Manuel-Pagani Posted July 10, 2017 Share Posted July 10, 2017 Today I took a section of a car axle an drift a hole through it. My pretention is to make a Japanese hammer from it so I need some advice about the proportions from someone who know something about this type of hammer and his Technic. This is my first post an I'm not English speaker so if my gramathic is not so good forgive me. Have a good forging day! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted July 10, 2017 Share Posted July 10, 2017 What country do you call home? Your English is fine. What is the purpose of the hammer and what do you want to make? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 10, 2017 Share Posted July 10, 2017 Looks rather spanish styled to me---look at the details of Apollo in the Forge of Vulcan by Diego Velázquez, (1630). you will see several like that. As well as being used by the cutlers in Sheffield England, saw tuners in America. A rather common style historically. Why folks put extra emphasis on it being "Japanese" styled I don't know. Look under dog headed hammers for other examples. As for details: it needs to be a weight you can swing for a long period of time with control. The angle between the eye and the axis of the hammer needs to suit YOUR style of hammering. Think of this one as being a prototype and that you will make another one with all the changes you have identified from using that one. (and perhaps another one after that...When you get the one that is perfect for you, sell all the others to beginning smiths to jumpstart their quest for the perfect hammer) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted July 10, 2017 Share Posted July 10, 2017 Nothing to add to what Glenn and Thomas Powers have said, other than (A) the drifting of the eye and the flattening of the cheeks look very nice and (B) non-native speakers get a pass on grammar -- it's the native speakers who should know better who are the problem! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manuel-Pagani Posted July 10, 2017 Author Share Posted July 10, 2017 Glen I'm from Argentina , the propouse of the hammer is forging long blade tools as a "machete" and large knifes I figure out that this kind of Japanese hammer will work better for narrow and thin stuff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manuel-Pagani Posted July 10, 2017 Author Share Posted July 10, 2017 6 hours ago, ThomasPowers said: Looks rather spanish styled to me---look at the details of Apollo in the Forge of Vulcan by Diego Velázquez, (1630). you will see several like that. As well as being used by the cutlers in Sheffield England, saw tuners in America. A rather common style historically. Why folks put extra emphasis on it being "Japanese" styled I don't know. Look under dog headed hammers for other examples. You are right it will be a vulcano's hammer! Nice picture! It's nothing about being Japanese just what inspired this tool, after all is a thing to make a thing that I need to make other thing. It's my second hammer , the first is the 3lb rounding hammer in the photo(best and usefully thing I ever forge) and I can swing it all day so my vulcano hammer is 2.5lbs , hopefully it will suit my needs if not I make a other, but I'm optimistic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 Lots of Renaissance pictures out there, there was a genre of pictures about "Venus at the Forge of Vulcan" that gives us a lot of good info on armour workshops and of course Goya's "The Forge" but that is of course much more recent, (circa 1817). History of the craft of blacksmithing is one of my interests... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manuel-Pagani Posted July 11, 2017 Author Share Posted July 11, 2017 Great! Thanks for this information, you make me see things in other ways connecting art, history and blacksmithing. To be my first post I am more than satisfied, I like when things come I did not expect Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 Oh, you're going to like it here.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Turley Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 Japanese hammers have rectangular eyes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 Welcome aboard Manuel, glad to have you. If you like stuff you don't expect you're going to have fun around here, there's no telling where a question of thread will go. Nice job on both your hammers. A rounding hammer is one of my favorites your's turned out very nice. Few things in life are as satisfying as using tools you make with your own hands. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manuel-Pagani Posted July 11, 2017 Author Share Posted July 11, 2017 Thanks for the welcome Frosty! Rounding hammer is my favorite too, i learn a lot making it and a lot using it. There's nothing like self-made tools Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 Like Frosty said welcome. Always nice to have folks from different places posting here. I've learned a lot from the members in Australia, Germany, Great Britain etc. Would love to hear about the tool's and knives of the Gaucho's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ede Posted July 12, 2017 Share Posted July 12, 2017 On 7/10/2017 at 9:47 PM, Frank Turley said: Japanese hammers have rectangular eyes. I have some hammers from the late Bill Fiorini of Koka metalsmiths. Bill was an incredible knife maker of Damascus and jeweler to boot. He had trained in Japan and I never understood until now why the eyes on his hammers were rectangular. Thanks for explaining this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manuel-Pagani Posted July 12, 2017 Author Share Posted July 12, 2017 I think doesn't matter if the eye is rectangular or oval, the handle fit well in both, I guess it's a design tradition What matter is the hammer shape and the way is used. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manuel-Pagani Posted July 12, 2017 Author Share Posted July 12, 2017 On 7/11/2017 at 3:59 PM, Irondragon Forge & Clay said: Would love to hear about the tool's and knives of the Gaucho's. When a I got a little time I will write some i know about it and post some photos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Turley Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 This knife was given to me by a collector whom I had helped ID some of his stuff. It is said to be an Argentine gaucho knife, but I know little of gaucho tools. The blade is stamped, WARD SHEFFIELD ??ST STEEL. It looks as though an extension was drawn from the handle and faggot welded on the back of the blade where it stands proud. The blade has a slight concavo-convex cross section, the convex length on the side where the welded extension can be seen. The nice handle appears to be solid. Overall length 9 3/8". Blade length 4 5/8". The question marks indicate where some letters have been obliterated. I assume it was originally stamped, "CAST STEEL." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 6 minutes ago, Frank Turley said: I know little of gaucho tools. There's a really interesting article about the different kinds of goucho knives online HERE. Your knife, Frank, appears to be of the type known as a "puñal", although the folded-over bit isn't discussed in the article. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Turley Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 2 hours ago, JHCC said: There's a really interesting article about the different kinds of goucho knives online HERE. That was quite an article! Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 You're welcome! (Although I did apparently make a mistake: I now think yours is a verijero, which is like a puñal but smaller.) About fifteen years ago, I met a fellow in NYC who had his great-grandfather's daga on a shelf in his apartment. Two things struck me: first, that the blade was clearly stamped "CAST STEEL/SHEFFIELD", and second, that it had a regular pattern of circular scratches over the entire surface of the blade, indicating that it had been carefully and regularly sharpened, but with whatever moderately coarse stone its owner had happened to find in or carry into the field. No refined mirror-polish here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 Looks like it was made from half an old sheepshear. I've done "gardening knives" that way myself! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manuel-Pagani Posted July 13, 2017 Author Share Posted July 13, 2017 2 hours ago, Frank Turley said: This knife was given to me by a collector whom I had helped ID some of his stuff. It is said to be an Argentine gaucho knife, This kind of knife y pretty common here they are made whith This is a common knife here, they are made with shear scissors like in the photo, gaucho's and modern people use this for cut horse and sheep hair. It's a simple knife but this blades if are old have one of the best steel I've ever seen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 Thin, flexible, takes a very sharp edge, I keep a look out for the old Sheffield sheep shears at the flea markets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 One more thing to keep an eye open for.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manuel-Pagani Posted July 13, 2017 Author Share Posted July 13, 2017 I made my wood rasps from these blades, they are usefully tools at knife handle making Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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