On 11 Jan 2005 01:09:13 -0800, "Max63" wrote:

What do people mean by an engineer's hammer?

What country are you in ?

In the UK, an engineer's hammer is a ball peen
http://www.fine-tools.co.uk/Merchant...01/pp-7116.jpg

The main face is round, the secondary face is a half-ball.

Depending on age, they're either forged or cast steel, but there's
always a narrowed neck between the body (where the shaft goes) and the
peens.


In Europe, the engineer's hammer is more of a square-section sledge,
without this neck. The face is square and the second is a cross-peen
(right angles to the shaft). Depending on how far East you go, this
can either be centred on the head or at the lower edge of it.

German hammers are centred
http://www.kayneandson.com/catalog/i...German_std.jpg

The French have low peens, with a notched rear to the head
http://www.kayneandson.com/catalog/i...nch_hammer.jpg

Eastern Europe is low with a sloped rear
http://www.kayneandson.com/catalog/i...e_hammer_2.jpg

(for a whole range of hammer pictures, look here)
http://www.kayneandson.com/catalog/pages/hammers.shtml


A sledge hammer (a large engineer's hammer) has an octagonal face and
a centred cross peen
http://ts.smoothcorp.com/cornerhardw...2.400x310.jpeg


A smith's hammer generally has a straight peen instead of a cross
peen, for use when fullering - although smiths use a great many
hammers of almost every pattern.
--
Smert' spamionam