Ideas to Practice Striking

[Will Brouwers]

I just saw a video on Instagram of a Historical Medieval Battle participant practicing his moves, using his sword and shield, on a stack of tires. It looked really cool and like a lot of fun. It got me thinking, is there a way to get good at swinging a sledge when you are by yourself? I thought about looping a tire over my anvil and hitting that, to be more accurate and gain more stamina. Or would it just be better to go volunteer with a smith who needs a striker? Thoughts?

[Branding Iron]

Go split some wood.

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

That is how I practice striking. A splitting maul the same weight as my striking hammer. It helps to develop memory and warms ya up. But really nothing beats working with an experienced smith.

[Frosty]

None of you guys has a rock pile and gravel driveway? Splitting wood is good practice, a maul for developing the muscle and a lighter axe splitting kindling for accuracy.

My splitting block has an old ATV tire screwed to it to hold the wood and catch the splits. The tire stops the axe when you miss and yes you WILL miss but it can't take a wild bounce and hit you it just goes thump and takes a bounce a couple inches at most. 

Splitting wood and striking is a little like golf, whatever club you use the swing is the same. Sometimes I take a serious overhead swing at a piece of wood but not usually, if the block is that hard to split I go to the sledge and wedges. Striking is pretty much the same I use the same swing, the higher I lift the hammer the harder the blow but the swing is essentially the same.

I've never liked that sort of cross armed across your body striker swing but I've never met someone to show me so I probably did it wrong. 

Frosty The Lucky.

[anvil]

My striking style is the one Frosty doesn't use.  Lol,  go figure.  Its very different than splitting wood. It's very controlled. I've never thought of practicing striking by myself. So heres what I would do. Take a piece of hot square stock, an anvil, an adjustable stand, a heavy weight and an "S" hook to hang the weight. Put your iron on your anvil and stand. Adjust your stand til your steel lays flat on your anvil. Hang the weight on your hot iron to hold it in place. Practice striking.

[Will Brouwers]

Thanks for the ideas guys! I had thought about wood before, but the tire idea was consuming my focus!

[Frosty]

You're right Anvil, I don't strike like that, I have a striker named Barb after my Mother, a 50lb. Little Giant. When I do get out a sledge I usually hold the work with a hold fast or a piece of drive chain so we're probably not far different.

Here you go Will, my safe easy chopping block. The ATV tire was free for the asking from the local tire shop's discard pile.

Frosty The Lucky.

 

 

[arkie]

Good idea, Frosty.  Saves the axe handle for sure.

[Frosty]

Thanks Arkie. You still catch the handle on the wood being split but when you hit one that splits really easy and the axe breaks through on the near side at full speed, it hits the tire and just stops with a tiny bounce. You don't have to hold a piece up and take a fast swing before it falls over, etc.

I got the ATV tire idea from guys who have metal stakes driven in their splitting blocks and hold the wood with bungies or old inner tube, etc. The tire doesn't keep it all in a nice neat bundle but I almost never have to pick a piece up off the ground.

Frosty The Lucky.

[ThomasPowers]

Using a star drill to make holes in a concrete slab; or putting in T posts for a fence with a sledge with a cut down handle  builds stamina too. 

[DickyPitts]

I like using a wedge and sledge to split wood. If you can consistently hit a 2.5" square wedge end, flat with your sledge face, at whatever angle it winds up at after the last swing, full swing blows at a piece on an anvil are easy.

[Frosty]

How long did it take you to get good with a sledge and wedge Dick? You were a pure natural at the anvil about the only thing I recall needing to coach you at was how to hold and position work on the anvil with tongs. You didn't even want to put your thumb on the hammer handle. 

How're things going for you and the family? My older Sister lives in Littleton, not that I'd recommend looking her up, I like you. Any good fossil hunting in your area?

Frosty The Lucky.