Out back in the deepest corners of the barn is what I like to call the rust box. An old drawer that I assume used to belong to a very nice piece of furniture at one point in its life lined with rusted pliers, sécateurs, pruning knives and saws that haven't seen a spot of oil, care or attention in decades.

During a rummage through the box for some nice steel I found a beautiful large french pattern forging hammer caked in rust. I gave it a soak in my vinegar mix just in case there were any makers marks on the sides to reveal which there unfortunately wasn't. But not to worry, she’ll still look pretty all cleaned up.

I had saved a beautiful piece of wood from in between the rafters of a stable roof that I had fixed up, I knew there was something different about it as it was the only piece of wood up there not completely eaten to sawdust by woodworm. Apparently a bunch of logs were put up there to block the barn cats having kittens out of reach some 65 years ago, so I can be sure it's well seasoned. After I saw the grain and how it split I'm 100% certain this is a log of black locust which is a great springy and strong wood perfect for a hammer.

After splitting into a quarter I split out the pith and the outer corners then whittled down the bark side with an axe to make a rectangular section. There was a slight bend to the grain but none too serious.

With the handle rectangular I shaped the neck down so that it was just a little oversized for the hammerhead and decided to leave it at that for the moment.



I marked where I didn't want to cut on the neck and gave the handle a quick oval cross section with my newly sharpened Peugeot brothers drawknife I picked up at a flea market for €1. The drawknife can remove a lot of material very quickly so I refrained from using it at the neck, a rasp will be much safer for that work.

To fit the head I stood the handle upright, then rested the hammer head on top of the handle. looking down through the hole in the hammer I drew the shape of the hole onto the handle, with that I had the cross section that I needed so I began to shape the wood down with rasps so the head would slide on tight.

I had planned to mount the head upside down, but eventually decided to keep it traditional after the missus told me that's just going to look like I don't know what I'm doing with my own tools. The first words out of everyone's mouth when they saw me making this handle was a varient of "you know the head's upside down right?".

With the head sliding on tight and requiring a few taps of another hammer to take it off it’s time to shape the rest of the handle

Taking off the majority of the wood with a coarse cabinet rasp, the rounded side makes it nice and easy to get into and form curves for a good grip.

There we go, the shape is made out now just a light sanding to smooth it down

Sanding was a rub down with 40 grit to remove the deep rasp marks followed by 80 grit then 120 grit to finish. For a shiny clean look I like to run the edge of a broken piece of glass along the grain to finish, this isn't necessary but I find it makes the wood superbly smooth to the touch.

To protect the bare wood I used a beeswax paste rubbed on then left for an hour before buffing in.

After an hour the wood has coloured to a lovely soft brown. Now I cut a slot in the top of the handle with a saw about 2/3rds as deep and the head to accept a wedge later on. As I fit the head in the correct orientation I realised that it was a little tighter than when I had fit the head upside down, this is a good thing as a tight fit is always better for security. To get the head to slide all the way on and seat properly on the handle just hold it upside down and tap the bottom of the handle with another hammer, the inertia of the impact with seat it securely.

To make a wedge you need a piece of wood as wide as the handle is and about as thick as a pencil, I like to split a flat piece of wood then simply taper one end with an axe and a file. Make sure to have one of the barn kittens inspect the wedge for defects before hammering it in.

Once hammered fully in you can trim the excess with a saw. You can see here that I covered the wedge in beeswax paste and packed some paste into the slot too. The idea is that once hammered in the wedge will absorb the linseed oil, expand and make a longer lasting connection

That trimmed wood can now be treated with a dab of paste to complete the look.

And there we go, an old forging hammer restored and ready to use again. Saved from the scrap heap and life in a rusty box

You can see a small piece tore at the edge as the wedge was sawn off so I just filed it in with another chip of wood for cosmetics.

Ready to go, the weight is 1.2kg or around 2.6lbs which I read is a good sweet spot for an all rounder blacksmith’s hammer.

Now to start blacksmithing with it. I just need some metal… and a forge… and an anvil…

I’ve got a lot to do.



