Forging a Hammer process?

[b4utoo]

WOW! That was great Rashelle. Appreciate more than you know...I'm off! Wish me luck!

[Rashelle]

Y'all are welcome. Neil hit on an important part. Get it hot. You'll wear yourself and your striker out if not. There are options like most everything else. When working alone for the touchmark I'll use a parallel sided drift, as it's smaller and I can balance it to stay still while I hold the touchmark and hit it with my other 2 hands, heehee. Sometimes you can use a slitting chisel if your eye hole is angled forward/back to open up the closed parts. Other times you can use either a small butcher or the flat tip of a drift like a slot punch if you have a side to side angled pass through at the eye. Sometimes like life it can seem an exercise in problem solving. It's all good. The only way to make anything is to try, if you don't try you'll never make it. It can be a good idea to practice. Some steps can be done different with experience also. I've eyeballed the hole in candle light during a lantern tour demonstration, my striker was talking to the public. So remember this is a guide not a bible, do what works for you but try following someones guide till you get a handle on things so you can make educated changes rather then random changes.