The technique of hammer throwing in the 18th century involved a combination of swings and/or winds. Swings
were pendulum actions either to the front of the body, or to either side. There were two types of winds:
figure-eight, or overhead.
The most significant player in hammer-throwing in the 19th century was Donald Dinnie, who invented the turn.
Beforehand, the overhead wind became the predominant method of throwing the hammer. Mr. Dinnie decided
to, after some initial winds, turn a full 360 degrees with the hammer, before release. The turns allowed the
athlete to achieve much greater distances.
Turns may have been one of the leading indicators of the split between the traditional scottish Caledonian
games and the modern t&f athletics. Scottish athletics in general forbade most innovative techniques that
resulted in significant performance improvements, or a drastic change from the traditional way of doing things.
In contrast, t&f and field has been more liberal with innovation in both equipment and technique.
T&f has kept the turns, while Scottish athletics did not allow it. As a result, the current t&f hammer throw
technique, with the athlete making 3 or 4 quick turns across the circle, hardly resembles that of the Scottish
hammer, with winds and release.
The t&f hammer itself has changed: the replacement of the wooden shaft with somewhat flexible metal and a
leather handle (like a golf club) occurred in the late 1800's. The D-handle was incorporated at the turn of the
century. Then a wire replaced the solid shaft. The double-loop handle (two D-handles, one for each hand) was
popular from the 1920's until about the 1960's.