Hammer Technique - Stop Killing Your Shoulder! 

I've been smithing for a few years and I learned this from the friend who introduced me to being a blacksmith/bladesmith. Thank you for your time and info.

How to heat steel, how to draw steel, how to drift a hole, how to, how to.... Thank you, for the love of all that is holy--- HOW TO USE THE DAMN HAMMER CORRECTLY! Everyone is always so concerned with the work, no one looks at the tool! Well done, Brother.

I came here from your video being linked on a thread on tennis elbow. I subbed as soon as I saw the glasses. I listened to this while I was working and now I'm watching this on my break. I'm a fitter and turner by trade and an archer on my days off so my elbows are what makes me money and makes me happy so efficiency of motion is really important to me. I was wanting to try my hand at blacksmithing so coming across this video is awesome. Thank you kindly and hello from New Zealand.

You're not a toolbag! Dude very informative thank you for all of that information. Very beginner into forging and want to have the right technique from the get-go

I've just started watching blacksmithing videos recently.I've seen a number of blacksmiths using poor technique. They may talk about safety and using PPE, but none have addressed how to swing a hammer. I was looking for a technique video because I knew there had to be a better way. Scored on this my first pick. Great presentation. I liked when you were hitting the wood and knocking it out of your grip. I don't think you realized but you made your point just then. You weren't swinging hard, but the power of the hammer surprised you.If not intentional, it was still brilliant. Thanks.

I like this guy. Direct, funny, no B.S. Mjolnir proudly displayed. Cool tips on techniques. Thanks a bunch.

Excellent hammer technique sir! I began hammering "the hard way" a few months ago, and after long sessions, I noticed my technique began naturally becoming more like yours here to conserve energy but still deliver force. After seeing this video it makes so much sense, I just tried out this completed swing a few times and it feels excellent, much more fluid, akin to "snapping a punch" vs "clenching a fist and throwing with your shoulder." I never even thought to allow the hammer to continue it's rotation all the way up. Thanks a lot man!!

A viewer of mine sent me here. It's always great to run into someone on youtube with significant insight into their subject matter. As a very occasional blacksmith, I can probably really put some of this to use. One of my viewers is always flicking me crap for seeing my thumb on the back of a hammer or hatchet handle lol. I have some insight into psychology and physics of handled tool use stemming from trying to explain axe use to people, which can be useful in trying to communicate this stuff. There are two mistakes that go hand in hand so to speak. One is the death grip as you and I both put it, or white knuckling it. And the other is the false notion that to do work with the tool, you have to push it through the work and that is where the power comes from. Obviously without the death grip, you can't push the tool into the work, so trying to push the hammer leads to the death grip. Any approach like this is inefficient and highly stressful to the user, v.s. your lighter grip with emphasis on the generation of head speed. The energy that does the work comes from momentum, not pushing the tool into the work after it hits. Momentum is the product of mass and speed. if the tool is heavier at a given speed, it will have more embodied energy. Given any one hammer though, the weight cannot be changed, so we are left with changing the speed, and that is where useful momentum comes from. While it is certainly possible to add energy to the process as the hammer strikes, it is absurdly inefficient. This is easily demonstrated by grabbing a hammer or axe, setting it on the work and trying to push the head into the work from the end of that long handle. That is the opposite of mechanical advantage. It is mechanical disadvantage actually, and if we are pushing rather than swinging, we could probably do more work by just grabbing onto the head and pushing on it directly. A long handle only works to advantage if we use it in a way that takes advantage of it's potential use to increase momentum, which, again, is about increasing speed with any fixed wight of tool. The mechanical advantage of a long handled tool revolves, literally, around pivot points. When a body interfaces with the tool, there are multiple pivot points at work, so it becomes very complicated. For instance the shoulder, elbow, wrist and waist can all be pivot points. The mechanics are something equivalent to the hub and spoke of a wheel. If we turn the hub of a wheel, it turns only a little, but in the same span of time, the outside of the wheel turns a lot and travels much faster. If a pivot point, like the wrist, is the hub of the wheel and the hammer head is the rim of the wheel, we can easily create a high momentum with a small movement of the wrist. In your technique, you already have the pivot point of the the shoulder accelerating the hammer head gradually and easily to a fairly high momentum, so when you add the wrist snap, you are creating a very high speed/momentum with very little effort. The overall result is high power and high efficiency with minimal handle shock. Not only is the death grip not necessary, a delicate grip is basically required for the highest efficiency. Some way is needed to impress on people that it's all about momentum, and not what people think of as power use of a tool. Power added after the tool strikes is a path to injury and fatigue, and I think also often to broken handles. The way to get that momentum with any given tool is by increasing speed and the goal should ultimately be to create that speed with low effort. Also, that every blow does not have to be the hardest blow possible with that tool. There is a sweet zone where we get plenty of work done, but the work is sustainable. I should do a video on that stuff. If I do, I'll send people your way for sure! I haven't watched any of your other stuff yet, but it's plain to see you have something of substance to offer. Cheers.

