Bike Forums

Bike Forums (https://www.bikeforums.net/forum.php)
-   Classic & Vintage (https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vintage/)
-   -   #1 Hammer Thread (https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vintage/1308917-1-hammer-thread.html)

merziac 06-12-25 04:00 PM

Hammer time, I had hammers on my mind so when I did this it motivated me to round some up, there are more.

Hence the segue. ;)

This operation never involves a hammer, ever, nor as I've stated many, many times I have never damaged the frame, paint, flesh, parts, tools or failed to get them out, ever, period. :50:

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...f8bb144d47.jpg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...53510c0370.jpg
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...2ab5a78aa8.jpg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...f4b9cd5749.jpg

noglider 06-13-25 12:07 PM

Nice thread! Thank you.

And thanks for telling us about the Hebrew Hammer!


https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...f7061fb00.jpeg

dedhed 06-13-25 12:55 PM


Originally Posted by John D (Post 23539688)
That is a fine example of a repousse hammer.

Also known as a chasing hammer

Pompiere 06-14-25 11:03 AM

They are gone, but their memories live on in the tools that they put their hands on.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...31d535a221.jpg
My dad made this brass hammer for me from a piece of bar stock many years ago. It's only about 10 ounces. This is the only metal hammer that comes near any bikes.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...86c27dc07c.jpg
My grandpa had polio as a boy, so he lost the use of his right arm. He still went to college, worked as a teacher, and farmed. To start a nail, he would hold the nail head against the side of the hammer and slam it into the wood, then quickly toss the hammer up and grab the handle on the way down and drive the nail. The side of the head is all dinged up from him using it that way.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...8677f9a577.jpg
I picked this one up at a garage sale without a handle. I cleaned it up and put a handle on. I find myself reaching for it frequently for small jobs.




merziac 06-14-25 11:15 AM


Originally Posted by Pompiere (Post 23542418)
They are gone, but their memories live on in the tools that they put their hands on.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...31d535a221.jpg
My dad made this brass hammer for me from a piece of bar stock many years ago. It's only about 10 ounces. This is the only metal hammer that comes near any bikes.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...86c27dc07c.jpg
My grandpa had polio as a boy, so he lost the use of his right arm. He still went to college, worked as a teacher, and farmed. To start a nail, he would hold the nail head against the side of the hammer and slam it into the wood, then quickly toss the hammer up and grab the handle on the way down and drive the nail. The side of the head is all dinged up from him using it that way.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...8677f9a577.jpg
I picked this one up at a garage sale without a handle. I cleaned it up and put a handle on. I find myself reaching for it frequently for small jobs.

Great story on Grandads hammer, very cool your Dad made the brass one. ;)

And never underestimate the usefulness of the mini sledge.

+ so many on the bikes and hammer. :thumb:

dweenk 06-14-25 01:03 PM

Here are two mallets. The crude green painted one was my grandfather's; he used a lot of pegs in his woodwork and I think he made it. The damage to the faces was most likely my doing as a kid. The other is an artist's mallet for sculpting and woodcut carving when using wooden handled chisels.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...e36efeb118.jpg

curbtender 06-14-25 01:37 PM

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...b177bba3b0.jpg

thinktubes 06-14-25 05:25 PM

Took a trip out to the garage…

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...5b489a4b_b.jpg

sometimes the rubber mallet sees use on a bike

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...c9c2e9b7_b.jpg

hyde hammers are handy for many many things

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...7298627f_b.jpg

Aardwolf 06-15-25 09:56 AM

I don't have much of a collection, but it has all the ones I could actually need.

Estwing geology hammer
4lb club hammer
rubber mallet
20oz engineering hammer
4oz pin hammer, also good for paint tins

First 3 inherited from my dad who was a paleontologist.
Dumped his collection of sledge hammers because I don't break a lot of concrete these days. I think the largest was 28lb - tried it when I was a kid.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...41d61bf236.jpg

dweenk 06-15-25 10:45 AM


Originally Posted by curbtender (Post 23542489)

I remember those hammers from when I was a kid. My mother had a hammer like that, except it had a claw head (maybe 10 ounce). She used it around the house for little tasks that didn't require a larger tool, and the screwdrivers nested into one another and were stored in the hollow handle of the hammer. Thanks for posting that - I had forgotten.

unworthy1 06-16-25 10:28 AM


Originally Posted by dweenk (Post 23542468)
Here are two mallets. The crude green painted one was my grandfather's; he used a lot of pegs in his woodwork and I think he made it. The damage to the faces was most likely my doing as a kid. The other is an artist's mallet for sculpting and woodcut carving when using wooden handled chisels.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...e36efeb118.jpg

the lower example is called (by most) a "Maul" and has differences to most other mallets in the shape of the striking surface (curved wood in this case but can be plastic or hide) plus how you use it:

"Rocking vs. Hitting- Mauls are used with a rocking motion of the wrist, as opposed to the hammer-like hitting motion of a mallet. While it takes some getting used to, using a maul over a long work session takes less energy and puts less stress on the body."

YMMV

Prowler 06-17-25 03:33 AM


Originally Posted by Aardwolf (Post 23542952)
I don't have much of a collection, but it has all the ones I could actually need.

20oz engineering hammer

I have one of those too (looks identical so no photo). It’s the one I use the most - very useful weight and the ball peen end is good for many things.

