getting back into smithing and rebuilding my shop.  Can someone suggest the best hammer material to use with a cutoff hardy?  back in the day (circa 40 years ago) I used a brass mallet.  Any thought would be appreciated.

Mild steel mallet works well. It has the mass, will ding and not damage the hardy and is inexpensive. 

Frosty The Lucky.

thxs

My pleasure

Frosty The Lucky.

I annealed a cheap harbor freight hammer and put on a new handle.   Works well with punches and chisels as well and can easily be cleaned up.  Welcome back into the fold.   

I have an accidentally made mild hammer that I bought from a friend- works great and it’s “disposable”. 

I found a 3-ish pound lump hammer at a flea market some years back. Annealed and re-handled, it’s excellent for hot cutting and striking chisels, punches, and the like. 

Good Morning Rshindelle,

Welcome!!

The Best Hammer, is the one you already have. When using a Hot Cut, NEVER Hammer directly over the CUTTING EDGE, when it gets thin. Hammer on either/both sides to SHEAR your material. NO Harm Done to Any Hammer!!  If you miss, it is a LEARNING LESSON. DON'T MISS!!

Neil

7 hours ago, swedefiddle said:

The Best Hammer, is the one you already have.

I would add "in arm's reach". If I had a nickel for every time I looked around and misplaced the hammer or mallet I had five seconds ago...

I will use a softer hammer for punches and such - if I want to be careful with struck tools, I've got a copper mallet. I try very hard not to ever strike anything not hot directly on top of the hot cut though.

4 minutes ago, Nobody Special said:

"in arm's reach

Like this?

What, you actually keep yours in their holders? Mine get up and walk away. Sometimes, literally.

I used to have a rawhide mallet that kept disappearing and was driving me nuts. Great for struck tools and straightening bits with twists. Turns out the dog (Charles Martel) was stealing it when my back was turned and was smart enough to bring it most of the way back and drop it on the floor when he was done with it. I didn't find out until he finally ate half of it. Hence the copper mallet. I miss that dumb dog.

I want to thank everyone who responded to my question.  A merry Christmas to all!

On 12/22/2025 at 8:53 AM, Rshindel said:

back in the day (circa 40 years ago) I used a brass mallet.  Any thought would be appreciated.

I started out with the same, a 2 lb brass hammer and I still use it today, never hurt the hot cut but the hammer shows a lot of use.

I can’t control the wind. All I can do is adjust my sails. ~Semper Paratus~ USCG 1964-1970

Nobody- you could always attach it to a wire like the pens at the bank?

In the day I had to share a shop the only way I could keep from people "borrowing" my tools was to say NO and keep the box locked. Actually caught one guy looking for bolt cutters because he couldn't get into the tool box. 

You might have to make a hammer rack with a flip down lockable bar. 

Frosty The Lucky.

I have noticed that people who have to buy their own tools take care and respect the tools of another. For example when i worked on transmissions with a bunch of other mechanics i never even locked my tool box. If someone needed something it was asked for then promptly returned. While where i work now the company provides the tools and no one takes care of them. 

Tru Dat. 

Another amusing trait of klepto tool borrowers is they almost always say, "If I had that tool I could do it."  Trying to explain that the tool isn't what does the work is as useful as explaining torque to a salmon.

An old foreman's Mother who used to say, "Talking sense to a fool is like singing to a mule," is as true as it gets. The one time I met her at a shop BBQ I told her that having experience with horses and mules singing to them is very useful for soothing them down. She did a theatrical look around for eves droppers, gave me a hug and said, "Don't tell Edward that, he thinks it means what he thinks it means." 

We had a good laugh and swapped recipes for a while. Lovely woman.

Frosty The Lucky.

19 hours ago, Ridgeway Forge Studio said:

Nobody- you could always attach it to a wire like the pens at the bank?

Nah, my wife says I can use a leash, but that's about it. She's funny about the dogs.