I am looking for a good source of hammers for forging.
I’ve been reading Oppi Untracht’s Jewelry Concepts and Technology.
On page 246, there is an illustration of a wide variety of
silversmithing hammers including basic, raising and embossing. And
following on from that is a ‘forging in action’ demonstration where
he demonstrates a 2lb cross peen hammer to start with on quarter
inch square sterling bar.
My problem is that I am having difficulty finding anywhere that has
a wide variety of silversmithing hammers, particularly the raising
hammers, and working out which weight of hammer would be appropriate
for a particular piece/weight/size of metal. I would like to start
my collection with 4/6 hammers that I can use for medium weight
work. (I already have a goldsmiths, basic ball peen, planishing
5oz., and a small jewellers hammer, amongst others for other uses)
If anyone can point me in the right direction or give some advice I
would be very grateful.
Hi Judy, Have you looked at Frei and Borel? They have a good
selection of high quality silversmithing hammers. All Craft in NY is
another. I think Centaur Forge also has a bunch.
Dear Judy, Nathan Robertson in Minnesota, USA, is a blacksmith who
makes hammers. He will not have a full selection of hammers
available, but does regularly make forging hammers and repouss=e
hammers. The repousse hammers are based on a French design, taught by
Wendell Broussard. Nathan may also consider custom work. His email
address is jpine AT paulbunyan.net
We have referred many customers to him since my husband, Bill
Fiorini, stopped making hammers several years ago.
Try Allcraft. Tevel has a good selection of hammers and stakes.
Another good source for larger hammers is a blacksmith’s supply
company. BlacksmithsDepot.com. They also carry anvils. Good people.
I have just moved back to the states from Italy. I recommend the
tools at karl fischer in pfortzheim, germany. They have a good hard
copy print catalogue and here is a link to their website.
Check out cooksongold.com look in their jewellery tools section for
hammers, they have a range of basic silversmiths hammers and do a
good postal service. It will give you a start, but as you get on you
will probably start altering standard hammers to suit eack job. I
have been in this trade for 46 years now. I am a goldsmith rather
than a silversmith, but I was taught to use hammers by silversmiths
when I was an apprentice. Just for interest I counted my collection
of hammers and mallets and they total 57 at this time. Good luck
with your search. I am in the process of preparing a book for
publishing. A book showing a bit of my history and most of my work.
Hopefully it will be published by the same publishers that published
Oppi Untracht’s books.
I have to recommend the new Fretz hammers, which I know are
available from both Rio and Otto Frei. I bit the bullet and purchased
a set after seeing and trying a friend’s, and they are the best
investment I think I’ve ever made. The handles are beautifully
balanced and shaped rosewood and the heads are themselves works of
art. They come pre-dressed, but you can, of course, re-dress them
yourself if they don’t suit your preferences.
The basic set of 5 includes 2 planishing, 2 raising, and an
embossing hammer. They’ve now come out with a set of 11 (Otto Frei
has them), as well. They can also be purchased individually (but
trust me, you get one and you’re going to want more!).
Don’t let their apparent small size fool you. They are ideally
weighted and can work even thick non-ferrous metals. With their
design, I can forge much longer and more effectively than I could
with heavier traditional hammers.
I really love them! There’s also a new set of mini-stakes from Fretz
that I’m lusting over, but will wait a while on those.
Hope this helps!
Karen Goeller
No Limitations Designs
Hand-made, one-of-a-kind jewelry www.nolimitations.com
I am looking for a good source of hammers for forging.
If you’re looking for hammers to forge non-ferrous, Peddinghaus is
the best, and I believe Contenti carries a wide selection. For
blacksmithing, try Centaur Forge, and they may have some hammers for
non-ferrous too. Somebody mentioned AllCraft, and they’re great too,
lots of stakes and hammers. I’m not at work, don’t have the contact
info handy, but a google search should turn it up.
Many thanks to everyone who wrote to me on and off Orchid with
advice about hammers for forging
I’ve learnt a lot and thanks to all your help I now feel ready to go
forward and make my choices, but recognise this is just the beginning
of a whole new path to travel!
Many thanks again and very best wishes to everyone at Orchid
I’m quite interested in this subject also. A book I found extremely
useful was:
Silversmithing (Jewelry Crafts)
by William C. Seitz and Rupert Finegold
I think it tells you how to shape hammers properly. And it’s easily
obtain able from amazon, if you can’t find it anywhere else. The
hammers I’ve bought so far, I got from HS Walsh in the UK, which are
quite nice, in that they come pretty much ready to use, but they do
have quite a limited selection. I think for jewelry, you often have
to modify your own.
I totally second this! I only bought one, but I now use it all the
time. Very nicely made!
I also highly recommend the new chasing hammers made by GRS. They
are similar in quality with very nice handles. Both of these have
become my go-to hammers for many tasks.