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A guy at the fair said my hammer blows were too heavy for the steel
He watched me work a small scroll and told me I was hitting like I was forging a railroad spike, which was making the metal brittle. I switched to a lighter 2 pound hammer and focused on faster, lighter taps, and the difference in control was huge. Anyone else get that advice when moving to finer work?
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keithpalmer6mo ago
That exact thing happened to me learning to forge knives. I was using a 4 pound sledge for everything and couldn't figure out why my edges kept cracking. The old guy teaching me just shook his head and handed me a 1.5 pound cross peen. It's a common beginner mistake, using force instead of control. You see it everywhere, like people typing so hard they break keyboards or stomping on pedals while driving. The right tool with a gentle touch almost always works better than brute force.
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ben_rodriguez6mo ago
But come on, cracking knife edges from a heavy hammer? That seems like a bad heat treat or cheap steel, not just hammer weight. People have been using sledges for centuries without their work falling apart. Maybe the old guy just liked his cross peen and made up a rule. Sometimes a little force is exactly what you need.
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