A couple of Weight forward / Bladesmiths / Japanese / Cutlers / Saw Doctor's / Dog's Head Hammers...

[Navaja]

 .....  Couldn't resist the title, sorry    any more names?  

  First go at posting pics & first at forging hammers, nothing fancy but wanted to try this style of hammer so here they are-

  Made from an old axle, I don't have an eye drift so split with a chisel then a metal erectors tapered drift/hole aligner.  That made for some "interesting" shaped eyes that needed a bit of filing & a lot of careful shaping to get the handles to fit tight.   They just happen to weigh 2 & 3 pounds.

  I will make a eye drift for my next attempts & will work the cheeks flatter.  Quenched in warm oil & tempered by running colour down to the faces.  I haven't used them yet, might have to shorten them a bit but will try them first & see what happens.

  A picture of my humble set up-

  Anvils must have been all over the place in this part of the world in the past but after looking for a couple of years I've only seen a few & they won't part with them........

  Take care.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Mark Ling]

I've always wondered how it would be, to forge with a dogs head hammer. I cant stand using ball peen hammers cause they aren't evenly balanced especially the bigger ones, so I probably wouldn't enjoy using a dog head hammer. though very nicely made hammers.

                                                                                                           Littleblacksmith

 

nothing wrong with your anvil, the londen pattern anvil has only been around for about 200 years. before that many smiths used ones that probably looked very similar to your chunk of steel. if this helps, I started out using a 10 pound sledge hammer head, than I used a "railroad plate" (not sure if that's what its called), then I borrowed an anvil, then I used a piece of railroad track, and then I finally found a 100 pound Trenton anvil.if it works for you than it works just fine.

[ThomasPowers]

So you probably wouldn't like to hear my tale of being on the train from Toledo to Madrid my last evening in Spain and seeing a beautiful double horn anvil dumped in the brush next to the track---No way to get it and no way to ship it if I did....happened in the early 1970's and I still mourn it!  

[Bud in PA]

I like your anvil. I don't know why I had to have a "regular anvil" to start out. Yours looks like it will do anything mine will do, and probably much cheaper.  

[Navaja]

6 hours ago, Bud in PA said:

I like your anvil. I don't know why I had to have a "regular anvil" to start out. Yours looks like it will do anything mine will do, and probably much cheaper.  

    The block is around a 100 pounds, it' d be nice to have a horn & holes though, driving the eyes on these hammers would have been easier, as it was I used an old weight with a hole in it balance on top to use drifts on, not easy to do by myself.

7 hours ago, littleblacksmith said:

I've always wondered how it would be, to forge with a dogs head hammer. I cant stand using ball peen hammers cause they aren't evenly balanced especially the bigger ones, so I probably wouldn't enjoy using a dog head hammer. though very nicely made hammers.

                                                                                                           Littleblacksmith

Nothing wrong with your anvil, the londen pattern anvil has only been around for about 200 years. before that many smiths used ones that probably looked very similar to your chunk of steel. if this helps, I started out using a 10 pound sledge hammer head, than I used a "railroad plate" (not sure if that's what its called), then I borrowed an anvil, then I used a piece of railroad track, and then I finally found a 100 pound Trenton anvil.if it works for you than it works just fine.

     This style of hammer has always looked very uncomfatable & just wrong to my eyes, that's why I thought I'd give them a go, that & a simple excuse to make something else I could manage!       I have heard many sing the praises of this pattern for forging bevels on blades, my reason for wanting to try them, in the hand they feel like they will to some extent be self aligning due to the mass under the handle.    The handles are angled down a few degrees.

   I'm not in a hurry for an anvil, all things come to he who waits....... Just how long 

 

6 hours ago, ThomasPowers said:

So you probably wouldn't like to hear my tale of being on the train from Toledo to Madrid my last evening in Spain and seeing a beautiful double horn anvil dumped in the brush next to the track---No way to get it and no way to ship it if I did....happened in the early 1970's and I still mourn it!  

NC

 

6 hours ago, Bud in PA said:

 

  Can you remember where exactly, I 'all go look 

[SmoothBore]

9 hours ago, littleblacksmith said:

 I cant stand using ball peen hammers cause they aren't evenly balanced

In this case, I'm not sure the term "balance" truly expresses the mechanics of the issue.

( And I'm not really sure I can accurately express the differences, either. )

The Dog's Head is best employed in delivering short, controlled blows, ... originating more in the wrist, than the elbow.

The angle of the handle, as well as it's dramatically lower center of gravity, makes it "feel" more like an extension of your fist.

.

[dickb]

The erectors tapered drift/hole aligner is sometimes called a Bull Pin.

I have a couple of them, Both are tapered,  one round and one slightly oval

[VaughnT]

You can heat up your bull pin and hammer it flat.  This will turn it from a concentric cone to what you see folks using for hammer eye drifts.  Takes about 20 minutes to get it shaped if you take your time and keep your hammer blows controlled.  Then all you need to do is sand/file it to smooth up the surface.

 

Love your anvil.  I've got two london-pattern anvils that I really like, but I've always wanted something that was more simple in design.  What you've got is the same things smiths used for hundreds and hundreds of years.  Vikings were making wonderful tools, armor and blades on smaller anvils than that, so you don't have any excuses!

Only thing I'd recommend is that you do away with the screws fencing it in.  Forge yourself some nice spikes and fencing to dress the whole thing up.  Honor your anvil and she'll be happier to perform with you.

[notownkid]

13 hours ago, Navaja said:

A picture of my humble set up

You have a set up and it's working for you, It's Not Humble it's a worker.  A lot of us have been YEARS finding and making the tools we have and the  shops we work in so when folks are starting out they see the pictures posted here of shops but these took a while, sometimes a long while, to come into existence. 

[ThomasPowers]

Lets see it was around 1972, as I recall it was on the left side of the train when heading from Toledo to Madrid and closer to Toledo; but I've definitely drunk a few beers and raised kids since then so the brain cells are not what they used to be by any stretch of the imagination.  With the world scrap market and the economic issues Spain has seen over the decades I strongly suspect it's not there anymore.  Asking around in the villages might be more profitable.

[Navaja]

8 hours ago, VaughnT said:

Only thing I'd recommend is that you do away with the screws fencing it in.  Forge yourself some nice spikes and fencing to dress the whole thing up.  Honor your anvil and she'll be happier to perform with you.

OK, will do 

6 hours ago, ThomasPowers said:

Lets see it was around 1972, as I recall it was on the left side of the train when heading from Toledo to Madrid and closer to Toledo;

I'll go look tomorrow.....  

[Wesley Alberson]

On 2/25/2016 at 8:10 PM, Navaja said:

I haven't used them yet, might have to shorten them a bit but will try them first & see what happens.

I have just started using the two I made and I love the feel of these hammers. Although next time you make one of these you should give a curve to the hammer head or angle the eye. It feels so much better when the handle is angled down so your hand is almost level with the face of the hammer. When the hammer strikes on something, your wrist will be in a much more comfortable end position. You still flick your wrist, but the range of movement is much more comfortable. I'm disappointed that I didn't angle the handle as much on the heavier hammer I made. It almost feels like the smaller one hits harder!