A Compendium of Hammers

Since some of my most popular posts have been my “Better Know Your Hammer” series, I decided that I would make it easy on everyone and list all of them here as a quick reference guide.  If you’re new to Hammermarks, maybe you haven’t seen them yet.  Just click on the photo pf the hammer [...]

Get to Better Know Your Hammer – Forging Hammer

Unfortunately, this is the last installment in this series.  I have run out of
hammers to talk about.  I will accept hammer donations though if anyone wants to give me some awesome new hammers for my collection!
Today we will discuss the forging hammer.  It looks a lot like a raising hammer, and infact it can do [...]

Get to Better Know Your Hammer – Chasing Hammer

The hiatus is over, my hammer series will now continue.  Chasing hammer is a tough one because it really is used pretty much for one thing and one thing only-chasing.  The handle is shaped “funny” because it makes it easier to do the kind of tapping that chasing and repoussé require.  The broad flat pein [...]

Get to Better Know Your Hammer-Non-Marring Hammers

A lot is made about what metal hammers you should use for each task, but there are a lot of non-metal hammers out there in the world that deserve a little love too.  I use these hammers for a variety of tasks-things like bouging (relaxing the metal a bit after sinking or raising before I [...]

Get to Better Know Your Hammer-Planishing Hammer

The planishing hammer is probably the most dreaded and least understood (at least by beginners) hammer in the metalsmithing realm.  However, it could possibly be the most important.  I must warn you at this point that I love planishing!  It is my zen meditation.  This is when I get in “the zone.”  That doesn’t mean [...]

Get to Better Know Your Hammer-Raising Hammers

If you find yourself making a bowl or chalice, and you want it to be deeper, but sinking isn’t taking it far
 enough, then you need to start raising.  That’s where the raising hammer comes in.  Raising hammers are used with (usually) metal stakes to stretch the metal beyond what sinking can do. 
There are two kinds [...]