as a smith myself i reckon this man might be the best blacksmiths blacksmith youtuber, him and Rowan Taylor. no slow-motion power hammer shots with unlicensed generic rock over it. just a man who knows his stuff and is happy to share.
I found an old beat up cross pein this past summer at a yard sale. Rusted, the face mushroomed and dented and it had a piece of broom stick for a handle. Refaced it, new custom handle and cleaned just the righ amout of rust off it, now is my go-to favorite hammer.
Yep, right with you on the "weakness". Caved in at the NWBA Swaptoberfest and picked up a wonderful diagonal peen from Portland. Iron Works. Didn't need it, just love it!
I have a fat boy forge hammer for my daily driver. It’s a 2.5 pound rounder and flat. Absolutely love it. John love your videos. Can’t wait to see more videos soon. Keep up the great craftsmanship and hard work John. Forge On. Fab On. Weld On. Keep Making. God bless.
My main hammer is a Peddinghouse 1000g cross pein. I recently replaced the handle. I like their hammers, but they give you a tree trunk for a handle! I thought it was working out until my hand started throbbing every night after I had been in the forge. I noticed that I was holding the hammer with a death grip while forging. I thinned down the handle. Now I hold it much more loosely when forging and most of the pain has gone away. I may still thin it down a little more, but I'm not sure yet. So, yeah, pay attention to how tightly you are holding your hammer. It is a good indication that you may need to thin the handle down some.
I also have a thing about sharp pointy objects ....axes billhooks etc for working with and love being able to make my own custom patterns ...great to hear about your favourite hammers..at present I use I think 3 for forging ...all different weights and patterns.
John, among my most used hammers is an old Craftsman cross pein exactly like the one you showcased here. Great, well balanced hammer. My daily driver is a 2 1/2 lb. rounding hammer made by Dave Custer.
Good info about differences in hammers and the things they cause John. Totally agree about the handle fitting your hand. Keep up the great videos and I'll be watching for your Sunday video. Fred.
My favorite hammer is my 3lb czech style with a hofi style handle from Jackpine forge. It's a truly beautiful hammer. I recently bought a Picard hammer because it was cheap just to try out.
I have one thing that i never heard someone mention. Thats the radius ground on the hammer face in relationship to the center point of gravity. The best way to test this is with the hammer head loose from the handle and try balancing it on its face. If it have balance all the way to the edges the radius should be right. With that in mind a longer hammer should have a bigger, flatter radius and shorter more stubby hammer should have a smaler more round radius. That gives the hammer less strange recoils after every hit. Any reflections about that?
My main hammer is a 2.1lb Hofi-style crosspein by Seth Wood. I have a french style 3lb one from him too, and an almost 2ln rounding cross-pein I made myself (wrought iron with 1040 forge welded faces).
Great video John! Im about to make myself a diagonal peen hammer from a hunk of polish rod (piston steel they call it, its 1045) i scrapped from an old pumping unit.
I don’t have too many hammers yet, but I am still collecting. I love hammers. I have a few favorites but my most recent addition is a 2 lb rounding hammer. What I like best about this one is the large handle and eye. It just feels good. I did have to shave it down some but I prefer beefy handles over skinny spindly ones. This hammer is made by Brandon Lee Dearing over at HandAndHammers. Will it become my daily driver? Not sure yet. I have another hammer made in the Elmer Roush style but by Ethan Harty. It is also a very nice hammer. David Custer at Firey Furnace Forge also made me a couple of hammers. Both are very useful. One is a 3.5 lb one and the other a 2.25lb one. I use the lighter one much more often. The big one is for stubborn stuff. I also have a double diagonal peen hammer made by Elijah Williams. Beautifully rustic in its appearance I hope I find projects where it may come in handy. Each hammer is a work of art.
I really dont like a lot of the custom hammers blacksmiths make these days. I do like a lot of vintage hammers. I am currently using some larger examples of vintage cobblers hammers as my go to hammers, I like them a lot.
I have a half dozen styles in another half dozen weights. I really wanted to love the swedish pattern hammers but they are very unwieldy with the distance from face to eye being so long. I've found German pattern's fit me better, but a French hammer is my go-to now. The face is very close to the eye and I can use a heavier head for longer due to this, with more control. Ironically, my second most used hammer is an old yard sale find 32 oz Ball Peen.... The handle just "fit" my hand and the balance was perfect for me.
