Non-hardened Hammer?

Re: Non-hardened Hammer?

Tom Norton

No, I need a metal hammer.

Brass? You're not making it easy to give help

Dick Coers

We have no idea what you are trying to do. A hammer can be a lot of things.

Non hardened STEEL hammer

Jack Guzman from Maine

I'm assuming that is what you are asking. A steel hammer you can safely hit with another steel hammer. I would get a piece of bar stock of the proper thickness and drill a hole in the side of it to take a handle. What you'll have is a soft headed hammer.---Jack

Re: Non-hardened Hammer?

Neal in SC

I think I remember from my engineering training that metal working hammers such as ball-peen are not hardened, or hardened less than claw hammers since they are intended to strike metal. Claw hammers can be hardened since nails are not. Striking two hardened pieces of metal together (like claw hammer to claw hammer) can cause one or both to shatter.

I did an internet search to try and confirm this, but couldn't find anything. My engineering texts have been packed away for about 5 decades, so not much help from that quarter, either.

Any blacksmiths around?

There was a Mythbusters episode....

Bill Tindall, E.Tn.

...where they tried to chip any hammer by striking it with another. Couldn't. If you are worried about bashing a hammer with another, likely nothing to be concerned with. I have never chipped an American made hammer bashing rock. I have a Chinese splitting maul and scary chunks flew out of it when striking a steel wedge. Avoid Chinese hammer.

Re: Non-hardened Hammer?

Mark Mandell - Gone Round In New Jersey

A stone carver's hammer will do you nicely. They used to come in various weights 1 through 6 lb. "Soft" steel made for striking stone tools. Might find something in a carver's supply or an art supply that caters to sculptors .

Several choices

Gary Smyth

All of these are available in a web search. The copper and brass vary from 1/2 pound to 24 pounds.

1. Brass hammer

2. Cold rolled steel bar or round Metal Warehouse scrap end $8 depending on size.

3. Copper hammer

4. Heat a claw hammer head to orange/cherry red and let it cool slowly in the air (no quench). Removes case hardening to about 1/8" deep

A copper or brass hammer will cost about $25 depending on weight. Bronze will also work but be more expensive.

A brass or copper hammer will come in handy if you ever need to have a good thwack but reduce or not damage a slide off to steel.

Re: Several choices

Tom Norton

Thanks Mark & Gary. This will help me out!

Re: There was a Mythbusters episode....

John in NM

I think that is the only Mythbusters I've ever seen, or maybe the only one I remembered.

When they couldn't get the hammer heads to shatter, they took a few off the handles, heated them up nice and orange, and then dropped them in a pan of oil, which promptly caught fire.

Set crew came dashing over with a dry chem extinguisher and put out the flame, only to have it pop right back up! Most memorable part was the momentary looks of astonishment until someone thought to find a bit of sheet steel to cut off the air until the oil cooled down below the auto-ignition temperature.

Even after all that, the heads still wouldn't shatter