Here is a pic of what was once my favorite Rounding hammer. I hadn't used it in some time since it was waiting for me to re-handle it.

After a much needed dressing I see small fractures in the face. How long they have been there I don’t know. They look to be old. So I was probably using this hammer with these fractures for years. I am just amazed I didn’t notice them sooner.

How serious do you think this is? Would you retire it? Which I would hate to do since she just has such a good balance and moves metal the way I like.

The photo makes the fissures look larger than they really are. Maybe since it hadn't chipped out while I was using it means that whatever heat treating it once had is now gone and it is soft=not a safety risk?

 

If you like the hammer so much, what about forging a new hammer with the same mass and the same dimensions? About safety, probably best to retire this hammer just in case. 

Continuing to work with this hammer could be seriously dangerous: you do NOT want your hammer coming apart in the middle of a forging session.

I agree with caotropheus about making a replacement copy. I'm considering doing the same with a nice old cross-peen I really like that has developed a nasty crack right down the middle of the peen.

Doing fire demo one of the other employees hammer chipped and a piece entered the front of his bicep and was just barely poking out above his elbow. It traveled like a bullet. 

Pnut

I would retire it, having dug too many pieces of fractured tool steel out of various parts of my anatomy over the decades, makes me leery of fractures.

I just now got to where I have a good enough connection to see the picture and I would be afraid to use that hammer. I would err on the side of safety. Sharp high velocity metal projectiles can be bad news. 

Pnut

Thanks everyone for the sound advice. I just needed some encouragement to do the right thing. 

When you only have yourself to bounce ideas off of one can easily choose the path of least resistance.

Well, at least I now have a new handle for the new head when I do get around to trying to match this profile.

Cheers all,