TomD
Derek has a lot of wise words there. On the other hand, as far as the blade goes, if it is soft O1 up where you hit it, it is bound to suffer some denting if you hit it with a metal hammer. Some Japanese planes have forge welded inserts on three sides, so that the metal plane adjusting hammers they use will not deform the plane, though a modest amount of deformation is pretty acceptable. You want a plane to last for generations if it can, so there should not be dramatic wear all at once. But certain marks are also expected, like mushroomed butts on your chisels.

As far as adjusting wedged blades is concerned, I place my fingers over the mouth and support the edge on them, while with my other hand I snug in the wedge by hand. When you get the feel of it, the blade will almost be at correct depth from the start. Then I do the initial visual adjustment, then I snug the wedge a little more, take some shavings, and when I get the blade in perfectly, I seat the wedge. I use the lightest pressure that is necessary for all stages. It does not take a lot of pressure on a well made plane, so you should not have to use a lot of force to drop the blade to depth or hold it in place. If you get the blade just so, then bang on the wedge, you will only disturb your setting, so use minimal force. Keep in mind that OS blades can pass right through, allowing you to drop them to the floor and possibly harm you. So use care as regards that.