First two hammers

[Wesley Alberson]

I really like the look and idea of offset bladesmithing hammers, so I decided to make one, loved the feel of forging with them, then made a heavier one.

Here is the first one I made from an old piece of water tower wrought iron and a piece of 5160 forge welded, 2lbs:

It looks weird, I know. But it feels really good when forging with this. The head being tall and curved creates a "triangle" between the hand, face, and eye. This makes the end position of a hammer strike much more comfortable because you don't need to really stretch your wrist to align the face with the steel. This isn't the case with the second one that I made, but it is still angled a little.

Here Is the second one, made from a piece of old tractor equipment and a piece of 5160 car spring forge welded to the face, slightly angled eye, 3lbs:

 

Any comments and critiques are welcome!

 

Wes

[Crazy Ivan]

Interesting hammer there Wesley. May I suggest etching the head on the wrought iron and 5160 one? The wrought gives an awesome pattern and the contrast of the striking face 5160 would look killer! Keep em coming. Hammer making is addictive! 

[Wesley Alberson]

Well, it already has a handle on it, so I don't want to etch it. Maybe I will if the handle breaks. It is super fine wrought so it won't have a super distinct pattern like nasty wagon wheel wrought. 

[ThomasPowers]

You could etch the part below the handle with no problems...I etched an adz in vinegar once to show the forge welded steel on it---lent it to a Mat Sci professor to show students how it used to be done---and a warning to not assume a piece is all the same alloy!

[smithatheart]

I think you over burnished your hammer

[SmoothBore]

Hammer #2 might benefit from a curved handle.

Generally speaking, I think this is true in most cases.

 

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