[SEL] Getting A Handle On It

[John Culp]

Thanks for the additional info, Alan!

I've finished it up, BTW. I need to take some final pics before 
Jennifer spirits it away. I cut the handle at 16", just because it 
looked nicely proportional to me there. I thought it would be pretty 
stubby at 12". One can always "choke up on" the handle in use, a few 
inches sticking back won't get in the way much, and actually offers the 
option of two-handed use. (Not an option when you're holding a piece of 
work with the other hand, of course.) Anyway, I'd rather cut some more 
off later than wish I could put some back. I smoothed up the cut end, 
beveled the edge, applied linseed oil, and it looks just like a 
storebought handle of the old-fashioned sort.

I imagine Jennifer will love the hammer, but I'll bet she really won't 
do a lot of beating with it as it's quite heavy. I Googled up cross 
peen (the way most seem to spell it these days) hammers, and they're 
all over the place. But new 5 lb. cross peen hammers are thin on the 
ground.

John

On Aug 27, 2007, at 8:12 PM, Alan Bowen wrote:

> John,
> Your hammer is a cross-pein hammer.
> Think of peen-ing a surface to displace metal. That site Arnie 
> provided has some good pictures of the process.
>
> Check out this site.
>
> http://www.fholder.com/Blacksmithing/article8.htm
>
> For Pien hammers you forgot the Straight Pien and the Angle Pien 
> hammers.
> Look here for the Angle Pien hammer.
>
> http://www.caffreyknives.net/Angle%20Pien%20Hammers.html
>
> I was trying to find a definition of the word, pein.
> I didn't find one.
>
> Alan Bowen


John Culp
Bristol, Tennessee, USA