My goodness, there is way more to the hammer than one would have thought. And John is just talking blacksmith hammers. What about carpenters hammers, metalsmiths hammers, etc.There is no end to it.🙂🙂
Good stuff. I'm used to using the average cross peens, and home modded drilling hammers. I'm curious about big blue hammers, the Picard smithing hammer, and the French style cross peens. That, and those popular Alec Steele style rounding hammers. 🍻
Hello John It is as always in German Es ist besser es zu haben als es zu brauchen und nicht zu haben. It is better to have it than try to use it and dont have it. The Hammer is a very personel thing . It is a very important tool . Thank you for the little overview. Take care Greetings yours Frank Galetzka
Always benefit from your videos. Thanks for your comments on some of those "designer" hammers. Any comments of comparison with the Hofi hammer? Thank you
I'm guessing that a smith's favourite hammer is just like Trigger's broom. Multiple heads and multiple handles. It's still the same tool though. Works just like it should do.
Hi John, Hammers would be one of my favourite subjects. I have more hammer in the rack than whats practical but sometimes having a wide selection is handy. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, of the hammers you had in your video I'm partial to the Brent Bailey cross peen. I find a weighted back hammer a joy to use as long as the diameter of the face isn't too large. kind regards. Seth.
I found that reforging Harbor Freight "engineer's Hammers" is a quick way to get a variety of useful hammers; cross pien, straight pied, diagonal...etc. AND as the handles are too long, so they can be sawn off the hammer and then reused on the new one. Maybe not the best, but one 2# hammer cost less than 2# of 4140 and already has an eye!
Have you ever tried doing a leather wrapped handle or dimpling the handle with a drill bit for extra grip? For about 2 years after I broke my thumb I was having issues with pain and a lack if strength due to the injury. I tried the dimpling technique after seeing Tom Silva on this old house do it to his framing hammers for grip in wet conditions. I got sold on the idea and find it really comfortable now and makes swinging my heavier hammers a bit easier. My hatchets I do a leather wrap in natural veg tan and that works wonderfully to fatten the handle for my large hands as well.
@@BlackBearForge it does work well for adding mass. Plus its great for using up rough, ugly leather... i mean... leather that has character that isn't suited for nicer projects. Seen some where people have put cordage or banding under the leather for added mass and grip. All I have really done so far is a single solid square piece to wrap and did a saddle stich on the front. Super basic. To finish I use a leather balm.
I would have thought by now you would have progressed to the point you just make your own hammers, and prefer using those, as you can customize it how ever you wanted. But that might be more about just how good a very well made hammer can be, even if it is not perfectly what you would want.
I think I could easily fall down the “hammer hole” as anything made by hand attracts me. I’m not sure I qualify as a smith at this point, I’m working on my first project now which is going to be my fire rake made from a rail spike.
Laminating the handle of your thin handled hammer would work but but could be messy. Might I suggest wrapping the handle with a leather thong. You can control the thickness of the thong, if you have a strap cutter and a piece of leather, if a standard off the shelf thong isn't the size you like. If the leather wears out before the handle does, just wrap it again. Good luck with that in any case.
Grrr youtube. Subscribed with bell on and this is the first video in my feed in months and months. Thought you maybe took time off or something. Guess i have some watching todo :)
It seems to be a glitchy system between RUclips, Cell carriers and individual device setting lots of them seem to get lost. But there has been nearly one per week for quite some time. Enjoy catching up 😉
what makes a good hammer? an expensive hammer? Shape? Material? Hardness? When is it worth spending 200 on a hammer over a 10 dollar harbor freight hammer that you reshape yourself?
Balance and a handle that stays put are probably the most important. Proper head shape and hardness are probably next. Most $10 hammers probably fail on most of those points,but a $40 hammer from a blacksmithing tool supplier will probably be fine. Buying hammers from other blacksmiths that specialize in making hammers will probably be a noticeable step up in comfort and control. But mostly its just a way to help support your fellow blacksmiths.
@@BlackBearForge ya! the handle staying on would definitely sound like the most important! lol but that's good to know! Always trying to learn more stuff about the crafting hobbies! thanks!
