How can I tell if I have a Chinese mass produced hammer?

[newforger2024]

Hey guys, new to blacksmithing. Trying to learn as much as I can as I begin to build up tools and start practicing. Just had a question, a family member bought me a Swedish cross peen hammer. I don’t know the maker but I wanted to know how I could tell if it was a mass produced Chinese hammer or a quality piece made it Europe or America. 
 

Some of the details are: it’s handle is American hickory, the head I believe is fully tempered not just in the strike faces, has a thick steel circular wedge. Any information on determining quality of hammers would be super beneficial. Thanks a lot. 

[Frosty]

Welcome aboard Newforger, glad to have you. If you put your general location in the header you'll have a much better chance of meeting up with forum members living within visiting distance.

Please forgive me for saying you don't know enough to matter who or where your hammer was made. I have probably 15 Chinese hammers and they do their jobs as well as my $45 (1977 dollars) Dimond rounding hammer. I'm especially fond of the selection of cheap Chinese "club" hammers. Just square, flat faced blocks of steel "probably" on handles, their weights IIRC range from 125gm to 1kg. A cross pein wouldn't normally be used to strike HARD things. Your punches, chisels and other top tools should be tempered to blue. 

However there is a simple test to see if your hammer is hard enough to use for the process you are using it for. After a few stout blows examine the face if it's dinged the hammer is too soft to do THAT. If you miss a blow and strike the anvil face check the hammer face or pein for excessive flat spots. Your anvil SHOULD be harder than the hammers but it shouldn't make much of a mark, a little sure but not one bad enough to mark your work.

In normal forging operations your hammers are not hitting hard steel, it's HOT so you can forge it with mild steel for a hammer. Hammers are hardened largely to take a polish and resist excessive wear or deformation.

Make sense? 

[George N. M.]

Welcome aboard from 7500' in SE Wyoming.  Glad to have you.

I agree with Frosty that IMO the origin of your hammer is a pretty minor thing.  The only real way to tell the quality of a hammer, which is a pretty simple tool, is to use it.  If it chips or deforms in use then it is a lower quality tool.  The peen side will probably wear faster than the face because it is a smaller area subject to similar forces.  This is not uncommon.

Sometimes you can infer quality by the finish on the tool.  If it is a rough, crude finish left on by the manufacturer it is more likely that low quality steel or little or no heat treating was used to make the hammer.

If you are sure the handle on your hammer is American hickory then I suspect that it is pretty good quality.  No low end hammer maker is going to put a good/expensive handle on a crappy head.

This is a world wide forum and without you putting a geeral location into your profile we don't know if you are in Lapland, Tasmania, or Kansas.

"By hammer and hand all srts do stand."

[newforger2024]

Thanks for the responses. I remember reading on several sights that hammers that are made in China should be avoided, that was my only reason for asking. Are you guys saying that’s not as big of a deal when using or purchasing hammers? Thanks for the help and patience with me! Super new to this all. 

[George N. M.]

That's essentially it.  However, a cheap, poorly finished hammer is more likely to be too soft or too hard.  Like most other things you often get what you pay for.  Again, like many things, on the high end you are sometimes paying for the name rather than increased quality.  If you buy a cheap hammer and it turns out to be a POS you don't have much invested in it and you know to avoid that brand in the future.  And if you buy an expensive hammer and it isn't that magical you have also learned a lesson.

There can also be a political agenda in advice to avoid things made in X country rather than just pure consumer evaluation.  Yes, there are many cheap and nasty things that come out of the Orient and many high quality, expensive things that come out of Northern Europe but the reverse can be true too.  A hammer is pretty basic and if you are just starting out it will not make much of a difference one way or another in your learning curve as long a you are not using something grossly too large or too small.  I have found that about a 2 pound hammer is a good general use size for me.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

[Frosty]

And one last thing. New comers WILL ding up and otherwise damage hammers so it's better to do it with lower price ones. Once you've developed the craft you'll start to appreciate the sometimes subtle differences between higher quality and groovy as opposed to cheap old poorness. Never stop picking up cheap soft hammers though, there are lots of things soft is good for and if you ruin it it's no great loss. Learning to Using the hardy is a perfect place for soft hammers, anybody can miss a blow and if a soft hammer gets a cut on the face it's not likely to have flattened the edge on the hardy, win win. A good hammer will flatten the hardy's edge and may take a cut itself, lose lose.

Frosty The Lucky. 

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

14 hours ago, newforger2024 said:

Swedish cross peen hammer.

Welcome from the Ozark mountains.

That also could be just the style of hammer, like a French cross peen hammer. Lots of hammer styles are made in the U S by many blacksmiths. Might ask your family member where they got the hammer, the reply might surprise you. If the answer is Harbor Freight then a good bet it was made in China, if a Blacksmith down the road made it it's custom made.

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

 

[Jason L]

I've never used a Swedish hammer before but they appear to have a broad square head and a relatively thin pien. It seems like it would be fairly unbalanced to me, but Blacksmith's Depot says they are the most popular type so what do I know.  What makes them so popular?

Does your hammer have any identifying marks on it? A photo might help identify it, but there's no guarantee. I have to agree with what others have said about starting with cheap hammers. You can decide which style you like best without a huge outlay of funds, damaging one won't bring you to tears and likely as not it won't cause too much damage to other stuff in the event of a poorly placed strike. I don't think there is such a thing as a bad hammer, only bad application. Like Frosty said, there is a place for cheap hammers in the shop. Don't sweat where it came from.

[Nobody Special]

I've got nothing much to add on the origins of hammers, but I will say that cheap used hammers from flea markets are favorite for modifying without feeling bad about it. One of my all-time favorite forging hammers is a three-pound diagonal peen that started out heavier and more inclined to ideographic writing.

I just ground down a little at a time alternating with water just enough to prevent it from heating up and affecting the temper. You can change the peen, swap or cut down the handles, make texturing hammers by changing the face, or if you're really confident about your heat treating, forge it into a different tool altogether. Lots of people enjoy making ball peen tomahawks, but you can be a lot more creative if you put your mind to it. And if you mess up, you're only out the time and a few bucks.

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

Old claw hammers make dandy small gardening weeding tools.

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

 

[Jason L]

That's a great idea Irondragon. I may have to buy a claw hammer and make one of those for the wife. I have tons of hammers but only two claw hammers and one of those is the wife's. I can't actually remember the last time I used a claw hammer now that I think about it.