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I used to think a heavy hammer was always better for moving metal
For years I swung a 4 pound cross peen on everything, thinking more mass meant more control. Then I watched a guy at the Salt Lake City hammer-in forge a perfect leaf with a 2.5 pound rounding hammer, using way less effort. I tried it myself on a simple scroll and the difference in precision was immediate. I was just muscling metal around before, not actually directing it. Now I keep three different weights by my anvil. Has anyone else had to unlearn a basic tool habit like that?
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leo_adams6mo ago
Ever think your arm was just a dumb piston attached to a bigger dumb weight? I spent a whole summer trying to draw out a knife blade with a sledgehammer head duct-taped to a handle. My shoulder still clicks when it rains. Turns out a lighter hammer doesn't mean you're weak, it means you're not an idiot.
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paige_harris5mo ago
Picked up a 2 pound cross peen after years of using a 3 pounder and realized I'd been fighting my own hammer more than the steel. The heavier one just bounced off the anvil harder after each hit, making me work twice as much to control the rebound. That wasted energy adds up fast when you're doing ten thousand strikes in a session.
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