When ReDressing a hammer face, What would a legitimate reason for building up material with hardened welding rods ? Know a couple people who have some with & rest without... When I asked, they just said "personal preference for the job (at hand)." [Giving no real answer] What would be your insight on this ?
I have never had a hammer that I would be tempted to add material to. Simply grinding out any mushrooming or blemishes should keep a hammer in usable shape for years. But I also understand that personal preference is often arbitrary and can't be defined with a real reason.
as a smith myself i reckon this man might be the best blacksmiths blacksmith youtuber, him and Rowan Taylor. no slow-motion power hammer shots with unlicensed generic rock over it. just a man who knows his stuff and is happy to share.
I must confess, I do like a good slow motion power hammer shot.
@@BlackBearForge they are the icing. the cake is what matters. you make good cake.
@@garstang097
Damn, well said. I agree in totality.
Have to figure out Rowan Taylor, but let us not forget Mark Aspery, his tutorials are also splendid.
Great showing of hammers John 👍👍 always love the advice you give!
Glad you enjoyed it
I ordered a Bailey doming hammer a month ago can't wait for it to get here.
I'll never grow tired of this. You sir, are awesome
Absolutely love all my Brent Bailey hammers. Awesome feel and balance.
I found an old beat up cross pein this past summer at a yard sale. Rusted, the face mushroomed and dented and it had a piece of broom stick for a handle. Refaced it, new custom handle and cleaned just the righ amout of rust off it, now is my go-to favorite hammer.
Yep, right with you on the "weakness". Caved in at the NWBA Swaptoberfest and picked up a wonderful diagonal peen from Portland. Iron Works. Didn't need it, just love it!
My favorite blacksmith and blacksmith youtuber!
Ooooh now I got to know what's in the box!
John,
Thanks for the hammer run down.
Good informwtion.
Army
SE Oregon
I have a fat boy forge hammer for my daily driver. It’s a 2.5 pound rounder and flat. Absolutely love it. John love your videos. Can’t wait to see more videos soon. Keep up the great craftsmanship and hard work John. Forge On. Fab On. Weld On. Keep Making. God bless.
Thanks for the rundown John, always good to get your perspective
Glad you enjoyed it
John at Old Hickory Forge makes an amazing hammer. You should check out one of his. I have several of them.
My main hammer us a HF 2 lb hammer I dressed up to be a flat/rounding hammer. Modified the handle to fit my hands. Been good for about 4 yrs now.
My main hammer is a Peddinghouse 1000g cross pein. I recently replaced the handle. I like their hammers, but they give you a tree trunk for a handle! I thought it was working out until my hand started throbbing every night after I had been in the forge. I noticed that I was holding the hammer with a death grip while forging. I thinned down the handle. Now I hold it much more loosely when forging and most of the pain has gone away. I may still thin it down a little more, but I'm not sure yet. So, yeah, pay attention to how tightly you are holding your hammer. It is a good indication that you may need to thin the handle down some.
I also have a thing about sharp pointy objects ....axes billhooks etc for working with and love being able to make my own custom patterns ...great to hear about your favourite hammers..at present I use I think 3 for forging ...all different weights and patterns.
John, among my most used hammers is an old Craftsman cross pein exactly like the one you showcased here. Great, well balanced hammer. My daily driver is a 2 1/2 lb. rounding hammer made by Dave Custer.
Nice cliff hanger John... I'll be waiting to see what is in the box!!!
I have a wardrobe full of jackets and shirts with a burn hole in exactly the same place. It's nice to have something in common 👍😂🇦🇺
Good info about differences in hammers and the things they cause John. Totally agree about the handle fitting your hand. Keep up the great videos and I'll be watching for your Sunday video. Fred.
My favorite hammer is my 3lb czech style with a hofi style handle from Jackpine forge. It's a truly beautiful hammer. I recently bought a Picard hammer because it was cheap just to try out.
I have one thing that i never heard someone mention. Thats the radius ground on the hammer face in relationship to the center point of gravity. The best way to test this is with the hammer head loose from the handle and try balancing it on its face. If it have balance all the way to the edges the radius should be right. With that in mind a longer hammer should have a bigger, flatter radius and shorter more stubby hammer should have a smaler more round radius. That gives the hammer less strange recoils after every hit. Any reflections about that?
@blackbearforge
The advantages of this face shape is less vibrations to the handle and easier to keep the aim between strikes.