Thanks a lot for this video. Beginner myself, would like to be able to keep going as long as possible, this will help.

Brilliant. Basic physics. Another newbie error - holding the elbow out to the side. Did that myself in a beginner jewelry-making class years ago - the wife of the instructor corrected me.

I'm new to Blacksmithing and Metal Work. Great information and well demonstrated. I'll save this as a reference.

Never teach you this at Blacksmithing classes very informative thanks

Thanks for the advice wolf's den forge I'm going to be starting the journey of blacksmithing. I am a welder by trade been under the hood for over 25 years. I now want to start banging steel. I plan on building a lot of my shop tools but knowledge is more valuable sometimes then tools. Thank you for the knowledge.

Good stuff and thanks for taking the time to show us newbies how to properly swing the hammer, I'm going to use these techniques from now on. Cheers mate. Len

Thank you so much for this! Im a beginning blacksmith and already tweaked my shoulder/ upper back using just a 2.5 lb hammer and wailing on steel. Will DEFINITELY use this technique from now on once I heal up. Thank you!

Sound advice. When I worked leather full time , I used a much heavier hammer for setting rivets because I was able to set them with 1 stroke and it saved thousands of strokes a day. I am in the process of setting up a forge and will use a 4lb and a 7lb to start. My brother has a forge and does most of his work with a 7lb minisledge that he has reground to have 1 flat face and 1 round face. We are both built like brick outhouses so the 7 isn't too heavy

Thank you so very much. I am just starting out and this is a great thing to learn. Thank you.

Great video, good topic especially for us just getting started in blacksmith. Subscribed and looking forward to learning more, keep up the good videos.

I’m watching thus cuz my shoulder and elbow are in serious Pain I do every thing you said to stop so THANK YOU THANK YOU will work on everything as soon as elbow feels better

Proper use of tools is definitely a good thing, one I try to subscribe to. In general, if it hurts or burns you out fast, figure out what you are doing wrong. Never use an impact type tool with a metal handle, thus do not use a crowbar as a hammer. If it impacts your hand, it impacts your elbow. Here is why hammers can severely injure those who use them wrong: For hammers, 1 point of grip is an axis around which a force will apply a torque on the hammer, 2 points of grip applies the reaction torque around your wrist. When your wrist is locked at maximum extent of motion the torque will apply force indirectly to your elbow. As the elbow has no mobility at the point of impact, the impulse of the hammer propagates directly through the elbow, and as a joint has a greater ability to dissipate power than a bone, much of the energy left over from propagating through the wrist and damaging it will dissipate in the elbow, harming the joint. For those who want the best understanding of this phenomena, put a sheet of paper between 2 round ended hammers and bang them together. For those who like physics, The energy dissipated will be approximately W=(1/2*m*v^2) per moving hammer. The time it takes to dissipate that energy t(1/2m*v^3)/d. For a 1 kg hammer, the power instantaneously dissipated in the paper is 5000W at the low speed of 1m/s and is 625000W at 5m/s. Lasers used to cut steel have that kind of pulsed power. The paper will VAPORIZE at the point of impact. Its almost like impact is a magnifying glass. Through misuse of a hammer, a person does a milder version of that to their elbows a bit at a time. This is also why you don't hit two hardened steel hammers directly together, because as d approaches 0, P approaches TOTALLY UNLIMITED POWER!!! ;) Yes, I am an engineer. Curiosity is the best wisdom, for knowledge is power. It also helps me that I am a rock climber and have a great quantity of strength and grip dexterity. I have noticed that I have a well tuned sense of whether an object will slip in grip. Thus my other bit of advice is before using a sharp tool such as a razor knife, wash your hands with soapy water if they are sweaty, your grip dexterity will be greatly improved. I will on occasion cut toward myself, but usually I will also be holding the knife in such a way that it can't stick me when I do.

With this video I saw a lot of things I do right and many things I've been doing wrong. So, thanks for pointing out how to hammer safely.

Great info. As a former concrete guy it all makes sense. And every time I have someone over that wants to try their hand at splitting some wood. I watch them struggle for a bit. Then have to step and give them some of this advice. Most people don't take it. But that's cause they've never had to do it all day. Every hammer or splitting stroke. Is weight x velocity. So. Be the fulcrum... not the force.

Thanks for this. As with all things, get the basics right and the job gets easier.

