[TheForge] uri hammer

[Dan Tull]

Jeff,
Grover just said" equal weight".

"Why cut it off, till you know how long you want it?"
Can you choke up on a long handle?


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jeffrey Polaski" <jpolaski at rgs.uci.edu>
To: "Sponsored by ABANA" <theforge at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Thursday, November 03, 2005 6:52 PM
Subject: RE: [TheForge] uri hammer


So would a lighter head... I'm not sure I see you point. 

I'm not an expert or anything, but, to get a conversation going, please
allow me to fish into my vast pool of ignorance and pull out a couple of
thoughts to flop about the conversational deck... 

It seems to me that the important thing is that there's only so much
*power* a person can put into a swing, so it's really more a question of
*balancing* at least the following:
hammer weight
face size and shape
speed of the blow
handle shape

I think you need a hammer that lets you get a good, *controllable*
"snap" at the end, but isn't so light you need to move it a light speed
to deliver a powerful blow and isn't so heavy that you tear up your
joints and muscles moving it around. 

Also the handle should swell out nicely where you usually grip it, to
make it easier to hold. A straight handle, I've found, makes my hands
tired.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that there is one ultimate hammer
that will do everything. Each smith will settle on five or six that do
what they want 95% of the time. 

The hammers I use the most are:

1000 gram Swiss-pattern
~1000g. rounding-hammer
500g. French-pattern 
1500g. French-pattern
Ball-pien for smacking other tools

I like the long cross pien of the Swiss hammer because it lets me get
into the "nooks and crannies" of my work more then a short pien does. I
also use the long cross pien to pry things apart, for example to bend
out s-curves. I think it might be improved by making the face a little
smaller, though. Or maybe adding a little more crown.

Well, this is what I've figured out doing a limited amount of
smithing...



Jeff Polaski
Research and Graduate Studies Webmaster
University of California, Irvine
http://www.rgs.uci.edu/
949.824.6363

-----Original Message-----
From: theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net
[mailto:theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Dan Tull
Sent: Thursday, November 03, 2005 3:09 PM
To: Sponsored by ABANA
Subject: Re: [TheForge] uri hammer

A longer handle would generate more head speed.


----- 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?


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