Source for Hammers

Jewelry Discussion
1

Greetings All! I’m currently taking a Metals Fold Forming Class at
our local college. The major topic of conversation is the lack of
good hammers that are currently available. A lot of the work we are
doing is best accomplished with a selection of quality cross-pean
hammers. I have checked Rio, Gesswein, Frei and Borel, and Indian
Jeweler’s Supply catalogs - to no avail. Goldsmith’s hammers are too
light for most of the work that we do. My teachers favorite hammers
were made by Anchor, which she says has gone out of buisness. Any
suggestions?

Irene Davis
Santa Cruz, CA

Note From Ganoksin Staff:
Looking for a hammer for your jewelry projects? We recommend:

2

I have modified some automotive hammers which you can get at
reasonable prices at any automotive shop. get the kind that are
used for body and fender work. they have a variety of
shapes—several that are cross peen, the one i use the most has
a cross peen and a flat head. they also come in a number of
sizes of ball peen type. Hope this helps- Alma

3

Ms. Davis, I love making tools. I once made a selection of snmall
hammers for a group who likes to build model sailing ships as a
hobby. I’d love to tackle the task of making hammers suitable to
your needs. How can I go about discovering what would make a d
esirable set of tools for that craft? Please contact me off-list at
wmemery11@attbi.com.

Thank you,
Wayne Emery

4 
   The major topic of conversation is the lack of good hammers
that are currently available.

Allcraft in NYC has the best, and it seems only, selection of
smithing hammers and stakes I’ve found. I’m having difficulty finding
contact for them at the moment… maybe someone else has
it handy, or you can find it in a trade magazine. Well worth
investigating!

All the best,

Dave

Dave Sebaste
Sebaste Studio and
Carolina Artisans’ Gallery
Charlotte, NC (USA)
dave@sebaste.com
http://www.CarolinaArtisans.com

5

Check the hammers at Centaur forge:
http://www.centaurforge.com/

Jesse

6

Irene. Try Allcraft, 135 W 29th St., Suite 402,N.Y. NY 10001.
1-800-645-7124. Ask for specialty catalog 68. Also keep an eye on
Ebay. I have found hammers and stakes listed, but you takes your
chances. Rust is the biggest problem as it may leave some surfaces
unable due to pitting.

I cruise the Flea Markets for hammers that I can regrind to the
shapes that I need. This lets me get a hammer cheap enough that I
can give one away occasionally as bait. Be careful about the
imported bodywork hammers. They are cheap cast iron and the faces
dent very easy which in turn mars your work.

Hope this helps. Happy hammering.

Bill Churlik

7

Making your own hammers is not too difficult and can be very
rewarding. You end up with exactly what you want/need. The only
problem is that I tend to get a bit carried away and find myself
spending more making the hammer than hammering with it.

8

Irene, you can also try Centaur Forge in Wisconsin large selection
for all types of metal working from jewelry to horse shoeing HTH

Ron

9

For handmade hammers and chasing tools see:
http://www.kokametalsmiths.com/index.html

Jesse

10

Hi Irene, about fold-forming hammers:

Allcraft (ask for Tevel) and Frei and Borel (ask for Steve or John)
both have a list of the hammers I recommend most for fold-forming,
prices are especially good now for some reason with Allcraft and Frei
and Borels German hammers selling around $24.00 or so, same as or
better than Centaur forge.

A raising hammer, broad soft, oval rounded faces.
A planishing hammer (crowned side is used)
A forging hammer(s) synclastic peens, that is curved, not straight across
A paper (best) or leather mallet
Flea market forging peens cleaned up a nd rounded off a bit.

I don’t have Allcrafts hammer order numbers handy, Tevel is easy to
deal with, as are John and Steve at Frei and Borel. best Charles

Frei and Borel
Phone: 1-800-772-3456
Fax: 1-800-900-3734

These are suggested hammers to have for fold-forming. You may
already have these hammers in your collection. This lists the hammers
that Frei and Borel carries that are useful for fold forming. While
not all the hammers useful for fold-forming they represent a good
starting group. Two different sets are suggested, one for jewlery
scale work and the other for medium to large work (several inches
across).

Set #1 Jewelry scale fold-forming
Page 109

137.003 raising 		400g
137.033 planishing      170g
137.018 raising`        300g
137.220 16mm    		7 0z

Page 110

137.703 41mm, 8 oz rawhide mallet

Set #2 Jewelry and larger work fold-forming
Page 109

137.003 raising 		400g
137.033 planishing      170g
137.018 raising`        300g

Page 110

137.703 41mm, 8 oz rawhide mallet

Stake: 112.503 T-stake, 10" long A stake holder is useful for it if
you don’t have one.

Charles Lewton-Brain
Box 1624, Ste M, Calgary, Alberta, T2P 2L7, Canada

11

Contact Tevel Herbstman at Allcraft: 800-645-7124

If you are anywhere near the Boston area on April 24, come by
Metalwerx for Vendor Day, from 1-8pm. Info will be on our website.
Twice a year we have a blowout vendor day with great specials. Tevel
brings a ton of hammers, stakes, pliers, files, etc., all with great
discounts for Metalwerx attendees. Other vendors will include 3M,
Triad (Sparkie Fusion Welder), Ray Grossman (The Jumpringer), Charon
Kransen (very beautiful books and rare jewelry show catalogs) and
more. I am hoping to have PMC people doing demos and John Henkel of
Henkel’s Casting to talk about casting issues.

We have free parking. A $5 donation for Orchid as asked at the
door.

Come and shop!

-k
Karen Christians
M E T A L W E R X
10 Walnut St.
Woburn, MA 01801
Phone:781/937-3532
Fax: 781/937-3955
http://www.metalwerx.com/
Accredited Jewelry Instruction

12

Irene, Try ‘CENTAUR FORGE,Ltd’ for hammers

117 North Spring Street
P.O. Box 340
Burlington, WI 53105-0340
U.S.A.

1-262-763-9175
FAX 1-262-763-8350

e-mail: centforge1@aol.com

Bill in Vista

Note From Ganoksin Staff:
Looking for a hammer for your jewelry projects? We recommend: