Chrigneous Posted March 3, 2019 Share Posted March 3, 2019 Hey everyone, I am a geologist and an amateur blacksmith. I got into blacksmithing so I can make my own field tools and tailor the tool to the exact job I need it for. I have been doing a bit of reading and it seems like S5 or S7 would be the best steel to make rock hammers and chisels out of. I was wondering if anyone has any advice on other steels that would work for this application? Another aspect of making rock hammers versus "normal" hammers is that the handle and the head is all one piece of steel. The head has a side for striking and breaking the rock and the other end is more of a pick. I attached a picture of a general rock hammer. Any advice would be awesome! Thanks in advanced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLAG Posted March 3, 2019 Share Posted March 3, 2019 The hammer depicted is manufactured by Estwing. You may want to give them a call on Monday. Then again, someone(s), on this forum, will answer your question before then. SLAG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted March 3, 2019 Share Posted March 3, 2019 Estwing has been known to use L6 for hammers, Why do you think it has to be one piece hammer rather than a separate head? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted March 3, 2019 Share Posted March 3, 2019 Welcome to IFI, I suggest reading this to get the best out of the forum. READ THIS FIRST Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrigneous Posted March 3, 2019 Author Share Posted March 3, 2019 Steve Sells, My reasoning for the one piece construction is that the amount of force needed to break some of the rocks puts a lot of stress onto the hammer. The wooden handles tend to break at the bottom of the head since that is what accommodates the stress, whereas if the handle and head are all one piece the stress is absorbed and distributed down the handle rather than being concentrated at the connection of the handle and the head. I hope that makes sense. It does take A LOT of damage before the wooden handles snap, especially if they are made and finished well and are not being treated carelessly, but I would rather try and forge everything as one piece if I can. I am still in the planning stages of how I can exactly pull this off, but I am sure it can be done without welding. Thanks Irondragon, I'll read through this so I don't become an annoyance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted March 3, 2019 Share Posted March 3, 2019 My concern with one piece hammers like the Estwing is the stress is transferred to your hand & arm through the handle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrigneous Posted March 3, 2019 Author Share Posted March 3, 2019 Irondragon and Steve Sells, Yes that is definitely an issue, and you can feel it when your wailing on a rock. Fortunately it is not very often we beat on extremely hard rock and when we are it is not for very long. Usually if there is a rock that is too hard we bring sledgehammers and chisels (which I want to make as well). I might end up making one of each style and see how they work out. Someone has mentioned that 1050 could be good for a rock hammer. 1050 seems to be so much more difficult to come by than 1045, 4140, or S7. Are any of those good for rock hammers and chisels? I have not looked up L6 as of yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeaverNZ Posted March 3, 2019 Share Posted March 3, 2019 While I dont know what type of steel Jack hammer bits are made from they are easy to get from hire places here they hold up well from teir intended use, i have been told by others on this site that they are often just 1040ish steel though I have seen in several advisory web sites about possible scrap steel types they may be S7 I have quite a few and have forged several into blades successfully so who knows Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted March 3, 2019 Share Posted March 3, 2019 I have a blacksmithing book from the 20's that shows a geologist hammer as a project, but that has a wooden handle. I also have my Dad's Estwing like the one above. What you want is a tough steel, not one that gets super hard and brittle. I would think that even steels like 5160 would work, and that is a common spring steel used in cars. Jackhammer bits was a good suggestion, as they can be picked up inexpensively, or even free, and they are used to ...... break rocks. As to making it one piece, get some modeling clay and work out the steps with that just like you would be forging it on the anvil. I'm thinking you may go with a long wide piece, then split the end like so "Y" then make that a "T". After that , draw the handle out, or trim, to the size you want. Use a shock absorbing handle material. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ede Posted March 3, 2019 Share Posted March 3, 2019 Here’s one I forged with a striker. The metal is sucker rod. It was given to another friend who has done lots of gem prospecting and he is happy with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arkie Posted March 3, 2019 Share Posted March 3, 2019 12 hours ago, Irondragon Forge & Clay said: My concern with one piece hammers like the Estwing is the stress is transferred to your hand & arm through the handle. Estwing started making the one piece hammers with a rubber-type, shock absorbing handle which helped dramatically over the leather type. My hammer from about 1963 is the "rubber" type and still great shape. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anvil Posted March 3, 2019 Share Posted March 3, 2019 As a hand forged project, this is a very complex forging. A one piece hammer/handle combo is better done with an industrial setup. Heat treating will also be rather complex. You will need to ht both ends as well as the transition from hammer to handle. Not that it can't be done in a one man shop. Keep us informed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigfootnampa Posted March 3, 2019 Share Posted March 3, 2019 I would advise you to begin with forging a head and fitting a wooden handle. The all steel type will be a significantly more advanced piece of work. I also think you’ll prefer the wooden handle anyway... I know I would! I do have both types BTW. Using breaker bits for material is an excellent idea! They are often mostly 1070 to 1090 steels but often have custom alloy content that improves their abrasion and shock resistance. Another good source, when you can find it in large enough sizes, is old star drills. 1090 is better than medium carbon steels like 4140 but you have to temper it appropriately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrigneous Posted March 3, 2019 Author Share Posted March 3, 2019 I want to say thank you to everyone! This has been way more fruitful than I had expected. So many excellent advice and tips from types of steel and sourcing to types of handles (the picture were great) to how to forge a one piece hammer (I think the Y to T is probably the way to go). I think my plan will be to first source some jackhammer bits, star drills, or the sucker rod for cheap. I will do the wooden handle style first and see how it goes. When I get a better set-up in the future with more appropriate heat treating, quenching and tempering equipment, I'll go for the one piece construction. Thanks to everyone again. I will update this topic with the first one I make. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelonian Posted March 3, 2019 Share Posted March 3, 2019 Welcome to the forum! Just as a proof of concept, you could go to a flea market or similar, and purchase a large old ball peen hammer head. (you can usually find them just about anywhere for >~$2) You could then forge the ball peen end out into the pick, reshape the hammer end if you wish, and make a handle for it. This would avoid you needing to punch the eye of the hammer yourself. If you do decide to do this, I would go for a fairly soft temper. There's no way to know exactly what kind of steel the hammer head is, and you don't want it to chip and send shrapnel at you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 Chrigneous, you can use drill rod. Personally I would go with chelonians idea. I'm not sure but I think drill and sucker rod are the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted March 8, 2019 Share Posted March 8, 2019 The drill rod I have used was mostly O-1; sucker rod is medium C for the most part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted March 8, 2019 Share Posted March 8, 2019 Thomas, thank you for clearing that up for me. The drill rod at the steel suppliers near me is 0-1. I thought sucker rod was the same. Now I know. I don't see sucker rod around here ever. Maybe because there's no oil drilling. It's used in all types of wells though isn't it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arkie Posted March 8, 2019 Share Posted March 8, 2019 Sucker rod is also used in some water wells....although not commonly found. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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