Questions About Hammer

[Jerry Smith]

Hi Alan and all of the awesome Smiths here!!

 

It's your resident noobie here and I have some questions about this hammer I just bought. May I have your thoughts please?

 

Can anyone tell me what this hammer is called or what type it is, and who makes it please?

 

Would this be considered a true Blacksmith's hammer?

 

I paid $40 dollars for this hammer. Did I do Ok or did I overpay?

 

I notice that both faces are not flat, but instead they slope slightly downward towards the top of the hammer. Is this by design or is it just worn?

 

Is there any other information that might be helpful and informative?

 

Thanks so much all!!

 

[Brian Dougherty]

I'm not a hammer expert, but I'll chime in a bit to save the true gurus a bit of typing - I'd call that a rounding hammer, and yeah it is a smithing hammer.  However, Don't get hung up on that last part, it doesn't mean much.

 

Hammers need dressed occasionally to reshape the face in order to soften the edges, or possibly to smooth out a ding.  I suspect that yours, over time, was redressed in such a way it created the taper you see.  A previous owner may have liked the way it moved metal with that shape.  It looks like it could use some light attention today as the surface of the face appears rough.

 

I have no idea who made it.  I'm guessing it is 1.5-2lb range which is a nice weight on the heavier end of general use for most folks.  $40 would be what a cheap hammer would cost new.  A fancy hammer can cost several times that.  I don't know enough about hammers to tell you where this one lands.

 

Looks like a good find to me that will serve you well.  Put it to good use

[Jerry Smith]

Thanks so much Brian!! (I will!!) 

[Simon Thibault]

Hi! i'm a noobie too. I've gone through a few hammers because they're exciting to buy. At first i bought a smithing hammer (called "french" pattern) from blacksmith depot, 2.5 lbs, a 4-lb cheap Kanca brand blacksmith's hammer, a 1 lb "tinner's" hammer, various hardware store club hammers, and to my surprise i now have a firm favourite, a 22 oz Estwing carpenter's hammer where i chopped the claw off the back and filed the milled face until it was round and smooth. I chopped the rubber grip off and re-made the handle out of leather and electrical tape. And it's my favourite, no question. It feels right and it feels like it moves the metal in a way that just feels good. I'm currently working on modifying an extra wide faced framing hammer to be similar but with a wider face. I say this to say i could have never anticipated that modified claw hammers were going to be my choice when i started out. So this hammer you got, this looks like a really sweet find. But collect them when you find cool ones. dress the faces, play with them, see how they feel. I bought the square-faced tinner hammer for forging but it's my go to household hammer. it's in my opinion better than any claw hammer. I didn't see that coming either.

[Jerry Smith]

Thanks so much for your reply Simon!! Yes, I have many hammers, (and most of them are not "Smithing" hammers), but it doesn't matter to me what their original purpose  was. What matters to me how I can use them to achieve whatever effect I'm looking for in the metal I'm working. I do love this new hammer, and for 40 bucks, I think I did well!! Here's a pic of my hammer and tong rack. Most of the hammers I collected for free and almost all of the tongs I bought for an average of 5 or 6 bucks a pair, by buying them in bulk from FB!

 

Thanks so much for your post!! ***Keep calm and hammer on!!*** 

[Alan Longmire]

Late to the party, but what Brian said.  Farrier's rounding hammer, worn to shape.  Might be an ATHA, can't make out the trademark.  And any hammer that does what you want is a good hammer.

[Simon Thibault]

I have to drool over that picture of your tong and hammer rack, wow! so many to try there. Thank you for the picture of your collection!

[Jerry Smith]

Thanks so much Alan and Simon!! 

[Simon Thibault]

Here's the modified Estwing I like to use and a small "dog's head" hammer I just made and haven't tried yet. Hopefully the start of what will one day be a much larger hoard of hammers