My main hammer is a 2.1lb Hofi-style crosspein by Seth Wood. I have a french style 3lb one from him too, and an almost 2ln rounding cross-pein I made myself (wrought iron with 1040 forge welded faces).
Cool hammers and the info thank you sir.
John, check out the hammers from Old Hickory Forge. He makes awesome hammers and tooling.
Great video John! Im about to make myself a diagonal peen hammer from a hunk of polish rod (piston steel they call it, its 1045) i scrapped from an old pumping unit.
Very good!
I don’t have too many hammers yet, but I am still collecting. I love hammers. I have a few favorites but my most recent addition is a 2 lb rounding hammer. What I like best about this one is the large handle and eye. It just feels good. I did have to shave it down some but I prefer beefy handles over skinny spindly ones. This hammer is made by Brandon Lee Dearing over at HandAndHammers. Will it become my daily driver? Not sure yet. I have another hammer made in the Elmer Roush style but by Ethan Harty. It is also a very nice hammer. David Custer at Firey Furnace Forge also made me a
couple of hammers. Both are very useful. One is a 3.5 lb one and the other a 2.25lb one. I use the lighter one much more often. The big one is for stubborn stuff. I also have a double diagonal peen hammer made by Elijah Williams. Beautifully rustic in its appearance I hope I find projects where it may come in handy. Each hammer is a work of art.
Good morning
Morning
I really dont like a lot of the custom hammers blacksmiths make these days. I do like a lot of vintage hammers. I am currently using some larger examples of vintage cobblers hammers as my go to hammers, I like them a lot.
I have a half dozen styles in another half dozen weights. I really wanted to love the swedish pattern hammers but they are very unwieldy with the distance from face to eye being so long. I've found German pattern's fit me better, but a French hammer is my go-to now. The face is very close to the eye and I can use a heavier head for longer due to this, with more control. Ironically, my second most used hammer is an old yard sale find 32 oz Ball Peen.... The handle just "fit" my hand and the balance was perfect for me.
My goodness, there is way more to the hammer than one would have thought. And John is just talking blacksmith hammers. What about carpenters hammers, metalsmiths hammers, etc.There is no end to it.🙂🙂
This man is awesome
Good stuff. I'm used to using the average cross peens, and home modded drilling hammers. I'm curious about big blue hammers, the Picard smithing hammer, and the French style cross peens. That, and those popular Alec Steele style rounding hammers. 🍻
Hello John
It is as always in German
Es ist besser es zu haben als es zu brauchen und nicht zu haben.
It is better to have it than try to use it and dont have it.
The Hammer is a very personel thing .
It is a very important tool .
Thank you for the little overview.
Take care
Greetings yours Frank Galetzka
Always benefit from your videos. Thanks for your comments on some of those "designer" hammers. Any comments of comparison with the Hofi hammer? Thank you
I'm guessing that a smith's favourite hammer is just like Trigger's broom. Multiple heads and multiple handles. It's still the same tool though. Works just like it should do.
Hi John,
Hammers would be one of my favourite subjects. I have more hammer in the rack than whats practical but sometimes having a wide selection is handy.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, of the hammers you had in your video I'm partial to the Brent Bailey cross peen. I find a weighted back hammer a joy to use as long as the diameter of the face isn't too large.
kind regards. Seth.
Hah, he hit us with the TO BE CONTINUED...!
Great video and some intrigue. 🤣👏👏
Incredible 😊😊
My first and last hammer was an estwing from home depot, the rubber handle turned gummy and sticky.
I found that reforging Harbor Freight "engineer's Hammers" is a quick way to get a variety of useful hammers; cross pien, straight pied, diagonal...etc. AND as the handles are too long, so they can be sawn off the hammer and then reused on the new one. Maybe not the best, but one 2# hammer cost less than 2# of 4140 and already has an eye!
Another excellent video sir. The hammer collection is growing in my shop. How about a hammer storage system for a future video?
Looks like he got the Christ Centered Iron Works Treadle Hammer.
Good eye
I like your video's
Weakness.... yes. Lol!
