So, I just picked up a 2 pound cross pein hammer. I have read that before ya use most hammers, you should dress the face of the hammer. My question is: Should the face of the hammer be a lil' convex or flat with the edges kinda feathered so it leaves no rings? Is a 2 pound cross pein a good choice for a beginner? Thanks for the help...

That's a pretty personal question. You may get a lot of different answers. I like to radius the handle axis so when you lay a straight edge along it, there's about 1/32 inch of light showing on the edges, the left/right axis, about 1/16. I radius all edges to a soft edge. I use a 40g flap wheel on a 4.5 inch hand grinder, then polish with a scotch-brite wheel on the bench grinder. If you find that you leave dings on your work predominately on any one corner, work on your body mechanics for a while before you grind that corner out of your hammer. Sometimes you can lift or lower your hip or shoulder a bit, and lose the dings. You may get one hammer fit just fine to your swing, but what happens when you pick up another one?

I am guilty of tailoring my tools to my person a little too much.
Most every tool I have in my arsenal has a tweek I have made to it.

Thinning a handle or altering a tong with intentional off centering ect.

I agree it is a bad habit as proper body machanics are a foundation for longevity. Hofi will probably read this post so I wont crow too much about it but much of his work on body machanics is very solid to learn and practice while you are impressionable. All too many of us have the school of thought that "bah rubbish! I have been swinging a hammer for years without that hype just fine."

Truth is mechanics are paramount towards being effective when individual strikes can make or break a project. Breaking bad habits and practicing solid form will avoid injuries and much frustration.

Hofi can explain it so much better than myself. His isolation techniques of joint movement and fixed body positions can make long hours possible with no sore muscles. Like a golfer reviewing his swing. Lift, swing, and tap with your tools and see what your particular habits are. What you do when tired or fatigued. A pattern will emerge.

My appologies if I am long winded as you were direct with your question.

"Dressing a hammer".... I personally avoid stock removal on my hammers except the rounding of the very outer edge. More like just a very slight rounding of the corners. I polish the faces as true as I can to avoid unwanted toutchmarking but otherwise your hammers should be crisp and true. Over working your tools can produce patterns and lead to fighting against yourself when trying to draw out or flatten materials on fine finishes. I agree that it is to each thier own design so I too look forward to hearing what more members will say about thier hammers.

Just my opinion, welcome to the boards.

Edited February 6, 200917 yr by HackKnives

I have hammers dressed quite curved and hammers dressed almost flat. Both has their uses depending on what I'm making.

So are you making knives or ornamental work? Tools or tooling? Is this your only hammer?

I will also mention that if you dress lightly you can always go back and increase it; but it's much harder to recover if done too much to start.

As for 2 pounds: can you use it with control for an extended ammount of time without getting a sore arm? 2# is my "light hammer" and so get's used when I'm out of shape or when I'm ramping up to a larger hammer or ramping down as I get tired during a forging session.

Edited February 6, 200917 yr by ThomasPowers

Hammer face, slightly convex. Sharp edges removed. Edges rounded according to your taste. See Hofi hammers for examples.

Hey thanks for all the good info... I really appreciate it. I have a couple of hammers, but the cross pein I picked up felt a lil better in my hand. But, I'm new at this so I'm not sure what "right" really is. I'm mostly interested in ornamental work for now. I am interested in bladesmithing, but figure I'd wait to try that out later.
Again, thanks ya'll.. I really appreciate the info.