I love this, could you do one using this technique but on some hot metal and close up, that would be awesome. Cheers mate, Len

thank you for the tips as some one who has never forge you got any tips

This was exactly what i was looking for and there are few to no other videos like this thank you

thank you, i started making knifes about 4 or 5 monts ago and this video really helped me

Very informative and interesting, I learned something today.Thank you for posting this. I must tell you I had a lot of background noise here, as was watching this video. So i turned on the CC. Watch this with the CC on. It certainly adds a layer of comity.

I still remember you mentioning the heavier hammer reasoning when I commented on how it must wear you out swinging it all day (at Forge Day last year in Picayune). I appreciate you doing this video. As a newbie, it's important to think about this, and folks don't address it very often like you said. Thanks for putting in the time to explain it all. I'm looking forward to more of the hammering technique videos and would also be interested in seeing more close-ups/explanations of how your grind your hammer face radiuses.

Smashin video, great tips and a must know before u start yer forging journey, Cheers from Scotland big chap ;D

Thanks a lot very good input particularly since i am in the beginning of my hammerswinging enterprice. I will certainly take this to practise. My shoulders and arms already carries 60+years so it is helpful to integrate som good ways to do it!

Excellent exposition of (what should be...) common sense good technique. It's notable that the techniques you show are fundamentally similar to the mechanics of a *good* tennis serve.

Thanks for the heads up. We've got to do some of this assessing techniques before we start work. Injuries can happen in an instant as well. Cheers and all the best :-)

Sir thank you just started working making stairs and my wrist arm and shoulder are in pain

i will never blacksmith in my life, but this is soooo interesting!

Thanks I'm going to try my best to use these tips.it should help lots.

loved it learnt something bout hammer swing before i even start cheers from new zealand

Thank you! Couple points: My elbow has hurt much less after watching an other video on proper grip from an old timer keeping my thumb of the top. So ur spot on with that, and by your demonstration of "how not to swing" I realized I'm still driving the hammer. Very helpful, thank you!

Thank you for this! Great video, I recently forged my first tomahawk from a claw hammer and found myself rather sore afterward. because I was DRIVING the hammer. Never again. Thank you

I appreciate the tips!! By the way...nice anvil...I couldn't get past the rebound on that thing!!!!!

Great information, most people don't know, getting out the Thor hammer now

An exceptionally informative video - thanks for uploading!

valuable lesson,thanks for your effort making this,glad i came across this video

Thank you... these are lessons my dad and grandpa made a point to teach me... the point about the videos of improper swing of a sledge as a striker is important... youtube is an incredibly powerful and important resource.. the bad examples are producing more bad examples.. there is a virtuous measure of value to place on it... but as that measure of value is not so much that you destroy lives with trash talk and thereby perpetuate the potential for bad hammer swing... it is also not so small a measure of value that you destroy all potential by putting forth examples of men shackled with fear and ignorance such that they never learn or try to develop a proper swing and thereby gain the benefit of the dignity of the true and magnanimous maturation of their potential as a craftsman... .... the language was not invented by men who didn't respect the potential consequences and rewards of their existence.... it is called swinging a hammer.. not pushing a hammer ... for a reason. thank you for taking the time to make this video.. and thank you for not actually trying to be a total d bag in doing it... thereby increasing the odds of salvaging what dignity and true value in those bad examples that may be salvaged.. along with their children who may be apt to make false claims and get hurt trying to defend them. lets hope they aren't ignorant enough to claim they did it to cause a reaction in the community... but to have decent humility.. and say thank you for giving me an opportunity to be a better man and a better example for the next generation.

Awesome info! Some stuff I knew but A LOT I didn't know or realize. Thaky you again. Could you by chance post a vid on how to make steel branding irons? That would be VERY BENEFICIAL for me. Because I am currently working on an smithing project using a 7/8 tool steel bolt and turning the head of it into a hot brand.

I really like your videos, it is clear that you are very dedicated to your craft, do you ever work with a striker, and if so do you have or would you consider a video based on that??

Wow, when I first saw you come into frame i thought, "this guy's gonna be a Richard'. But, the subject of your video was intriguing. So, I watched. You were super cool with GREAT information. Well DONE. I subscribed and liked. i look forward to more good stuff.

Excellent video and great info! This really made an impression on me and I'm sure it'll stick with me. Thanks for sharing! Btw, just noticed you do a lot of bladesmithing, definitely Subbed 👍

Just found your channel. I had to laugh during the whole video because you sound like me when I am teaching students how to develop power and speed during weapons training. The techniques seem to directly translate everything from how to hold a weapon to the actually swinging it. Makes me wonder if old sayings/stories are indeed true. The basic idea of the stories is be respectful of the smith because he knows the weapon much better than you possibly could. Watching you swing these hammers I would think three times before accepting a fight from you if you had a hammer in your hand.

