I won a couple of auction bids for antique tools this past weekend and got two unique hammers. The larger one I think is a cobblers hammer or shoemakers hammer. The little guy I am not sure about. The face is round on one side and square on the other side. The handle gets down to 5/16 round which is so thin that it bearly controls the head. If it is used for swinging then it is not a powerful hammer. Is it also for shoe making?

The small hammer is likely for repousse work.  They like those hammers to have a whippy handle.  They must also be quite small as lots of tappety taps are the way to work in that field.  I’m not sure what the large one is, but I don’t think it’s a cobbler’s hammer.  It looks more like for body work.

The little one is for silversmithing, search on: silversmithing hammers images

The big one is not a cobbler's hammer.

The head size (too large).and shape are not suitable for that purpose.

SLAG.

p.s.  I repair shoes for myself and family, for a hobby.

The large hammer is a type of sinking hammer in pretty rough shape. In general it would be a "finishing" hammer of the "long neck" variety. The square face would be for finishing the inside of a deep vessel of space, the cross pein end is the forming end. The whole thing would've been polished to a high shine.

The small hammer could be any number of tin knocker or silver smith hammers, Chasing hammers tend to have a round knob on the end of the handle so it pivots like a hinge. It allows a crisp blow with an absolute minimum of arm movement.

Hammers GOOD, Frosty LIKE hammers! 

Frosty The Lucky.

The small hammer: A silversmithing hammer! Thanks Thomas. I assume that it would work for all of my goldsmithing projects as well.

The larger hammer: I can accept that it is not a cobblers hammer. At the same time I am not convinced that it is a "dishing" sort of hammer. The face is square with sharp edges and would leave a rough textured surface. When I make bowls, it is with a round face and radiused  edges. Is it a geologist hammer for splitting rocks?

As a Geologist I can say I have never seen one like that.

Citizens of I.F.I.,

The rectangular hammer head is intriguing. If it were more oval or round like it could pass for a type of geologists hammer. (the more common geologist hammer, (or prospector's pick,) ends in a pick).

The hammer head is strange in that it is rectangular. Were it round or somewhat oval it would resemble a masonry hammer. But the head is strangely elongated.

Surely, someone has seen and knows the function of this implement.

BUT wait!, the SLAG just had a thought. (rare,  I know, but enlightenment sometimes happens).

I checked out a seller called the "Hammer Source" and looked at their on-line catalogue. Under 'specialty or trade  hammers". Have a look at Vaughan ABL 24,  called a 'steel brick hammer'.

Also look at the Vaughan ABL18, 'bricklayers' hammer. It looks like the ABL24.

These hammers look very similar to the hammer, in question, (above).

It is time to get back to cooking my Malaysian dish 'de jour', chicken & lentil Dalcha.

Regards to all.

SLAG.

My first thought was a cooper's hammer

Dishing hammers come in all shapes and that one is years laying in the wet cruddy from being in using condition. 

Body hammers serve the same purpose in a shallower setting and any set comes with square faces.

Try a web search and look at the pictures.

Frosty The Lucky.

Since we can't figure out what exactly the large hammer is then I think that works to my advantage. I can advertise it as a "rare, unique, one of a kind, thumpy hammer with an oddly long neck." That should be worth twice as much!

Good Morning Heatwave,

You are giving up kind of easy/early. Frosty has the correct answer. It is for dishing or raising sheet metal. Body Shop, Bodymen use it for straightening sheet metal panels and it also is used for Repousse' work. A Hammer is a lump on a stick, it can be used for any number of different applications. There is no such thing as using it for only one application. It could also be used as a bottle opener (any Port in the Storm).

Neil

I would keep it and forge it into a handled punch or drift.

As far as for it's original use I think it looks like a hammer for working stone or brick/block. I'm only guessing though so take it as such. 

What it used to be doesn't matter as much as what it's going to be.

Pnut

 

It does look a lot like a "skutch" hammer for masonary work, but I reckon it is a bit light, perhaps for carving stone, statues etc maybe, a good quality skutch would be more than useful on steel except for the length of the outboard on both sides.

They're hammers.  You use them for hammering.  They both would make for interesting smithing/decorative work.  As for their original purpose, my guess is both something along the lines of body work or tin smithing.

Scutch hammers are usually used by brick masons and the ones I have seen look just like that one.

Oh no! I think that we have cut the value of my hammer in half by identifying it as a vintage mason or bricklayer hammer. I had to research what a "scutch hammer is and that lead to bricklayer hammer. Bricklayer's hammers have that same odd long neck. Thank you all for pointing me in the right direction even if I can't call it a rare, unique one of a kind hammer anymore. I think that I can safely clean it up and put a new handle on it and make it a more functional tool which I might never use.

Brick layers need the long curved neck to reach their scutch if they have an itch. 

Frosty The Lucky.

You are not required to abide by what it was used for.  I have used a hammer with a long curved neck to set rivets in the top of a spangenhelm before. I *know* it wasn't used for that originally!