I know that I should hang my head in shame for buying cheap chinese cross-pein hammers, but I bought a 2 lb and a 4 lb hammer. One look at the head or the pein would tell you that they are not blacksmithing hammers, so I will have to dress them up some.
As purchased, here is what the 4 pounder looks like:
It is obvious from the photos that these hammers need work! Otherwise, I can only imagine the ugly ridges and dents that would show up in my work. I found a good hammer shape reference on the Artist-Blacksmith Quarterly website, although I haven't worked the pein into such an extremely rounded shape yet.
After filing the ridges off of the head, and removing some of the sharpness from the edges ...
After rounding the pein a bit ... The hammer was labeled "Drop Forged Steel", but it was fairly soft and easily worked with a file. I don't think you want a particularly hard hammer face, because if the head was brittle and shattered, it could hurt alot! By the way, there is a real ART to using a file, and I am not one of those artists.
Once I start using my hammers in earnest, I'll have a better idea of whether they need more work. I am planning to go to the next Saltfork Craftsmen's meeting in Tulsa Oklahoma. It's an all-day event with several demonstrations. I'll take pictures and keep you posted.
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