You can wrap with leather
Have you ever tried doing a leather wrapped handle or dimpling the handle with a drill bit for extra grip? For about 2 years after I broke my thumb I was having issues with pain and a lack if strength due to the injury. I tried the dimpling technique after seeing Tom Silva on this old house do it to his framing hammers for grip in wet conditions. I got sold on the idea and find it really comfortable now and makes swinging my heavier hammers a bit easier. My hatchets I do a leather wrap in natural veg tan and that works wonderfully to fatten the handle for my large hands as well.
I have used tape like you might tape a hockey stick. But haven't tried leather. That might be a good way to add mass to the thin handle.
@@BlackBearForge it does work well for adding mass. Plus its great for using up rough, ugly leather... i mean... leather that has character that isn't suited for nicer projects. Seen some where people have put cordage or banding under the leather for added mass and grip. All I have really done so far is a single solid square piece to wrap and did a saddle stich on the front. Super basic. To finish I use a leather balm.
I would have thought by now you would have progressed to the point you just make your own hammers, and prefer using those, as you can customize it how ever you wanted. But that might be more about just how good a very well made hammer can be, even if it is not perfectly what you would want.
Check out Michael Hoops hammers
wrap it with a tennis rack handle wrap
+1 to building up to a bigger hammer and fitting your handle properly. Tendinitis sucks…
I think I could easily fall down the “hammer hole” as anything made by hand attracts me.
I’m not sure I qualify as a smith at this point, I’m working on my first project now which is going to be my fire rake made from a rail spike.
On the hammer with the thin handle, have you considered wrapping the handle with leather or a thin rope or something?
John you have a lot great ideas, but how about making something for the farmers like a bail hook.
Could you get tee shirts with a pocket
Laminating the handle of your thin handled hammer would work but but could be messy. Might I suggest wrapping the handle with a leather thong. You can control the thickness of the thong, if you have a strap cutter and a piece of leather, if a standard off the shelf thong isn't the size you like. If the leather wears out before the handle does, just wrap it again. Good luck with that in any case.
At 2:46, "Do I need all these hammers?" Yes, yes we do.......shhhhh............... don't tell my wife. Just kidding...........
Ever try a Hofi hammer?
Not yet
Grrr youtube. Subscribed with bell on and this is the first video in my feed in months and months. Thought you maybe took time off or something. Guess i have some watching todo :)
It seems to be a glitchy system between RUclips, Cell carriers and individual device setting lots of them seem to get lost. But there has been nearly one per week for quite some time. Enjoy catching up 😉
I would do the laminate on that skinny hammer handle. Gorilla glue well keep it there for ever.
What hammers do you use when shaping and bending softer materials so not to cause unnecessary dinging.
I tend to use rawhide for that type of work.
Hi John. Whatever happened to that rounding hammer Daniel Moss sent you? Cheers.
Its still in the shop. I use it as a light striking hammer
I like to buy cheap hammers and modify them to suit my taste.
If you need to scratch an itch, just *burn* a *hole* in your jacket 🔥, and you won't have any money 💸 left in your wallet to spend! 🤣
what makes a good hammer? an expensive hammer? Shape? Material? Hardness? When is it worth spending 200 on a hammer over a 10 dollar harbor freight hammer that you reshape yourself?
Balance and a handle that stays put are probably the most important. Proper head shape and hardness are probably next. Most $10 hammers probably fail on most of those points,but a $40 hammer from a blacksmithing tool supplier will probably be fine. Buying hammers from other blacksmiths that specialize in making hammers will probably be a noticeable step up in comfort and control. But mostly its just a way to help support your fellow blacksmiths.
@@BlackBearForge ya! the handle staying on would definitely sound like the most important! lol
but that's good to know! Always trying to learn more stuff about the crafting hobbies! thanks!
When ReDressing a hammer face,
What would a legitimate reason for
building up material with hardened
welding rods ?
Know a couple people who have some with & rest without...
When I asked, they just said "personal preference for the
job (at hand)."
[Giving no real answer]
What would be your insight on this ?
I have never had a hammer that I would be tempted to add material to. Simply grinding out any mushrooming or blemishes should keep a hammer in usable shape for years. But I also understand that personal preference is often arbitrary and can't be defined with a real reason.
@@BlackBearForge ,
Thanks for the response.
I'm trying to find out what their
meaning behind their madness,
If it is legit ?
Thanks again.
I buy any interesting hammer I run across at antique stores and such if it's a good price 😏