Cross pein hammer style - and usage

[oldnslo]

I've dug this out of the junk (to be sorted drawer), and while this is merely an example captured from the web, it approximates my 12oz version with some unreadable name on the head.

I'm finding no real use (carpenter or blacksmith oriented) to really want to hang onto it. The cross portion was sharpened to a chisel profile (vs rounded) so it might have been for whacking away at block, tile, or something.

How say ye? Are you a user of this style of hammer, or has it become just another display piece or relinquished to the special tools drawer just to have hanging around "just in case".

[jabberwoki]

I have a similar hammer and it`s one of my favs to use . Just a perfect weight and size.
You`d have to pry it out of my cold dead fingers.

[goodfellow]

Europeans use cross-pein hammers more than we do. We usually prefer claw hammers for everyday household DIY jobs, but the Europeans seem to prefer the cross-pein style for those chores. I have a few older ones and decided to sharpen and shape the tips to make a variety of chipping hammers.

[john k]

Bigger or smaller than your 12 oz.hammer?   12 to 18 oz hammer is handy for smithing, on up to 32oz,  more than that,  the arm tires too soon.   

[slip knot]

The old school tin knockers use a similiar hammer to close seams. But I recall it was a bit smaller.


 I've got a bigger engineers hammer @2lber that I use for generalize beating on crap. either end seems to work 

[muddy]

What would be the use of the tapered end in carpentry?

Sent from the twisted mind of the mudman

[oldnslo]

The web says carpenters use the tapered end to start nails, where a claw hammer has only one surface and tends to mash the fingers purely due to the surface area involved.

[muddy]

The web says carpenters use the tapered end to start nails, where a claw hammer has only one surface and tends to mash the fingers purely due to the surface area involved.

Makes sense.

Sent from the twisted mind of the mudman

[oldnslo]

Just cruising through a YT on a Vespa restore (a recent purchase by me) and I saw that very same hammer (the topic of this thread) in use. Who knew?

Fast forward to the 3:12 mark for said hammer, or better yet dust off your Babble language course in Italian and you can follow along with the local dialog.

[hickory n Steel]

Very effective at moving metal if you know how to use it.
When you need to really widen a piece out ( say in knife making) they are what you need.

I am not particularly versed in their use, but as a lover of hammers I am aware and familiar.