handle with the corners rounded is the most comfy. The little wavy action that the store-bought handles have are not comfortable, plus those handles are too big around. A simple horse-shoe rasp is all you need to square the handle up.

If you know or can find a farrier, he will have used rasps that are still quite good for wood working. Probably uses 20 or 30 per year.

I have found most of my hammers at garage sales, junk shops, antique shops, ets... for less than $5. You would be surprise how much more people think a hammer is worth with a handle and most won't hold up to more than a few strikes.

thanks for the tips guys. got the hammer head taken care of, 220 grit got it very smooth. the hickory handle i bought wasn't well suited to the task dimensionally but i got it wedged in there. the handle doesn't completely fill the handle hole, but it seems to be very very tight. may have to re-do the handle, we'll see

welcome to the place that welcomes those learning the craft of smithing!

 

from now on there are gonna be lots of questions answered for you here...and you can ask the questions for advise too.

 

good luck

 

 

 

CARRY ON

So now you have a hammer and some advice.   What's next on your plan?

I picked up inexpensive 4 lb "engineers" hammer with the concentric rings on its faces.... Put flap wheel in 4-1/2 grinder and lightly worked over face  till rings were gone and slightly softened any edges that I though might scar work..... Actually thinking of going back to one surface and giveing more contour to make it in to a "rounding" face....

 

Dale

after you do the heavy work with a flap disk on an angle grinder, finish it up with a bench top belt sander.....instead of buying higher grit belts, I use the older worn 60/80 grit belts.  Not a "mirror polish" but close enough.  The slack part of the belt off the platen gives the best results I've found.

personally you are just starting out. keep the fiberglass handle the biggest mistake new smiths make is gripping the handle the fiberglass will help protect your body. Round off the edges and you will be good to go

You can find some inexpensive hammers at Harbor Depot.

 

I've bought a few ranging up to four pounds and they all from about six to eight dollars.

 

The heads are well made and stand up under a lot of pounding.

Some come with Hickory handles and others are "Hardwood" , whatever that is

 

A note of caution, on one or two the handles loosened up a little. I used a little crazy glue and they tightened up and I haven't had any problems after.

 

Good hickory handles are expensive and around here they cost as much as a new Harbor Freight hammer.

 

Garage sales are great, particularly when they're selling a hammer with a broken or missing handle, or maybe a little surface rusted. Not deeply pitted.

Keep an eye on that hammer... my buddy at the welding shop I started off in said the same thing about his fit after replacing his 2 lb ballpeen and started beating on a pc of steal plate. I watched the head fly off and as he looked up to see where it went came down right between his eyes and dropped him like a sack of potatoes. I saw the whole thing happen yet I was 50 ft away and couldent hear me yell "headache! " he was fine after missing 3 days of work and looking like he was sprouting a unicorn horn. Watch your handle fit and if you hear someone yell headache cover your head and dive for cover

I'm just starting out with a harbor freight  3# cross-pien and haven't had any problems. I plan to grind it though.