Jeremy Blohm 575 Posted January 27, 2020 Share Posted January 27, 2020 (edited) I've been really getting into hammer making with my new power hammer and even before I got my hammer I was forging them by hand and using my homemade power hammer. This I believe is going to be my signature hammer along with my Japanese style bladesmiths hammers. Starting stock was a 4 lb chunk of forklift tine. punched a round hole under the power hammer. Bolster i made for driving out the "slug" here is the eye after punching. used a small fullering tool to start the fullers in front and behind the eye. then started to draw out the peen using the fullering tool. The peen ended up with too much material so I used a hot cut tool under the power hammer. This is what was cut off. Kinda a crappy picture but I never claimed to be a photographer. Now I proceeded to fuller out the peen and in front of the eye with a larger fuller. And start to drift the eye. Here is a picture of the fuller and the drift I use. The drift is made if stainless steel. Surprisingly holds up pretty good. I have one made from H13 I need to finish grind and will replace this one. I have a special bolster I made for drifting the eye from the underside. And here is the final forged hammer. Total weight after scale loss and cutting a bit off is 49.7 ounces or 3.1 lbs. I hope everyone enjoys this thread as much as I enjoyed making the hammer. Thank you Jeremy Blohm Edited January 27, 2020 by Jeremy Blohm 2 Link to post Share on other sites
t cudworth 39 Posted January 27, 2020 Share Posted January 27, 2020 Thats awesome Jeremy! Is it friction fit to the shaft? How about a big war axe next? Tom 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Chris C-S 148 Posted January 27, 2020 Share Posted January 27, 2020 Cool project and progress shots. Would love to own one like it one day! Thanks for sharing. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Alan Longmire 3,887 Posted January 27, 2020 Share Posted January 27, 2020 What are you using as your model? The few I've seen don't have that dramatic a face. Just curious. Link to post Share on other sites
ChrisBriggs 13 Posted January 27, 2020 Share Posted January 27, 2020 Looks like a lot of tools involved in the process. How, ever do you keep track of them in your shop? How do you recommend keeping things organized so you aren't looking for tongs, drifts, or bolsters!? But for real bro, your shit is awesome. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Jeremy Blohm 575 Posted January 27, 2020 Author Share Posted January 27, 2020 These were my inspiration. Definitely far from exact copies. I haven't been able to find many original photos. Link to post Share on other sites
Jeremy Blohm 575 Posted January 27, 2020 Author Share Posted January 27, 2020 I might have an I dea how to get the finished hammer a little closer to the pictures. Link to post Share on other sites
Jeremy Blohm 575 Posted January 27, 2020 Author Share Posted January 27, 2020 (edited) There is this one also. Another thing though is I'm trying to find something to set me apart from the crowd. I like my hammer but I agree there is too much face. Edited January 27, 2020 by Jeremy Blohm Link to post Share on other sites
Clifford Brewer 384 Posted January 27, 2020 Share Posted January 27, 2020 I like the second one more, and would suggest faceting the corners a little to assist the face profile some. Just my $.02 fer whut its worth, I wouldn't mind having one like that to try out................... If ya can't be good don't git caught !! People who say stuff can't be done need to git the hell outta the way of people who do stuff !!! Show me a man who is called an expert by his peers And I will show you a good man to listen to ...... Show me a man who calls himself an expert and I will show you an egotistical asshole...............!! Link to post Share on other sites
Gerald Boggs 310 Posted January 27, 2020 Share Posted January 27, 2020 Not that I was making it to sell, but I just copied the Mastermyr Chest hammers. <p>Gerald Boggs <a href="http://www.geraldboggs.com">www.geraldboggs.com</a></p> Link to post Share on other sites
Alan Longmire 3,887 Posted January 27, 2020 Share Posted January 27, 2020 1 hour ago, Gerald Boggs said: Mastermyr Chest hammers These, and a burial context or three, are the only surviving ones I know of. Jim Austin makes good reproductions based on these finds. https://forgedaxes.com/classes/all-classes/viking-style-blacksmithing-hammer/ http://warehamforgeblog.blogspot.com/2014/02/viking-age-forging-hammers.html I asked because none of them have that short heavy fuller behind the face. There is a sway there for sure, though. Good forging, and good toolmaking regardless! 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Jeremy Blohm 575 Posted January 27, 2020 Author Share Posted January 27, 2020 Doh.....never thought to look at the mastermyr find. I cant believe it slipped my mind. I searched viking hammer and it brought up thor hammer pendants. Viking crosspeen brought up some more results. My next attempt will be along the lines of the mastermyr hammers. I might try to do a little more forging on this one and see how it turns out. I kinda worked it in my head what to do but that doesn't always work out. Link to post Share on other sites
