Used to forge every blade with just a hand hammer now I cheat with a power hammer

For the first 8 years I was blacksmithing I swore by hand hammering everything. I thought power hammers were lazy and took away the 'art' of it. Then last spring I helped a buddy at his shop and tried his 25lb utility hammer for about 10 minutes. My wrist was shot from a bad swing the week before and it was night and day how much easier shaping went. Now I'm saving up for a used one, probably a little Giant or something similar, because my elbow keeps barking at me after long sessions. Anyone else make the switch later in their career and regret not doing it sooner?

3 comments

3 Comments

luna26111d ago

That 25lb utility hammer, did it change your approach to specific projects like heavy drifts or just general shaping work?

juliaa6511d ago

Oh man, I was totally in the same boat. I used to think a hammer that big was just for show or like, one specific task. But then I got one for a big drift project and it totally changed my mind. Now I use it for a lot more than I thought I would, like roughing out shapes and moving a lot of material fast. It's not my every day hammer, but it's way more useful than I ever gave it credit for.

robin89611d ago

That big boy saves me so much time roughing out heavy drifts I barely touch my smaller hammers now.