Rounding Hammer

Bill Siegle

Bill Siegle

Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Oct 3, 2000
Messages
6,732
Ok, I’m a beginner bladesmith and I have a few hammers that I’ve modified to functional. My heaviest is a 3# but I’m going to go to a 4#. So my question is could someone show me a picture of a proper rounded face and a flat face? What I modded my 3# works but I was thinking it could be better maybe? Here’s what I’m using now. It’s a modded Harber Freight 3#. For “flat” I use a smaller radius edge drilling hammer.
 
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How much more rounded is the face compared to a flat face? Hard to tell from your pictures, but if it's the first picture it doesn't look that different from a flat-faced hammer that just has the sharp corners knocked off (which is a good thing).

I have various rounding hammers, weighted from ~2# to 4# with varying shape/radius of faces that I use regularly. But I'm a blacksmith and I don't just make knives. I don't really use a rounding hammer much for my knife forging. When forging blades I mainly use a flat faced, cross-pein and straight-pein (or my double-diagonal pein, but that's a 4 1/2 pounder so I don't use it often or long).

Your question/request is kinda like asking what's the right shade of blue for painting a sky...it depends on what your intended result is.

It all depends on how you are trying to move the steel.
 
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Well I guess that answers part of my question. Since the pics of what I’ve been using as a rounded hammer appears to you as a flat, I can assume I need to go more rounded👍 What I’m wanting to accomplish is spreading the steel for bevels and widening tangs. I did pick up a 4# hammer today and will mod it later this week.
 
Most of us use a flat hammer for the tasks you describe. The sides of the flat are rounded/chamfered, so it does not leave big dents and lines, but the face is pretty much flat. What some call a rounding hammer is just a flat hammer with just a very slight radius. If you clean up a flat hammer on the slack belt it will be like that. It is worth sanding to 400 grit and polishing the face to get a cleaner surface on the forged metal.

For drawing out steel bars, a cross pein or straight pein is the tool for the job. Again, a smooth and polished face makes for better work.

My "rounding" hammers are for special tasks - mainly for dimpling and texturing, as well as peining rivets, I have a whole rack of various radii hammers from 3" radius to 1/8" radius. Most are modified and highly polished ball pein hammers. Some have carbide balls as the face.

The biggest tip I can offer is that the steel needs to be at the right temperature for drawing and beveling. Most folks work it far too cold. Start at a full yellow (2000-2100°) and stop when it gets to cherry red (1600°). If it is dull red you should have stopped and put it back in the forge long ago. Forging hard to draw out the steel at red heat can damage the steel and cause cracks later on. Gentle clean-up and straightening taps are fine, but quit the drawing blows.
 
I started with a rounded 3lbs sledge and still use it forging knives often if you do use a rounded face I recommend creating a flat and leaving the sides rounded this would give a bit more flexibility when using it .
if it is just completely rounded on the face it will leave a very uneven finished surface when forging that will end up needing to be ground out.

most of it comes down to what works best for each smith and how they work,what they are making and what their needs are.
we all switch to something better when we find it and it works well for us.
 
I blacksmith way more than bladesmith but I can't think of any reasonable knife where you would need a 4# rounding hammer. That's something I would grab for 1 1/4 round tool steel to make a drift or something. I nice 2.5 pound (insert hammer type of your choice) should deal with almost anything the size for a knife. Just typing 4# rounding hammer makes my elbow start hurting. All the bad beginner dents in my anvil are from my rounding hammer. Start out with something flat and learn to use your sides and heel/toe on the hammer and you'll get better faster. Also, search YouTube for fitting your handle to your hand. I noticed in your pic the sticker on the handle so you haven't sanded off that crappy varnish they put on those cheap handles.
 
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I use 1kg cross pein hammer for most of the work i do (german pattern is classic here) or 800g ball pein for lighter work. For finishing work on blades, i use 700g dog face hammer, straight without the curve.
I don't go over 40:1 ratio on anvil. I have nice flat 40kg anvil and i don't go over 1kg hammer on it.
If i (for some reason) want to use heavier hammer (1,5 or 2kg) i'll go on larger, 80kg anvil (church windows anvils are the most common here)
 
I agree that 3# amd 4# are a lot of hammer for bladesmithing.

I have maybe 50 hammers ranging form 50 grams to 8#. Most not used for normal blade work. Of the ten I use most often, they range from 500g to 1500g.
I use a Hoffi 1Kg/2.2# and a 1Kg Sam Salvetti for most all forging. If I really need to do some drawing or reduction, I have a 3# cross pein that works just fine.

Speaking of wild man Sam, I remember him forging with an 8# and a 12# hammer at Ashokan one year. The man is a beast! People back away when he starts swinging.
 
Some shoulders can withstand big hammers. Some hammers will prove 20 years from now it was a really big mistake when one needs replacement joints. Pennywise and pound foolish.
Living with bone-on-bone shoulders is no fun; I get shots in both shoulders every six months to stave off surgery. My buddy's shoulder replacement hurts as much at 5 years as it did before the surgery.
Think of the future and think wisely. I can't even swing a hammer to drive a nail any longer. Just a little food for thought.
 
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To add to the above (my usual "yeah, but..."), as a blacksmithing instructor, the standard starting place is a lighter hammer. But when I see that a person has decent hammer control, I often recommend a heavier hammer for specific tasks, like punching holes or using other hand held top tools. With a heavier hammer, you can let the weight of the hammer do the work instead of trying to swing a lighter hammer harder, which often results in mis-hits.
 
I learned the term maul as a kid for the OP's hammer. A heavier hammer like that is necessary, of course, for all those thing you mention BillyO. This is forging blades and doing the 1/2" round-to-square-and-back doesn't need more than a kg IMO. My bottom line, a 'smith of whatever needs a variety of hammers and the knowledge to use them in a task-suited manner that will preserve his ability to do the task long term. I guess that’s what I draw from what you say, and I agree. It's a helluva lot better to learn to swing properly than swing for all it's worth with goliath. And one needs to learn this before one trashes their self. Best wishes to all for healthy shoulders.
BTW, for heavier work, you enlist the little woman ;) : ca. 1987 at Zowada's
 

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I have been a heavy equipment technician for 25 years and already have a fully rebuilt left shoulder and a right shoulder that needs it. By the time I started smithing I was already trashed so if I over swing or use a big hammer for too long I get body feedback very quickly. My favorite hammer is a 2.5# Haberman that I re handled to a 12in handle and a 2.2lb Ballpein. It is a rare occasion I find I can't make what I want with those hammers. When I have to do it the 3.5# old hickory forge rounding hammer will handle it; or a 12 pack of bribery and my nephew with my mean ass 22# for beating the hell outta tractors.
 
All my good rounding hammers have a regular curve, like a slice from a sphere, with the radius and weight altering how it moves the metal. The flat sides all have a chamfered circumference. The small one pictured is 1.75 lbs, and the big one is 3 lbs.

If you're going to be hammering out blades, I'd highly recommend getting a good, proper hammer and avoid using a modified sledge type. Much easier on the body and more efficient.


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I once used a good hammer that sort of shaped itself to the work - a big old 2.5 lb ball-peen. This was and probably still is the best hammer I've used to forge blades. I tried other similar ball-peens but none of them had the same feel or did the same work as this one, for whatever reasons:

 
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