Hammer For Hand Stitches

[judgebc]

Who makes a good hammer for flattening my hand stitches.

Technically I think they are called Harness Hammers.

Currently looking at Blanchard, Osborne and Jeremiah Watt.

Thanks for replying.

[Tannin]

Have you considered vintage? I found a nice old NOS 1940s leather hammer with the War Dept. crows foot stamp on it - in new condition - on ebay. They are usually several leather hammers listed on ebay in the UK, probably many more listed in the USA, France & Germany. I like the look of "swoopy headed" French hammers (like Blanchard?) - some of the German ones have a similar appearance. You can pick up such hammers - or just their heads - at car boot sales here; I think many families used to have one or two for repairing shoes. People usually don't know (and don't care) what they are intended for, so the faces are sometimes damaged from banging in nails but could probably be restored. Usually images on ebay do not show the condition of the hammering face which can be frustrating - if you find one you like, ask the seller to add a picture of it

Edited December 19, 2015 by Tannin

[Nuttish]

Osborne 66s are just fine and they're cheap. I think it helps to modify the face a bit by rounding the edges off more than the factory does to avoid marking your work.

You could also similarly modify the face of a common bodywork hammer.

You don't need a fancy hammer unless you feel like you need a fancy hammer.

[TinkerTailor]

Peddinghaus makes some nice farriers hammers that will work for leather. Centaurforge.com has some nice stuff.

[snubbyfan]

I don't remember where I got this, probably a flea market or a yard sale or something. I've been using it for years to flatten my stitches.

It's German made and as a bonus it has a bottle opener and cork screw.

[shtoink]

I wish I had pictures of the one that I had made for Mike (immiketoo). It was made from brass with mostly flat faces that were rounded off near the edges. One face was nearly flat where the other face was more rounded. It was around 14 oz due to the brass, but that meant it didn't need to be swung very hard to get the job done. The taper to the curve near the edges allowed the hammer to flatten out his lacing and stitches without making all sorts of dents. Not marring up the leather with all sorts of dents is the key, though.

Several of the ideas above will certainly do the job. It will likely depend on what you can source locally and what you find most fitting for your task. Some of the hammer profiles meant for auto body work are already very close and you easily modify a rawhide mallet face, too.

Had I known how much of a chore it was going to be to make that hammer with my current tools, I probably never would have started. I learned a great deal along the way and a few new ways not to do things, too.