>Hammers were discovered in prehistoric times, when man found he could break animal bones with a handheld stone to get at the marrow. Later a flaking process used them to create stone scrapers, knives and spear heads. Still later, handles were developed to increase impact and control. Basically the idea has remained the same to the present; except for shape, material and mounting of handles. At one time or another, almost everything was fashioned with the aid of a hammer.
Today they come in a very large variety of shapes, sizes and materials. Most of the larger common types are not very useful in our hobby work, except possibly in assembling bench work. In modelling and jewelers types, many variations exist. These are used for light or very delicate tapping. Commonly handles may be wood or metal of various shapes and contours. Heads vary in size, weight, material and shape. Some have removable, interchangeable face pieces. Choice depends on the job and preference.
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HAMMERS
Mallet fixed face pieces, brass and fiber
X-acto changeable faces steel , brass, plastic, 2 ball peen, wedge
wood handle mallet, fiber and brass removable faces
heavier, solid head
Most handles are round, or oval, while some are hexagonal. Choice depends on feel and control. Most have smaller cross sections at the head end than at the hand end. In these small sizes, handle material seems to have very little effect.
Head face materials run from rubber, plastic, brass, bronze to steel with increasing hardness, durability and damaging ability from dents. While the most common face is flat with rounded rim, better quality faces are very slightly convex to allow for small angled mis-strikes. The next most common is the ball peen, used on or to create concave surfaces. By placing a malleable sheet over a hole, disk shapes such as tank ends or tops can be fashioned. Following these are wedge or chisel (chipping hammers) and conical shapes for specialized jobs, where nothing else fits. Claws are not common in these small sizes.
To do a good job, probably the most important criterion is weight. Too much can very easily help destroy the work piece, while too little may not produce enough impact to complete the job. Start light and increase, if necessary. One tecnique to reduce impact is to choke or grasp the hangle closer to the head.
As those who have tried it will attest, hammers are not suited for nailing or spiking track; unless you like sore fingers, broken ties or damaged rails. Special driver tools are available.
In larger sizes, things change drastically, along with names, from the judge's gavel to heavy sledge hammers. Face shapes, handle lengths and head shapes, weights and materials run the gamut. Since often they a called differently according to use by different trades, names are sometimes confusing. A discussion of the more common types may help in selction and identification.
Probably the most common is the claw or carpenters hammer with a curved, nail pulling claw at one head end and necked flat face at the other. The flat face is usually rounded at the rim and may be slightly arched convexly to reduce denting of surrounding surfaces. The tapered claw has sharpened vee slot to accommodate various nail thicknesses and some have a smaller extra vee in one tip for tacks and brads. Packing or crating hammers have straight claws that can be wedged between parts of wooden crates to pry them open. A similar type uses longer, thinner, lighter heads with one end slotted lengthwise and flat tipped. Often mistaken for a claw, this end is a horseshoe magnet for holding tacks while starting them. They are commonly called tack or upholsterer's hammers.
Usually heavier, with thicker necks, is the peen, where the claw is replaced by a shape. Derived from an old word for sharp, peens are often conical or wedge shaped with edges aligned either parallel or perpendicular to the handle for hammering in tight spaces. With end sharpened to a chisel edge, sometimes called boilermaker's hammers, some were used to flare or peen rivets, starting with one or more vees in the tail. As every sailor knows, some were more acutely sharpened , often with a slight curve to produce chipping hammers to remove thick paint, rust, barnacles and welding slag. At the extreme, having a broad, thin, handle-parallel wedge with a keen edge, closely resembling a hand axe, the hatchet was used to chop wood. More often they have a vee notch in the blade, close to the handle, for pulling nails.
Althiugh not commonly considered hammers, the axe and adz are very sharp, thin tapered variations of the wedge peen for wood cutting. With edge oriented parallel to the handle and slightly arched, the axe is used to fell trees and cut to length by chopping and loosening chips in a kerf, to trim branches and to split kindling lengthwise. Some are single edged with a flat face on the oppsite end. No respectable woodsman would consider this as a hammer for driving metal nails or spikes. Others have double edges to provide a fresh one as needed, without interruption for shapening. A dull blade is is very dangerous, since it may ricochet in any direction. As I was taught while learning to hone the edge, "If you can't shave with it, it aint worth a damn." Short handled versions are normally referred to as hand axes. On the adz, the straight edge on a bent or curved back wedge is oriented perpendicular to the handle and is used for squaring or planing timber to size with lengthwise cuts.
On the blunt side, producing rounded, concave dents in metal, the ball peen is used to make dish shaped or curved objects, both concave or convex, over an anvil hole. With broader flat heads, often used by jewlers, chasing hammers are used to flatten and work thinner pieces with minimum denting.
Probably developed by forcing a long handle through a section of tree trunk, the cylindrical head mall is commonly used by circus hands to drive wooden tent pegs or stakes. Smaller, one hand varieties are generally referred to as mallets. Long handled versions are used to play crochet and polo. Hard rubber has largely replaced wood for most applications to reduce denting. Some are filled with lead shot to increase impact. A newer type has loose weight to reduce rebound. Some have heavier, metal heads with replaceable faces. These are very handy for benchwork adjustment, when screws are loosened slightly. A fancier wooden version is often used by judges and presiding officers to call attention to themselves, the gavel.
For very heavy pounding or driving, the smaller one-hand or larger two-hand sledge hammer is the choice. More often the head is short and lightly tapered with a rounded or beveled square cross section and identical flat end faces. Longer and more slender heads exist. Often they are used to drive hard chisels through masonry and metal or prototype track spikes. They are often used destructively to break masonry and cast items.
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