I have several Martin hammers and like each one of them. However my favorite hammer is an old Proto that I found in an antique store. It is amazing how well balanced it is. Proline makes a nice hammer too...if you have the money.
I like the ones I make although if I were ever to join the high roller club I would buy ones with wooden handles... I looked at some of those cheap offshore hammers and they look like an accident waiting to happen,,can just see the head flying off!
Looks like Fairmount is back. I like the vintage ones, not sure where these are made now: http://www.eastwood.com/fairmount-8-pc-hammer-dolly-set-wood.html
I do alot of Metal Finishing ( No Filler ) and the Hammers I use more than any others are my Slapping Files= Straight Coarse( pictured ) and Straight Fine Also a Half Round. I Do Like my PROTO though
I have been buying vintage ones i find on ebay and antique hunting,(Proto, Fairmount, Martin and snap on) they are far better than the new ones that i bought 10 years ago.I just gave that set to my son as a starter set.
With the Dollie Shaped most like the surface you're working,The Slap Hammer and Dollie brings up the Low Areas and leaves a Crosshatch pattern and you just keep working until you have the area marked,block sanding will show your progress....the 37 Chev. Rt Rear Fender I'm working in the above picture( Mailbox Fender ) had been wrecked and repaired more than once ,was full of Bondo And Deep Gouges From the previous Guys over Grinding to make their Bondo stick Better? in the pic I am only about 75% done with my hammer work. after I have it where it is Shaped and strong again I will switch from the Block Sanding to Lightly Filing with the Metal File for final proof reading the surface.
I've had my Snap-On hammers for close to 40 years now. But a year ago I picked up what I think is a an old blacksmith hammer, to straighten out some sub rails on the Roadster. It was like magic, right weight for the job, every tap was just right, I have to check and see if Thor signed it. Bob
I go with my old Martins. I have two or three that I use all the time the rest pretty much lay in the drawer for occasional special tasks. Most hammers don't get "good" until you have dressed them to your taste, especially shrinkers. Same with dollies. I would like to find a good skinning hammer. For what it's worth, my newer Martins don't seem that much, if any, different than the old ones, some of which were my Dads and probably date to the late '40's. Again, WOOD HANDLES! Nothing is more unpleasant than a fibergllass splinter of a hammer handle and nothing feels better than a wood handle that is worn to fit just your hand. I might add, don't let them lay around the shop. Somebody will always grab one to just "tap this one bolt in". Then you start polishing all over again.
Martin and Proto.... The first hammer I got 45 years ago is a Proto pick, still have it along with all the martin hamers accumulated over the intervening years...Plus a few home made hammers, too
best hammer i own came from an antique store... was in a "grab box" full of old tools and marked $1.00 each
A good tip for the wooden handles, iffen they get loose at the head and you can't drive the wedges in, soak the head in anti-freeze for a week or so. it swells up the wood and takes forever to dry back out. I have had 2 Craftsman hammers for well over 30 years, (good), but I use mostly my Martins. a couple of years ago, I searched all over town for a new slapping file, the parts store had to order it .They didn't even know what it was....
Why can't you just make your own slapping file by heating and bending a regular flat file? Or would that mess-up the file's hardness?
Martin, Proto, Fairmount, Porter Ferguson, Peddinghaus Cados, Snap-on, Old Craftsman, etc. I prefer the hickory handles that Snap-on uses to the rounded version. Here are some Vintage hammers I've picked up recently... Peddinghaus... With fresh S-O handle installed Also had picked up this Fairmount about a month ago, cleaned up it's face as well... Porter Ferguson: As you can see, I normally dress the faces to remove and dings or imperfections and any sharp edges, this will reduce transferring any such markings to the metal you are working on...
Not impossible as I Made a small Fine cut one that I use Mostly for Repairing Stainless Mouldings.The Heavy ones for Sheetmetal are Cheap,but when you buy them you should Eyeball it For Level as I have found Brand New ones that have a Curve on the Working Surface......the small one I made,when doing the final finshing on the stainless ,I will cover the working surface with masking tape,so as not to leave the crosshatch marking.
Hey, Look for Proto, Plumb, Plomb, Porter Ferguson, Cornwell, Fairmount, Sykes , Snap On, Herbrand & early Craftsman ( Sears). The " Fairmount '' brand Eastwood is selling don't look like the original Fairmount patterns to me, but ya get what ya pay for! I don't think the " Martin '' brand, old Fairmount patterns, new forgeings, are any where as hard as the old Fairmounts were, and I've already bent a couple of their pry picks doing PDR, but still not bad value for the money! Good luck " Do not reach greedily for the Kool-Aid "
Nice collection MP&C, reminds me about the story of Myron Stevens, the man who hand formed the bodies and frame rails for Harry Miller. He made all his hammers from Model T Ford rear axle shafts that he hand forged. Bob
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