Hot take: you don't need a $2000 power hammer for a solid Damascus billet

Honestly, I keep seeing guys at the local forge saying you can't get good pattern weld definition without a huge power hammer. Ngl, I've been making clean, tight layers for a decade just with my 100 lb anvil and a 4 lb cross peen, taking my time with the heat. So what's the real deal, is it the tool or just the technique?

3 comments

3 Comments

paulnguyen1d ago

Preach. The gatekeeping in some shops is wild. A clean weld and patient hammer control will always beat just throwing more force at the problem. My best billets came from a tiny coal forge and a hand hammer, just focusing on perfect heats. That big gear is for speed, not quality.

miaprice1d ago

Yeah, that bit about perfect heats is so true, @paulnguyen. I've seen guys with way less gear turn out cleaner work by just paying attention to that. It's all in the feel, not the size of the hammer.

flores.mark1d ago

But come on, how perfect does the heat really need to be? Seen plenty of good work done on a decent orange heat, not some magic color. Isn't this just making it sound harder than it is?