Diagonal cross peen hammer
- Thread starter Crosche
- Start date
Shame about the torch job on the handle!
Not sorry to say so, but I figure any tool that has honest signs of use and wear, is a LOT better looking than if it has been done over with a torch to make it look scorched.
Seems sorta like digging through a house fire to frame half-burnt pictures you found...
Decent looking hammer head though...
Not sorry to say so, but I figure any tool that has honest signs of use and wear, is a LOT better looking than if it has been done over with a torch to make it look scorched.
Seems sorta like digging through a house fire to frame half-burnt pictures you found...
Decent looking hammer head though...
Dan Dubeau
Ultra Member
Nice job. Did you forge that by hand, or with powered help? I'm looking forward to being able to forge my own hammers someday, but will wait until I have a press built. I always thought a diagonal cross peen on about a 15-20* angle would be very ergonomic, instead of the traditional 45.
Thank you! I forged it by hand. Punching the eye was easier than I thought it would be, so don't wait for a press just to make a hammer; just be sure to start with a small diameter punch. Making a rounding hammer is next on my list. The 45 deg angle is probably not the most ergonomic, but it "fits" most people and since the hammer was made as a present....it was the safe bet.
It was the first burnt finish that I tried and I have mixed feelings about it. The main reason I did it (along with treating the wood with boiled linseed oil) was to preserve the wood and it gives the handle a nice feel in the hand. It doesn't slip when my hand gets sweaty like many of my commercially made varnished handles that need to be sanded before any serious use. As far as the aesthetics go, I certainly was not going for a hipster vibe or to make the tool appear to be used.
Dan Dubeau
Ultra Member
Good to know. I won't be getting too deep into smithing projects until the winter, and that is entirely dependent on getting the forge setup by then. I'm trying.......
The one great thing about getting into a brand new hobby is the never ending supply of tools and tooling to buy and make for it. I want to make a rounding hammer too. And a guillotine tool, and.....and....
You won't regret having a guillotine tool; I love mine. So handy when you are working alone.
Just wait until you get to the level of having to make a tool, to make a tool, so you can make the tool you are actually trying to make...
Or you discover Repoussé, and that you need about a thousand hammers to get all the way through what you wish to do! And the chisels and punches! LOL! Worse by far, than auto body work!
Not trying to stomp on yer parade, just expressing my views. Burnt wood goes back into the stove, IM(nsh)O. I kinda started my hate on for the stuff back in Grade 8 Shop, where the teacher made us all put a torch to some perfectly nice clear Pine... Not so concerned if some Japanese guy in a rain forest thought it made his hut last longer in the wet, more concerned with not having ugly scorched stuff around.
I am partial to a nice oil finish, to bring out the color and act as a bit of a preservative, and then allowing a nice handle or part, to develop it's marks and wear with honest use!
Agree 100 percent, WRT the crappy slick clear coat that they put on the shelf goods, too!
I can see both sides of this.
Growing up, I quickly learned that a fire sharpened stick worked better for cooking small critters on a fire. Later on I hardened wooden spears in the fire. As a dad, it also made cooking hot dogs and marshmallows with the kids a better joy.
As funny as it might sound, a fire hardened stick also made me realize the potential for contrast in the grain structure. And a light flame after wetting changed the surface texture without burning. I used this to enhance carvings with flame stains and oil. Filling the wood pores with fine sandings of wood particles mixed in the oil also became an art. I've carved a few beautiful exhibition gun stocks using these same skills cultivated by seeing how the wood reacts to various ways of changing its character and more importantly bringing out its character.
I have both wooden and synthetic hammers, sledges, and axes. The good ones are both beautiful and functional. The bad ones look and feel horrid.
Growing up, I quickly learned that a fire sharpened stick worked better for cooking small critters on a fire. Later on I hardened wooden spears in the fire. As a dad, it also made cooking hot dogs and marshmallows with the kids a better joy.
As funny as it might sound, a fire hardened stick also made me realize the potential for contrast in the grain structure. And a light flame after wetting changed the surface texture without burning. I used this to enhance carvings with flame stains and oil. Filling the wood pores with fine sandings of wood particles mixed in the oil also became an art. I've carved a few beautiful exhibition gun stocks using these same skills cultivated by seeing how the wood reacts to various ways of changing its character and more importantly bringing out its character.
I have both wooden and synthetic hammers, sledges, and axes. The good ones are both beautiful and functional. The bad ones look and feel horrid.
KeeponDragon
Super User
I'm for the burnt handle camp. Any of the wood handles I replace in my toolbox, get sanded down to suit my grip, then a quick over with the fire to bring out the grain striations. I like the look.
I learnt this from watching both Alex Steele and Will Stetler (youtube blacksmith content creators) forge hammer heads, then from raw stock, make the handles from scratch.
I've also found treating the handles makes them easier to wipe off if I get any garage schmoo on em'.
Each to their own right?
One persons potato is another's patawtoh
I learnt this from watching both Alex Steele and Will Stetler (youtube blacksmith content creators) forge hammer heads, then from raw stock, make the handles from scratch.
I've also found treating the handles makes them easier to wipe off if I get any garage schmoo on em'.
Each to their own right?
One persons potato is another's patawtoh