Anything wrong with grinding my new hammer head more flat ?

[GophersGarage]

I was at HD yesterday looking for a nice hammer for a hour I was thinking estwing USA but honestly didn’t like how it felt in my hand.
But the dewalt was perfect . Only thing is I like when my hammer face is flat. These are not truly

Would it be wrong to put on the belt sander to get more to my liking?



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[geojag]

As long as you are careful not to heat it to the point of changing the temper/hardness of the steel while sanding, I don't see what harm it would do.

If they made it with a slight angle, there is probably a reason. Maybe ergonomics or something. You might try using it before you modify it.

 

[GophersGarage]

True thank you for reply


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[driftpin]

Once you purchase it, you can do anything you want. But, don't you think they know more-about the physics of design and use than you do? Just thinking about it, a flat head would need to be exactly perpendicular to the nail to have full-contact (for some reason, I'm thinking 'Chuck Norris' here) between the nailhead and the hammerhead. A slightly-curved hammer face gives you more of a chance to obtain more striking area contact between the two.

 

[GophersGarage]

Normally I would agree but when I looked at the rack of 10 hammers the face were not all alike . Which means not a machine finishing them off but more so a worker by hand


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[ChaseDE]

Not calling you a liar at all but that is hard to believe that they are not all the same to the naked eye. Now you got me wanting to go to HD and checkout hammer faces....haha

 

[jumbojak]

I have done exactly the opposite using a flap wheel on an angle grinder. Hammer heads are big enough that you don't have to worry too much about pulling a softer temper.

 

[rlitman]

Not calling you a liar at all but that is hard to believe that they are not all the same to the naked eye. Now you got me wanting to go to HD and checkout hammer faces....haha

Actually, I'm not surprised. Looking at the picture, it is clear to me that the face was finished on a slack belt. Probably done by hand, though I know a lot of this sort of stuff is finished by robots nowadays. However, whether it was done by a robot or not depends a lot on COO.

 

[Mohawk Dave]

Life is short. Do it.

That being said, all my Stilletos and Vaughans have some convex to them. I don't think any framer is flat from factory.

 

[Kaizen]

I believe the roundness is so it does not marr (spelling?) the surface. A finish hammer the is flat will leave imprints as we never really hit a nail perfect.


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[ssdave]

Slightly convex radius makes the hammer hit the nail in such a way that the force is transmitted axially down the nail. A flat surface puts sideways pressure on the nail and bends it. As well as the edge dents the wood, where a slightly rounded profile won't as bad.

That said, nothing to prevent you from forming it any way you want to. If it doesn't work out, re-contour it repeatedly until you do like it.

 

[rlitman]

Slightly convex radius makes the hammer hit the nail in such a way that the force is transmitted axially down the nail. A flat surface puts sideways pressure on the nail and bends it...

Also, the force that deflects the nail is reflected back through the hammer handle into your wrist.

 

[Ole Slewfoot]

Here is a grind your own hammer
https://www.jegs.com/i/Eastwood/352/16034/10002/-1

 

[Lelandwelds]

They are finish ground by hand on a belt at most factories. You can continue that to a different point. I do not think most hammers use shallow hardening steels, casehardening, or selective tempering. You are not striking any hardened steel are you? Nails are soft.

Get a bucket of tap water to guarantee not changing the heat treatment and go for it.

 

[Musicinabottle]

I'd trim off 6 inches of the handle while you were at it. Go totally custom.

 

[Musicinabottle]

No sense of humor.

 

[Wamsutta]

You'll soften the steel by using any kind of power equipment on it. The heat from the friction and then a slow cool down with soften the steel.

What I did on mine is use a cold file by hand. I pushed the file across the face and then lifted the file up off the hammer face before beginning the next pass. By doing that, I took the serrated face off and made it flat.