Jeremy Blohm 575 Posted January 27, 2020 Author Share Posted January 27, 2020 I made a much larger fuller. Hopefully it wont have such a dramatic effect on the face. I wont be able to fire the forge up till tomorrow sometime because Samantha is sick and she doesn't want to hear the house rattling and vibrating and thumping from the power hammer. I have to respect the wifey. Link to post Share on other sites
Chris Christenberry 363 Posted January 27, 2020 Share Posted January 27, 2020 "If Mamma ain't happy, ain't nobody gonna be happy" Learned that over 50 years and 4 wives ago! 2 Chris www.chrischristenberry.com WHEW!!! If I could only know now what I "thought" I knew back then.................... Link to post Share on other sites
Jeremy Blohm 575 Posted January 27, 2020 Author Share Posted January 27, 2020 The more I look at this hammer the more it looks like a french hammer and a viking hammer got together and had a baby!?!?!? 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Jeremy Blohm 575 Posted January 27, 2020 Author Share Posted January 27, 2020 Happy wife=happy life!!! Link to post Share on other sites
Chris Christenberry 363 Posted January 27, 2020 Share Posted January 27, 2020 Yup! Chris www.chrischristenberry.com WHEW!!! If I could only know now what I "thought" I knew back then.................... Link to post Share on other sites
Jeremy Blohm 575 Posted January 27, 2020 Author Share Posted January 27, 2020 5 hours ago, Alan Longmire said: Jim Austin makes good reproductions based on these finds. https://forgedaxes.com/classes/all-classes/viking-style-blacksmithing-hammer/ This is awesome. I might have to start a savings jar and rent some time from Jim Austin. $110 /hr sounds really reasonable considering what I would learn from him!!! Link to post Share on other sites
Jeremy Blohm 575 Posted January 27, 2020 Author Share Posted January 27, 2020 Link to post Share on other sites
Gary LT 205 Posted January 28, 2020 Share Posted January 28, 2020 Jeremy, it does look like you’ve found a niche for you. I like the designs as they are different from the masses. I mean look at the Hofi hammer.....his design.....Maybe? Anyway, interested in how do you heat treat the face for proper hardness? What range works best? Kind regards, Gary LT "I Never Met A Knife I Didn't Like", (Will Rogers) Link to post Share on other sites
Jeremy Blohm 575 Posted January 28, 2020 Author Share Posted January 28, 2020 Thank you Gary! I harden the whole hammer head on my cross/straight peen and I only harden the face of my Japanese style hammers. I temper them at 500°f which results in a deep gold to purple on a polished face. I find tempering a little hotter saves the anvil face from stray strikes and holds up well with using tooling and punches and resists cracking. Link to post Share on other sites
Jeremy Blohm 575 Posted January 28, 2020 Author Share Posted January 28, 2020 So I was looking into the mastermyr find and I noticed something interesting. A couple of the tools they described as "small anvils" look just like to hammer eye drifts I use. The one to the left of what he is pointing at is the one I'm referring to. Also I have a bigger drift that I made that looks a lot like the one he is pointing at. Link to post Share on other sites
Jeremy Blohm 575 Posted January 28, 2020 Author Share Posted January 28, 2020 And in these pictures the "small anvils" have the same shape and dimensions of the Adze and hammers in the pictures. Could these be drifts and not anvils? Link to post Share on other sites
Jeppe 21 Posted January 28, 2020 Share Posted January 28, 2020 I think some of the 'anvils' are in fact drifts as you suggest. If you want to have a look at other finds, here is a search in the Norwegian finds database. Hammers: http://www.unimus.no/foto/?fbclid=IwAR2uQRcqng4jPq3ouSTCMVKKKFrQzDmXnI1s71C7Wa-5eDcEORAnJevwopg#/search?q=hammer vikingtid Tongs:http://www.unimus.no/foto/?fbclid=IwAR2RV_49sNPBLikxcKfikkfmngxhcjPGBHZwcW-ZzKp9V0VZmo4xNR5JQkM#/search?q=tang vikingtid Anvils: http://www.unimus.no/foto/?fbclid=IwAR1Ug_XRXyU4hC0PnW73OFmahse-47PDjx7wACnRwZASpCyEPEDXTfP4TGI#/search?q=ambolt vikingtid 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites
Alan Longmire 3,887 Posted January 28, 2020 Share Posted January 28, 2020 Thanks, Jeppe, that is an invaluable resource! Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now