Craftsman "Blacksmith's Hammer" opinions

C

CDH

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Jun 8, 2007
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Is this hammer worth $20 or is there a better buy for similar money? The lifetime warranty keeps me coming back to Craftsman (plus the made in the USA feature on much of their line) and the price seems reasonable...if the hammer itself is a bit rough. I am a complete newbie to forging and am still trying to slowly build up tools as I find some spare change in my sofa.:D I am trying to improve on a standard 2 lb sledge hammer and a 16 oz ball pein...

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_...ame=Hand+Tools,+General+Purpose&sName=Hammers

Thanks in advance!
 
I'm with Sam here.
Save up and get a hammer that is made for forging. A "Blacksmith's Hammer", can be anything that looks like a blacksmith might have used. A forging hammer is made to do the real job. Balance, tuning of the handle harmonics, and hand-fit are important. I love my Uri Hoffi hammers, but they are expensive, and won't forge by themselves. A basic $30-40 forging hammer will do everything you need. You will eventually need several (many?) hammers for different tasks. For those jobs that aren't a daily chore, modifying Craftsman or HF hammers ( Polish faces, re-shape,saw off, re-grind, etc.) will do fine. Of the 20+ hammers I have, I use three for about 95% of all work. A 1 kilo (2#) blacksmiths, a 1.5kilo (3#) cross pein, and 2 kilo (4#) drawing hammer.
Stacy
 
As someone who forges and has worked as a carpenter swinging a hammer all day, I say get a hammer that is comfortable to use. The weight, balance and handle size need to fit your hand and the way you swing a hammer. If you don't have a lot of experience swinging a hammer the get one or 2 that feel good in the store (don't buy online untill you get to know what you want) and use them. And a hammer that is to the light side is better than one that is a bit heavy. Starting too heavy can injure you, you can always build up to using a heavier hammer.

I use a series of hammers most of which I've rehandled to get a big enough handle for my hand and to adjust the feel of the swing to me. I've tried Hofi style hammers and the German and Swedish hammers from the above link and don't like any of them.

Any decently made hammer head can be rehandled. And handles are easy to make (I make most of my handles to get what I want).

ron
 
son_of_bluegrass said:
And a hammer that is to the light side is better than one that is a bit heavy. Starting too heavy can injure you, you can always build up to using a heavier hammer.
Click to expand...

Very true, and keep the steps up small. I used a 13oz. framing hammer at work for a year (all I had and it was cheap when I needed one), and stepping up to my beloved 16 was a week of a sore forearm.
 
bladsmth said:
I'm with Sam here.
Save up and get a hammer that is made for forging. A "Blacksmith's Hammer", can be anything that looks like a blacksmith might have used. A forging hammer is made to do the real job. Balance, tuning of the handle harmonics, and hand-fit are important. I love my Uri Hoffi hammers, but they are expensive, and won't forge by themselves. A basic $30-40 forging hammer will do everything you need. You will eventually need several (many?) hammers for different tasks. For those jobs that aren't a daily chore, modifying Craftsman or HF hammers ( Polish faces, re-shape,saw off, re-grind, etc.) will do fine. Of the 20+ hammers I have, I use three for about 95% of all work. A 1 kilo (2#) blacksmiths, a 1.5kilo (3#) cross pein, and 2 kilo (4#) drawing hammer.
Stacy
Click to expand...


Stacy you got a hofi too? Great hammer. I have the 3 pounds-ish cast model in 6150, signed by Uri and labeled with the steel type. I keep switching to other hammers but somehow end up back using the hofi:D.
 
I have had the same sears hammer you talking about since 1990. I had to do some work on the face ,peen and handle to suit me. I have a rack full of the different forging hammers from the suppliers. I have paid lots of money for and which I had to do work on also. After using and tryng to get used to them I always go back to craftsman. I will say that everyone is different,but the sears is far the best I have ever owned.
 
I have to agree with Sam's original idea - save a few bucks and get the hammer from Kayne and Son. I don't have the German style hammer, but I have a couple of Swedish style hammers, and I absolutely love 'em! I've been forging for 5 years, and always used blacksmith's hammers that I bought at my local "big box" hardware store. I just got the Swedish hammers a couple of months ago, and the difference between them and the style I've been using, is like night and day. The balance is totally different - they actually took some getting used to, but now I know I'll never go back to that other style of hammer.
 
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