[TheForge] uri hammer

[Albin Drzewianowski]

You really need to see either Tom Clark or Uri Hoffi explain and demonstrate 
how use the hammer.  It is different from a conventional style of hammering.

The handle is short and fairly rectangular.  You grip the hammer quite close 
to the head.  At the very end of the swing, there is a little bit of 
"whip"action with the wrist. (sorry hard to explain).

If I remember correctly from Uri's talks, way back at the ABANA conferences 
(the ones I attended).  He spent a lot of time working with the ergonomics 
of the swing and the handle.  He studied and compared many different hammer 
heads and handles.  and finally decided on the Czech/Habbermann (I think) 
style.  From which his hammer and hammering style eventually emerged.

One definite advantage of this hammer is the fact that the head is balanced. 
Before getting the Hoffi/Clark hammer, I had already switched to a farrier's 
rounding hammer.  A hammer head that is balanced - has the same amount of 
mass to both sides of the center line, is much easier to control.  The 
traditional cross pein hammer has most of the mass to the hammer face and 
less on the side toward the pien.  The head wants to turn in your hand as 
you are swinging.  A balanced hammer, whether a Hoffi/Clark or a rounding 
hammer, tends to stay at whatever angle you hold it as you swing it.


Regards,
D-ski
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Grover Richardson" <grover.richardson at gtri.gatech.edu>
To: "'Sponsored by ABANA'" <theforge at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Thursday, November 03, 2005 4:58 PM
Subject: RE: [TheForge] uri hammer


I must ask the question.  Not trying to be a smart ###, but I am curious.
Why would a hammer of equal weight move more metal if in a different design?
Seems to me that the mass on the end of the stick/handle is the same?

>*>-----Original Message-----
>*>From: theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net
>*>[mailto:theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Albin
>*>Drzewianowski
>*>Sent: Thursday, November 03, 2005 4:49 PM
>*>To: Sponsored by ABANA
>*>Subject: Re: [TheForge] uri hammer
>*>
>*>
>*>I have a Hoffi/Clark Hammer.
>*>
>*>Love it.
>*>
>*>My hammer has both Uri Hoffi's AND Tom Clark's marks on it.
>*>Early on Uri
>*>and Tom were working together marketing the hammers and
>*>anvils;  and Uri
>*>taught classes at Tom's school.  Then something happened,
>*>and it appears
>*>that Uri now works through BIG BLU.   Personality conflict maybe???
>*>
>*>Back to the hammer.  I love it, and feel it is worth every
>*>penny I paid for
>*>it.  I have had a lot less arm and elbow problems since I
>*>switched to this
>*>hammer.  I takes some time to learn to use the hammer
>*>"correctly".  I saw a
>*>number of talks and demos by Uri at the  North Carolina and
>*>New York  ABANA
>*>conferences (at least, I think those were the conferences).
>*>Also, have seen
>*>Tom demo the hammer style a number of times  at the Gichner
>*>Hammer-Ins.
>*>
>*>I did side by side comparisons with a cross pien of similar
>*>weight and I am
>*>convinced that I moved more metal with the Hoffi hammer than
>*>the traditional
>*>shaped hammer.
>*>
>*>Regards,
>*>D-ski
>*>Westminster, MD
>*>
>*>----- Original Message ----- 
>*>From: "Terry Burch" <home at burch.net>
>*>To: "Sponsored by ABANA" <theforge at mailman.qth.net>
>*>Sent: Thursday, November 03, 2005 2:53 PM
>*>Subject: RE: [TheForge] uri hammer
>*>
>*>
>*>>
>*>> Did you get yours from Tom Clark, or from Big Blu
>*>> <http://www.bigbluhammer.com/products/hofi_hammer.htm> ?
>*>>
>*>> The Big Blu one is marked "Hofi", but looking at the
>*>pictures on Tom
>*>> Clark's web site, it appears identical.  Before Big Blu
>*>lsited the hammer,
>*>> Tom was saying his was a Hofi hammer.  Both of them appear
>*>to be modelled
>*>> on the Czech hammer design - although the Czech hammer is
>*>much lighter.
>*>>
>*>> I have been thinking of buying one, but have yet to run into anyone
>*>> actually using it - with the exception of a demonstrator a
>*>year and a half
>*>> ago.  Ergonomically, it appears to have a lot going for it.
>*>>
>*>> Terry
>*>>
>*>> At 11:16 AM 11/3/2005, you wrote:
>*>>>I've had one for about six months and it's becoming my
>*>favorite, know
>*>>>3 other owners, and all praise it. Kerry Rhodes of Forged
>*>Creations in
>*>>>Delaware uses one as his primary hammer.
>*>>>
>*>>>John C.
>*>>
>*>>
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>*>
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