The Hammer

by Albin Drzewianowski

You can't get much more basic in blacksmithing than a discussion about hammers. After your anvil, the hammer is probably your most important tool. There seem to be a number of different theories about hammers. One theory says to do everything with one hammer, preferably a 3 pound hammer. The other end of the spectrum espouses the theory that you should have dozens of hammers, each specific for one purpose. You will probably want to find a middle ground somewhere between these two extremes.

Here in America the traditional blacksmithing hammer seems to be the cross pein hammer. Based on books I have read, British and Canadian trained blacksmiths seem to favor the ball pein hammer. Those blacksmiths who originally were trained as farriers often use a rounding hammer (more on this type of hammer later). I think some of the best advice for beginners is to try as many different types and weights of hammers as possible. Try to pay attention to things like balance, weight, length and shape of handle. I had found, even early in my blacksmithing experiences, that certain hammers just seem to fit my hand. I could not explain why, but they felt like an extension of my arm. Other hammers seemed to just not belong there; no matter how I tried, they did not seem to work right. Pay attention to your instincts. Each blacksmith is different and what is a great hammer for one can be a poor one for another blacksmith. So go to hammer-in's tail-gate areas and fleamarkets, and watch for hammers, especially hammer heads. I often find good hammer heads for $.50 to $1.00. Learn to re-handle hammers, a valuable skill. When you come across a handle that seems to fits your hand and seems to work well, study it carefully. Try to determine what characteristics make it good for YOU.

When you go to blacksmith events, pay close attention to the type and size hammer the demonstrator is using. How is the handle shaped? How long is the handle? How many different hammers does he/she use in the demonstration?

A word of warning: many blacksmiths are very possessive about their favorite hammers. Always ask if you may try it and don't be put off if they say no. Many smiths have hunted long and hard to find the "perfect" hammer and don't want someone else abusing it, especially a beginner.

There are a number of different styles of blacksmith hammers. If you study the catalogs, you will see that there are French pattern, Swedish pattern, Czech pattern hammers and others. Often you will see a smith who has settled on a particular pattern and he will have a small, medium and large, all in that particular pattern.

The traditional American style of cross peen, like the ones sold at SEARS, are sometimes called English pattern hammers. When I first started blacksmithing, SEARS called that style of hammer, an ENGINEERING HAMMER. Today, they call it a BLACKSMITH'S HAMMER.

*Cross Peen Hammer

* Ball Peen Hammer

* Straight Peen Hammer

*Swedish Pattern Hammer

*French Pattern Hammer

* Czech Pattern Hammer

Over the years I have come to the conclusion that the balance of the hammer is a critical factor. You want to have the same amount of steel on each side of the hammer. If the hammer has a lot more steel at the hammer-face end compared to the peen end, you will constantly be fighting to keep the hammer correctly oriented to your target on the anvil. This is extra work for your arm and wrist. That is why I went from using a cross peen hammer to using a rounding hammer. (A rounding hammer, used by farriers to make and adjust horseshoes, has the same amount of steel at each end. One end is basically flat and the other end has a slight dome to it.) Using a well balanced hammer really made a difference to me. I will use a cross peen hammer when I need the peen, but 90% of the time, I am using a rounding hammer. And if the rounding hammer has a square face instead of a round one, you can use the top and bottom edges of the hammer face as cross peens and the two side edges as straight peens - the best of all worlds.

* Rounding Hammer

Hammer handles are another issue that keep a beginner from realizing the joy of using a "perfect" hammer. Each blacksmith's hands are different, the odds of a hammer coming with the perfect handle for your particular hand are pretty slim. I noticed that SEARS sells a fairly nice cross pein hammer, but the handle is way too thick for anyone who does not have monster size hands. Since the handles are made of wood and most of the time we need to make them smaller, it is a simple matter of taking a wood rasp and thinning them down. Based on a number of demonstrators and personal experience, I have come to prefer a roughly rectangular shaped handle. If the handle is too round, it tends to rotate in your grip and again, you have to fight that tendency to rotate. If the handle is rectangular and properly oriented to the head you always know exactly what angle the hammer head is to your work. Also with a rectangular handle, it takes just the slightest finger pressure to adjust the angle of attack. (I once had the disturbing experience of using what seemed to be a perfectly good cross pein hammer, only to leave a lot of hammer marks all over my steel. Drove me crazy. I finally realized that the handle was installed at a slight angle to the head and when I thought I was holding the hammer straight, I was actually holding it at a slight angle, hence all the stray hammer marks.)

Once you find a handle that really seems to fit your hand (I call that the "ooh-ahh" experience - your hand seems to whisper "ooh-ahh" when you pick up the hammer.) carefully copy down the dimensions: length and girth every couple of inches along the handle. Better yet: cut that handle off the hammer head and save it as a pattern so that you can copy it every time you need a new handle.

There is a relationship between size of steel and size of hammer. The bigger/thicker the steel, the bigger the hammer you will need. You can always use a big hammer on small steel (but it will take greater skill and hammer control) but if you try to use a small hammer on big metal, you will probably end up wasting you time. You need that extra mass to apply enough force to your material. This is just basic physics - mass and force. Finally, I want to close with a brief discussion about the habit of tapping the anvil with the hammer between hammer blows. As you watch different smiths work you will see some smiths who never tap the anvil and other smiths who seem to constantly do it. There are various theories here. One is that tapping the anvil is a waste of energy, i.e. you shouldn't do it.

Others say that tapping the anvil keeps up the rhythm of your work as you turn the piece of metal or to give you a moment to stop and think about what you are doing. My own theory is that a smith tends to emulate his/her teachers. If you took basic blacksmithing classes from a blacksmith who has a tendency to tap the anvil as he/she works, you will do it also. If your teacher did not do that, you probably won't either. Myself, I find that as I get more tired, I tend to tap the anvil more than I did at the beginning of the forging session. Lightly hitting the anvil between forging strokes, seems to rest my arm slightly. In any case it is something to watch for as you observer other blacksmiths work.

HAPPY HAMMERING!!

-- RebStaup - 25 Jan 2008