Hammer eye size proportion?

[Sam Salvati]

Is there a rule of thumb or equation pertaining to hammer eye size compared to the head size? Obviously a small handle on a sledgehammer, or vice versa would not be correct.

[jimbob]

That would be nice ...seems like every handle I've bought has to shaved down to fit the head I'm going to use it on. of lately I've started taking the head with me when I go to the hardware store for a handle, just to get one close!

[Mende]

I make all my handles out of acacia wood. .it's a dense fibrous hardwood that's available in the forests here. ..

Very strong and flexible. ..never breaks.

Good for longbows :D

[ThomasPowers]

I once visited a handle manufacturer in NW AR, USA and on his wall he had the most complete set of smithing hammers and set tools I have ever seen. I inquired about buying them and was refused as they were the "standards" he made his hammer handles to fit.

I'm sure someone somewhere has made up a "spec" for hammer weight/eye size but it's probably no more special than what folks have gravitated towards over a long number of years.

If I wa making hammer heads I would see what size handles were easy to get and make them to fit *those*. Of course I'm more of a smith than a wood worker...

[mcraigl]

I'm with Thomas. Find a hammer handle that you will always be able to get that either fits your hand or is easily modifiable to fit your hand, then make your drifts to fit that handle. This would be a good thing for you to do with that new H-13 you been playing with!

[rthibeau]

This is a page out of the 1947 publication from the US Department of Commerce concerning their "Forged Tools Simplified Practice Recommendation". The document was to publish industry standards for such tools. The complete document is 24 pages, 7 megabyte in .pdf format which I will post on my website.

[DocsMachine]

I've wondered this myself, as I've rehandled almost two dozen hammers in the past couple of years.

Like body hammers- I know you're not supposed to "pound" with them like you would a ball-peen, but still, it seems like they all have ridiculously small eyes, and I often fear for the handle when having to move some sheetmetal.

On small sledges, which are my main forging hammers 'til I can forge my own, the eyes seem to vary widely- I have a bigger eye on a 1.5lb sledge than on a 4lb head I found at a junk shop. I'm probably going to mill the eye out to fit a commercial handle, rather tahn shave the handle down.

I also have two 2.5LB cross-peen sledges; one has a tiny eye and skinny handle, the other has a much larger eye.

Then the claw hammers all have huge rectangular eyes- on a 12-ounce head- while the 4-pound hand sledge has an eye of perhaps half the area as the claw.

I have considered doing as suggested above- buy up some off-the-shelf handles, and mod the heads/eyes to fit (or of the head is too thin or small, modding the handle to fit.)

Doc.

[R Funk]

The question you need to answer is do you want to make your handles or buy your handles.

Hofi and Tom Clark for example make their hammer handles. Thus they can standardize on what they prefer. Each of their handles are fine quality and are great for the applications. I beleive Hofi has a posting in "Blueprint Section" on how he makes his handles.

I have been able to find low priced commercial handles and have a 5 gallon bucket half full of them. The current commercial low cost source of handles is Menards. Home Depot and Lowes handle pricing is ridiculessly high.

I have picked many of my handles up at fleamarkets when I lived in Missouri, the home of many handle manufactures.

In either case standardize on your handle eye size and shape and make a set of drifts that correspond.

Most sledges have a standard size eye from 6-16 lbs or so. I have had no problem fitting commercial handles in to commercial sledges in the 10 or so I have fitted (no I do not break that many I buy them or modify them and then install handles)

On the smaller hand sledges and ball peins it is more or less the luck of the draw and most require fitting of the handle.

I often soak the end of the handle in oil as it provides lubrication which makes it easier to install and reduces loosening due to drying out of the handle.

[Hofi]

One Can See How I Produce My Hammer Handles On Bp 1012.
The Shape Of The Handle Part That Gos Into The Hammer ''eye'' Is Like No 3 Shape On Rt Mail Above The Dimentions Are ; 3/4''x1-1/4'' The Wood Is ''roobinya'' German Wood That Is Far Better Then The Hicory .the Length Is 11 1/2''
All The Hammers From 2,2#-5,5# Are Having The Same Eye Dimention. Only If I Use The 5.5#and Up Hammers As Striking Hammers The Eye Will Be Larger
Hofi

[Hofi]

I GLUE MY HANDLES TO THE HAMMER WITH PU SIKAFLEX 11 CF. U HAVE TO WAIT 24 HOURS AND ONLY THEN U CAN BRUSH IT CLEAN. I NEVER OIL THE HANDLE BEFORE GLUEING PROCESS BECAUSE THE OIL WILL RELEASE IT FROM THE GLUE THEWRE ARE HAMMERS THAT I FORGE NOW 17 YEARS WITH AND THEY ARE NOT FALLING APART. ONLY AFTER THE GLUEING AND BRUSHING PROCESS IS FINISHED I OIL THE HANDLE ONE HEAVY TIME WITH WD40 WHICE IS VERY GOOD FOR AND EASY TO USE

[Ice Czar]

we are constantly replacing the handles on most of our french cross peens, but we have never replaced the handle on our Hofi

doesnt look like Sikaflex 11 CF is common in the US, guess I need to find a similar high strength epoxy ;)

[Glenn]

If there is enough interest we can carry Sikaflex in the IFI store.

The product has a short shelf life (6 months as I recall) due to the quick set feature of the material. So there would need to be enough orders to fill within this time frame.

[Hofi]

Ice Czar
Go With The Internet On ''sikaflex Usa'' And U Will Fined All The Agents In The Stats .it Is A Very Strong And Elastic Polyurethane Glue Take 24 Hours Yo Set And The I Brush it Out With Rotating Steel Brush The Brush Fibers Are 120 Thou.
One Container Is Good To Handle 25-30 Hammers.
In Israel 7$ Per Container
Once U Open It It Starts To Cure Because The Humidity And High Temp
After I Open And I Still Have Some Glue In I Put It In The Frieezer Tool Be Kept In Very Low Temp Then It Holds For Longer Time ,when Using It Again I Heat It Up With Worm Water To Soften And Use.
If Glenn Will Hold It In The Store Whice Is A Very Good Idea I Heard In Germany That They Have Also Smaller Tubes On Bigger Quantities.
Regards
Hofi

[rthibeau]

SealantsAndCoatings.com

A data sheet on Sikaflex 11 FC from USA distributors

[the_sandy_creek_forge]

On the original question of eye to size proportions: I looked over my assortment this weekend and can successfully say that there doesn't seem to be any at all! (at least in my humble collection anyways ) The only correlation I did notice was that on my Atha's the width of the eye seemed to have a somewhat constant ratio to the width of the hammerhead (just eyeballing it). If anyone is REALLY interested, I could probably put on my math hat next weekend and measure them to see exactly... and I mean REALLY interested!
-Aaron @ the SCF