Excellent video. Thanks!

I'm late on that one but for the up and down motion you speak of around 10:00 it's pretty simple why some people do it: it's way easier to be accurate that way. If you have no training with a hammer, using it like you show is really difficult accuracy wise.

Good shit. Thanks for the pointers.

I've used hammers my whole life and never really stopped to think why I am still swinging long after my co-workers have tapped out. Used to teach martial arts before getting fat in college and the body dynamics make a lot of sense.

Absolute gold. Thank you. Do you feel that these basic techniques apply to bladesmithing as well? I find myself breaking the rules when it comes to that specific work, and would love to hear your thoughts on the matter. Thanks again mate. Cheers.

Thank you so much for this video after I’m done forging my back is always killing me so I hope some of these techniques help me get rid of that! God bless!

Thanks, very useful and now I know better :)

That movement is beautiful. Efficient, powerful, and graceful. It looks like a silat strike. Lol.

I also see a lot of people that twist their back around toward the centerline of the anvil face. My guess is that after fatigue sets in, they are trying to support more of their swing by bringing the mass of the upper body over the strike point. I'm sure this keeps them from over-extending their shoulder. You of course are showing that this never needs to happen. You can stand all day with your hips and shoulders square to the anvil, or at least in line with your feet. You do not have to resort to contorting every muscle from your hamstrings to your jaw in order to swing a hammer. Here's a tip. If you are gritting your teeth while you swing; you are doing it wrong. Good blacksmiths look like they are dancing a samba; not wrestling a badger.

nice tech, good info Thanks.

I have been blacksmithing for many years. I'm paid to do so. By the state of ohio. Blacksmithing. And I cannot understand why anyone would invert the hammer. I mean, flip it upside down..... And I have never heard of a blacksmith with a bad shoulder. Your video is mentioning shoulder. Blacksmiths suffer from blacksmith's elbow. AKA tendonitis. Another topic you mentioned, the large sledge. I see many strikers on very popular RU-vid channels, including everyone's favorite Alec Steele strikers, lifting it just as you say and described not to. Odd.... You make good points. But watching other videos, contradicts what points you are demonstrating.

Very interesting and informative thanks did u make the pendant u have ?

Direct, funny, no B.S. cool tips on techniques, but at the end of the day... Hes right!

ill make sure to spread these tips if i can find any blacksmiths in northwest florida. they seem nonexistent

Informative AND entertaining hahaha excellent!

Another good video!

Great! Great!

So what is wrong with going straight up and down in a punching motion? Is it just less power or will it hurt you in the future? I was shown it as a way to protect your wrist from vibration if you just let it drop and not power it down hard.

LOL...I could teach little girls to do this! Do you know how many wannabe blacksmiths you just insulted? Thanks for pointing out why I been having trouble focusing my eyes on what I'm trying to hit... I been swinging my hammer and bobbing my head like a farrier! I'm going to give your technique a go. It appears similar to Hofi's. Good job on the views...

Thank you sir

thank you!!!

good video

3 pound is perfect unless you stop for a few days at a time then 2 pounds

I noticed the penguin tattoo. are you a linux fan? ✌

just found your channel and subbed :D Your technique seems pretty effective. At the time Im using the technique that is teached by Christ centered Iron Works here on YT. But I will try yours out. Im still finding myself since im only forging for about 1 year Cheers:D

Like holding a bow, no death grip.

cool beans! I like that bro

Add more cowbell

You're great! Loved your vid. Now, striking... I am trying to unlearn the thumb-on-handle yutz, but the problem is that the hammer flops around between strikes. I've considered grooving the handle so that it fits my hand better. Thoughts?

so with your 5lb hammer, how large of an anvil are you using? the 40x the hammer so 200lbs or do you have additional insight?

Nice Tux! :P

fucking. genius.

Ow no ! What a carpenter giving advise on Hammer technique used in Forging either in Blacksmithing or Bladesmithing . Speed of the hammer head the heat in the steel is very important . DON"T use this technique described in this video , Lets see some iron on the anvil and then we see what your technique is . A heavy hammer is not the only way ! Your technique as described is going to hurt people . Another thing "CLEAN UP FOR FORGE " its a mess !

wait... peoples shoulders hurt when hammering?

this voice! good video by the way thanks

I like u broken hand

Learn the physics of hammer impacts. A lighter hammer with just a bit more speed will impart the same or more energy into the piece than a heavier hammer. www.1728.org/energy.htm keisan.casio.com/exec/system/1224835316