Mr. 66 06-18-25 07:49 AM

I was able to make it to the worksite. Here is the favored Hickory Hart Decking Hammer, made on the USA. I purchased about thirty years back. Nice smooth head that doesn’t mar the stock, though the face has plenty of use that helps grip the drive.https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...cbfb47035.jpeg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...0db9a161f.jpeg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...1c8508e7c.jpeg
I used to have this highly polished, but I left it out during a rainstorm a couple of months ago that rusted up and pitted, the black spots on the handle came from that night. It is currently on its second finish on the handle. It has been sanded that down with 400 grit, and is now ready for its third. Unfortunately the handle is getting loose, I’m hoping the refinish will help like it did the last time. I’m hoping it will last long enough to become heirloom.

I have others, but this is #1

unworthy1 06-18-25 10:02 AM

^ nice framing hammer!
If it wasn't a unique shaped handle I'd just replace with a fresh one, but in this case maybe (if it's not so loose on the head that it needs a new or additional wedge) you might try some "penetrating" epoxy. There's some sold specifically for wood preservation/renewal as well as some for boats, both are very thin-bodied so can weep into tight gaps via capillary action.

joesch 06-18-25 10:44 AM


Originally Posted by unworthy1 (Post 23543670)
the lower example is called (by most) a "Maul" and has differences to most other mallets in the shape of the striking surface (curved wood in this case but can be plastic or hide) plus how you use it:

"Rocking vs. Hitting- Mauls are used with a rocking motion of the wrist, as opposed to the hammer-like hitting motion of a mallet. While it takes some getting used to, using a maul over a long work session takes less energy and puts less stress on the body."

YMMV

Some more explanation, hammers generally have a hard, metal head and are used for driving nails, breaking things, or shaping metal. Mallets, on the other hand, typically have a softer head made of materials like rubber, wood, or plastic, and are used for striking surfaces without causing damage or for driving tools like chisels.

clubman 06-18-25 05:05 PM

One other of note. My great-great grandpa built wooden ships (barques) in the mid nineteenth century on in Nova Scotia. This hammer was part of a bunch-o-tools passed down the generations. Made by R.Timmins & Sons in Birmingham, they started making tools in 1846.The handle is in serious rough shape but unlikely to be original given the hack installation.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...7b15f4fd5b.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...81c0a73eb0.jpg
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...0de26ee479.jpg

squirtdad 06-18-25 11:15 PM

I got this hammer for my sixth birthday,

it came with a saw, pliers, coping saw, level, adjustable square, screwdriver, and putty knife on a peg board with a book of projects (first one I did was the rubber band gun)

all painted by my dad in matching blue..... I have everything but the coping saw, pegboard and plans, many many years later

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c97692c039.jpg

unworthy1 06-19-25 09:48 PM

I remember that "kit" with blue painted stuff...I got the hand-me-down which was missing pieces and/or had some broken...too bad they didn't include some "projects" in the manual for fixing the tools that get broken!

EDIT: this was called "Billy Builder" and somewhat different than the hammer squirtdad shared:

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c18d74fe82.png

noglider 06-21-25 05:08 AM


Originally Posted by clubman (Post 23545214)
One other of note. My great-great grandpa built wooden ships (barques) in the mid nineteenth century on in Nova Scotia. This hammer was part of a bunch-o-tools passed down the generations. Made by R.Timmins & Sons in Birmingham, they started making tools in 1846.The handle is in serious rough shape but unlikely to be original given the hack installation.


https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...81c0a73eb0.jpg

That's quite a bit of history. It seems to me a special privilege to know that about a long-ago relative and also to have something he had.

curbtender 06-21-25 08:44 AM

My buddy, Bernie, worked with Andy Goldsworthy to create 'Faultline' at the DeYoung museum. Andy used Bernds' hammer and signed it after they finished. He told Andy if he worked for him and did that he would get fired, lol.
https://ca.pbslearningmedia.org/reso...y-visual-arts/

SJX426 06-22-25 06:33 AM

Lot of interesting hammers!
My pitiful drawer of hammers
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...2c36bdf22e.jpg

Mr. 66 06-22-25 07:11 AM


Originally Posted by SJX426 (Post 23547322)
Lot of interesting hammers!
My pitiful drawer of hammers

Oh dude, you handle is on backwards on the Hart, that must be awkward. The head looks like that of my photo.

SJX426 06-22-25 07:43 AM


Originally Posted by Mr. 66 (Post 23547334)
Oh dude, you handle is on backwards on the Hart, that must be awkward. The head looks like that of my photo.

Don't know where I got that from. Must have been installed primarily for the claw!
Will look up a replacement.

ooooo. Can't find one! Bummer!

Pompiere 06-22-25 12:57 PM


Originally Posted by SJX426 (Post 23547356)
Don't know where I got that from. Must have been installed primarily for the claw!
Will look up a replacement.

ooooo. Can't find one! Bummer!

Look for camp axe handle. I found a bunch of listings. Truper 30815 Replacement Hickory Handle For Camp Axe

unworthy1 06-23-25 10:13 PM


Originally Posted by curbtender (Post 23546792)
My buddy, Bernie, worked with Andy Goldsworthy to create 'Faultline' at the DeYoung museum. Andy used Bernds' hammer and signed it after they finished. He told Andy if he worked for him and did that he would get fired, lol.
https://ca.pbslearningmedia.org/reso...y-visual-arts/

Hah! Thanks for sharing this vid, I walk past this piece at least once every month (or more) and when it was first installed I was "chuffed" to have a genuine Andy Goldsworthy closer to home than the ones in the Presidio or down in San Jose...cause I feel an affinity to him (we share a surname)!
I almost met him at a gallery opening at the Haynes gallery in SF but he had done his talk and left before I arrived, but a friend (who's an artist herself) spent a couple hours talking "ART" with him and said he was wonderful (plus very serious about his art)...

Maybe next time he visits SF I will find out earlier and get a chance to shake his hand.
Then show him my Drivers License
:lol:


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 02:57 PM.


Copyright © 2026 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.