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My cousin watched me forge a knife and said it looked like I was 'angry at the steel'.
I realized I was hammering way too hard, so I switched to lighter, faster strikes. Anyone else get feedback that totally changed their hammer technique?
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morganj815mo ago
My old shop teacher called that "letting the hammer do the work." He said if you're swinging full force, you're just fighting the rebound. I started aiming for a rhythm where the hammer almost bounces back into the next strike.
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lily_gibson205mo ago
Wait, isn't that more about a dead blow hammer? Honestly, with a regular claw hammer, you still need to drive the nail. Tbh, the bounce helps your swing but you can't just rely on it.
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hall.charles4mo ago
@lily_gibson20 that's a good point about claw hammers vs dead blows. Forging is a whole different animal though. What changed my technique was realizing I was trying to punish the steel when I needed to invite it to move. Lighter taps let the metal flow instead of fighting back.
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