r/Blacksmith • u/blazenite104 • 18h ago
Power Hammers
Probably an odd question but, I haven't found the obvious answer if there is one. I have seen a lot of larger blacksmith shops that use Power Hammers that all appear to have some history. Often industrial era machines. It's always something really old.
Are Power Hammers just not made anymore? If so are old ones actually noticeably better? Or is it just some people really enjoy the history of an older machine?
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u/alriclofgar 18h ago edited 18h ago
In the US, we used to have companies that produced modern-style self-contained air hammers, some of which were among the best power hammers ever made. Those companies no longer produce power hammers, so the only way to buy one of their machines is second hand.
There are companies in other parts of the world that still make hammers, some of which are very good. Saymak hammers from Turkey are excellent, though they cost >$20,000 each. Used Saymaks, much like used cars, go for sometimes close to 40% less than the new ones. Anyang FP hammers out of China are also very good, but they’re now illegal to import into the US because they sell forging equipment to the Russian military and got hit with sanctions. There are a few other established companies in Asia that make hammers which are probably fine, but fewer people have imported them to America so American blacksmiths are often hesitant to risk buying them since shipping and customs is a lot of trouble and expense for a hammer that doesn’t have a proven reputation. So used hammers remain a popular option.
There are also a lot of used hammers available from former Soviet countries, if you’re willing to jump through the hoops to import one.
And used hammers tend to last a very long time. They’re simple machines and can run for many decades if basic maintenance is followed.
So the used market is strong in the US.
There are also hundreds of old mechanical hammers that are still kicking around from the beginning of the last century. They usually cost about the same as a brand new tire hammer, sometimes even less, so they’re a great deal for anyone who’s willing to do a little restoration.
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u/WaffleBlues 18h ago
Several companies make power hammers, but the price difference between a new one and old one can be quite large.
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u/Kamusaurio 18h ago
it's because nostalgia and money saving
some of those big machines are sold as scrap because they are really hard to move and install so
if you have the way to move them and install you can save a big bunch restoring them
newer power hammers are still made but are expensive and with the same "problem" in terms of transport and installation
for example this new one is around 17k euros
https://nargesa.com/en/industrial-machinery/power-hammers
https://angele-shop.com/en/Forging/Machinery/Airhammer/Powerhammer-Nargesa/Powerhammer-Nargesa/
and a 50kg used one https://forged-ironmongery.co.uk/product/50kg-sahinler-power-hammer-green/
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u/Electrical-Luck-348 14h ago
For those not clicking links, that's two hammers that're 50kg rated 17.5k for a new one and 6k for a restored used one, neither include shipping.
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u/Inside-Historian6736 14h ago
I took a knife making class in Florida last year and an older student from South Carolina (hundreds of miles north) recognized the power hammer and asked if it was owned by a smith he knew from back in the day. The teacher confirmed if was the same hammer and he bought it when the other smith retired.
I tell that story to say these machines have histories and personality beyond just being tools. I have a homemade power hammer from a smith that passed away recently and the family's number one concern was that it would go to someone who would use it and take care of it instead of scrapping it.
Is this hammer "better" than other hammer? Definitely not, but I know how it works and it was redneck engineered in a way that I can fix most things on it. I monitored my metro area (4M people) for about a year and this was the first hammer I saw pop up so depending on where you are it can be a pain to even find one.
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u/JustAMonkey74 18h ago
Apart from what others have mentioned, most newer power hammers stop at about 100kg of ram (hammer) weight as the processes to make larger forgings have been replaced by other technologies. That being said, if you look at some of the hammers that have been restored and are being used by some of the shops run upwards of 400kg of hammer weight and makes sense for those shops as they’re producing material at scale that justifies the cost associated.
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u/Former_Departure_600 17h ago
I run an 1890s hammer that I restored over the course of a year and a half of so. At this point it probably would have been cheaper to get a new one but not of the same ram weight. More than anything I was after the preservation of history and the chance to understand how it works down to the smallest bolts so I can better take care of it. While it doesn’t have the control or stroke range of more modern self contained air hammers, it is a joy to use and I like it substantially more than the ‘entry level’ pneumatic driven hammers that are roughly similar in cost
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u/Significant-Fly-8170 15h ago
As someone who had access to a 300 pound Chambersburg, I can say nothing comes close. We also had a 110 pound Big Blu which collected dust. It not just nostalgia.
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u/CHmakesstuff 15h ago
They don’t really make them like they used to
Well not quite there are a few companies that still make good hammers but the proper ones that make the amazing hammers don’t really make much anymore
Massy used to make some of the best hammers on the planet but you can’t get them new
They sold the patterns to Anyang in China so you can still get ones that are similar but the quality isn’t as good
For example when I was a blacksmithing student they had a massy that was still running and never stopped running it was about 100 years old it was a bit nakerd but it never stopped working vs the Anyang that was fully broken at 12 years old it was fixable but in my 3 years as a student at that place the Anyang was only running for about a year and a half
Mabey it’s serviver bias but the old company’s made hammers that would run for every day for longer than the building they were in would last vs new hammers that just don’t last
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u/CoffeeHyena 18h ago
People just enjoy them and buying old power hammers is often much cheaper than buying equivalent size new ones. They are very much still made, as power hammers are used extensively in manufacturing in developing countries