Octagonal Hammer Handles

[Frosty]

I don't know anything about osage orange that I haven't read here. Whippy handles are what makes chasing hammers work, it's why they're shaped the way they are.

Frosty The Lucky.

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

Osage Orange will make good one's.

I can't control the wind, all I can do is adjust my sail’s.
Semper Paratus

 

[JHCC]

In the words of Devo, whip it good. 

[Frosty]

Just don't whip it at Woolworths

Frosty The Lucky.

[JHCC]

I don't think they've got any in.

[Frosty]

I think I need a chaser.

Frosty The Lucky.

[Nobody Special]

Osage orange is lovely, good for hammer handles, good for knife scales, great for fence posts if you work it green. Tough as nails when it hardens. Maybe tougher, no fun driving staples into it. Makes a lovely shade tree that's godawful tough on lawnmowers, but don't plant it close to the house, they tend to have shallow root systems.

[wirerabbit]

HA!

My Google phone doesn't recognize my thumb print at the moment.

I had an unusual bout of hammer hand blisters several days ago and had to use electrical tape just to finish the tong blanks I was forging. Blisters formed on the proximal phalanges of my index and middle fingers and on the distal phalanx (I had no idea that was the singular of phalanges) of my thumb. The thumb blister was almost 3/4 of an inch long.

I was forging 3/4 inch sucker rod, and perhaps because I was impatient on those first few heats or because it is a bit harder to forge, I had some trouble moving the higher carbon steel. I went to my biggest hammer (3 lbs, Harbor Freight mod) with the octagonal handle. Boom, blisters.

 

Perhaps the blisters arose not from the octagonal cross section but rather from the hour-glass profile and the more awkward swings I was making the the heavier hammer. Still, I'm blaming the octagonal handle. Since sticking to my slab handled hammer, blisters gone bye bye.

I like saying phalanges.

[Frosty]

26 minutes ago, wirerabbit said:

Boom, blisters.

Good GRIEF  MAN you're NOT supposed to pop blisters!

Perhaps a spring fuller might help you deliver more force to a smaller area for more effective drawing down? Depending on what you're doing of course but I love spring fullers and they bend up soo easily. 

What's different about your grip between octagonal and slab handles? I LOVE my modified Hofi style slab handles.

Frosty The Lucky.

[wirerabbit]

Crazy thing, Frosty. None of the blisters broke. I work hardened them!

[JHCC]

If you’re starting to develop a blister (the skin starts to feel hot), tape the digit before the skin detaches. 
 

[jlpservicesinc]

any hammer handle will give someone hot spots in use when not in great condition. 

I get hot spots on my tong hand from holding the tongs and stock.. 

When making a bunch of nails my thumb gets a hot spot right on the large crease for the joint. 

When someone is working enough at the forge with hammer and anvil and tongs there is always a hot spot. 

It took me about 15 years to find a hammer handle shape I liked.. 

At the time there were articles about which hammer shape is best..  Skinny with a flat face was a popular one to mess with.. 

I never liked it.. I tried everything..  Skinny, fat, straight, tapered, round, etc, etc.  

I finally landed on the hammer shape 15 yrs in and it is the same shape I use today.   I like a longish handle with a place for the head to sit that is seamless to the handle itself.. NO abrupt changes in thickness below the head. 

I also like an eight sided handle..   I landed on this when I was making a new handle and just did not round off the corners to an oval..   I tried this handle shape for about a year and decided it's my favorite handle shape..  

Every handle on my main forging handles are exactly the same dimensionally.    Only difference is now I leave them eight sided. If I remove the corners and shape into an oval they are the same shape as the original from about 15 years in. 

At the last NEB meet I asked all the long time full time blacksmiths with 40+ years of experience what hammer and handle shape do they like.. 

nearly all had the same answer..   Light, skinny and long..        With this said, it was very interesting seeing the handles and hammers they were using and seeing what they explained as "Light, skinny and long"..    Each persons defining or definition was different than the others when you see the hammers each one owns and uses. 

I'm probably not in the norm..   I like a head size that is correct for the metal and action I'm looking to achieve. 

My oldest hammer which is 2.5lbs has the longest handle based on my original design and is about 2" longer than my 2.75 hammer because to terminate it the same length left a knot that interferes..  

Handle length for me does not effect accuracy.          Last demo I forged a steeled wrought iron drawknife..  The person who was there and has seem me compete at the fitchburg forge in said it was nice seeing me swing a hammer lightly vs mashing everything..   LOL..  

when I hit the metal it moves in a way that is predicted. 

The engineers cross peen is a shape I like for this type of hammer.. Still 8 sided but a full taper from head to butt. 

I've now used the same handle shape for 32 years.  All my handles are not sanded..  They are split out with an ax or froe, so the grain is straight.  I then drawknife the handle to shape nearly completely..  I will then scrape the handle for any rough spots..   Then some linseed oil. 

I like texture to the handle.. 

The callus in my tong hand is just now starting to come off.. Last forging session was about 2 weeks ago. 

The tissues in my hammer hand are thicker overall.. Not just callus..  So this area will blister first.. But the blisters don't hurt anymore..  Kinda like the tissues have changed after all these years.