Est. 1998 — 27 years of woodworking knowledge
An old claw hammer
Jeremy Osner
>Hi all, I have an old hammer with an interesting claw -- it is not split into two tines like most claw hammers, just a single wedge. What is this used for? It's no good for pulling nails and its no good for most "wedge" applications because it has a fairly broad end, like 1/16", rather than tapering to an edge.
Re: An old claw hammer
Skip in Falls Church
>Hi Jeremy,
Sounds like you have a cobblers hammer. The "claw" is used to tap leather into shape, not pull nails. :)
Skip
Re: An old claw hammer
Ernie Miller Topeka
>Is that what they are for? I have a couple also. I guess the hint should have been all the differant size shoe streachers and tack hammers that came in the same lot?
Re: An old claw hammer
William Duffield, on the Cohansey
>It's not a Warrington pattern hammer is it? If so, what you describe as a claw would be straight, not curved.
Follow the link to a picture:
http://www.plumbworld.co.uk/images/pwdr0028l.jpg
The "claw" is used to start brads that are too short to extend beyond the width of your fingers. Hold the brad between the tips of the thumb and forefinger, and strike with the narrow end between them. The shape of the head spreads the fingers, and the fingers guide it to the center of the head of the brad. It also works for driving the brad into a cove mold, where a wide head would damage the cove.
Re: An old claw hammer
Bill Houghton, Sebastopol, CA
>If the "claw" is wide both ways, and the face rather broad as well, it's most likely a cobbler's hammer, as Skip has indicated. My example also has a fairly short handle, and the drawings I've seen share that feature - possibly another clue.
Re: An old claw hammer
Jeremy Osner
>No, not straight -- I believe Skip is correct, that it's a cobbler's hammer.
Re: An old claw hammer
Skip in Falls Church
>HI Ernie,
I never knew how to use one - even though I had one, until I talked to someone in the Saddelry shop down at Colonial Williamsburg. The guy kindly sat there and showed me how to use one. Now I find it unliely that I'll ever use that end of the hammer. :) It seems to me that the older the cobblers hammers are, the straighter the "claws" are. My hammer is fairly new and the claw is quite curved - virtually useless for the original application.
The other end should be smooth and domed so you can whack the heck out of leather without leaving hammer head marks. I've used that end quite a bit and it does a nice job.
Skip