I spoke to a person about where to find handles and he gave me this great site! 

 

http://www.woodworkerssource.com/turning_stock.html

 

This place is where he goes to buy wood. he sands it down to the size that he wants. 

 

When I got home I held the hammer in my hand and I noticed that I was holding it two ways. I must have gotten that blister down the palm of my hand when I got tired. I forge for about...3-6 hours every other day...give or take. I'm ambitious. ;) I already have a callus where I normally hold the hammer on the base of my pinkie finger...and it was rubbed pretty raw. I'll be out working today though. benefits of being young...love healing quickly. 

 

This is all great. I understand that I will get blisters and calluses. I am not complaining. just so you guys know. This *post* is to help anybody else with these questions. now we have a page dedicated it it. :) There are a lot of great tips, and I intend to employ every one of them to find what works best for me. 

 

I really appreciate the attention this post got! I hope that link get's put to good use! ;)

Glenn will be proud, you have gotten his reason for creating and maintaining this site.

that site could equate to some very unique Blacksmithing hammers. to bad I don't have a woodlathe..... yet. The next house is going to have a big shop. with three sections. one for working on and storing automotive/atv projects, a wood working section, and a metal working section. I'm thinking 30'x60' and potentially having a great room above with games and stuff for the kids. we'll see.

at the risk of being "callous", my hands are so callused from blacksmithing, I accidentally sometimes touch a hot piece of iron on my palms, and do not feel a thing!

 benefits of being young...love healing quickly.  

 

Be thankful, and enjoy it while it lasts...because it doesn't last. (hopefully I'm not the first to tell you that... :huh: )

Good Morning,

 

Hammer Handles start out as Pallets, in my part of the world. The material used in making pallets is always different, around here we get lots of pallets that are made from Western Maple. It works wonderful for making any size or length of handle that you wish. Same as Mr. Hofi does in his video.

 

Neil

Maple makes an exeptable handle, but I bet their is something local that is better. The Brits like ash, it's local, in the us we like hickory, but it's not the only exeptable wood. What you want is a wood that has a fiberous nature. That is when you split it it dost split clean but has a stringy look to it. Typically this type of wood is flexible and split resistant. Around here (Oklihoma USA) we have hickory, ash, pecan, mulberry, bodark (Osage orange).

Just part of life, it was mine anyway..Im/was a farmer/welder/Blacksmith..My hands are so rough, scarred and callused that I haven't had a blister in years..I started working on the farm and woodshop when I was too small to remember..My hands are so big I have to order gloves to fit and even then they wear out to fast for my taste. So over the years my hands have just gotten tougher and tougher..On the other hand proper handle holding will greatly help.

I usually tell people about pine tar. Put it on your hands to help prevent blisters, and use it on your hands if you get blisters. It will take pain away and help heal wounds faster.

 

Pine tar is a life saver! I have used it many times before and after getting a blister. works wonders.... Don't forget to sand that varnish off new wood handles.

I have a permanent callous exactly where yours is. If you hammer a lot it will obviously stop bothering you at some point.

Until then, rather than band aids, try duct tape. Band aids are no good if they keep falling off. 

Also, if I'm going particularly hot and heavy and my hands start to get sweaty, I find some powdered french chalk (talc/soapstone) will take some of the heat off.

An old trick from the national service days (I have been unreliably informed) is to give your hands a good soak in pee (your own, or that of a close friend). 

I remembered these folks if you all are wanting replacement handles.

 

http://www.tennesseehickoryproducts.com/productsHammers.shtml

 

Dig around , they have a lot of handles.

I'm a farrier, so swing a hammer every day.  Like Frank said, shake hands with the hammer.  I think you might be holding it too tight.  Someone should be able to take it easly from you.  Correct weight also helps.  I also like to wrap my handles with the stuff they wrap tennis rackets with.  It gives a little softening of the blow and lets me grip the handle lighter when my hands are damp. 

At Walmart, in the garden section, at the end of a rack is a small display of a product called GELGRIP. Made by TommyCo. It is a non adhesive gel centered "tape" that when you wrap it around a handle you can wrap close to make the handle thicker and very cushioned or spread the wraps out and get a good comfortable grip. I have a wide palm area and a few injuries and arthritis and standard handles twist around in my grip. I can't get a tight enough grip. So I wrap my "small" handles and have made a few from the perfectly good shovel handle my nephew broke off . First time that city boy has held a shovel in 5 years. :rolleyes: