My mentor said my hammer blows were too heavy, I finally get why

After 4 years of swinging hard and proud, a guy in Flint told me to lighten up and let the steel do the work, so I dropped my hammer size from 3.5 to 2.5 pounds and my twists came out cleaner in one week, anyone else find that lighter hits give you more control or is this just a Midwest thing?

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the_derek26d ago

Flint's a good place to learn that, honestly. I've seen guys up in the UP who swing like they're driving fence posts and they can't figure out why their scroll ends look like dog tails. The physics is simple, a 3.5 pound head carries a lot of momentum, so you're fighting the rebound and the twist at the same time. Dropping to a 2.5 lets you feel the steel's natural give and your hammer hand actually guides the direction instead of just slamming down. What nobody talks about is how a lighter hammer saves your elbow and shoulder over a forty hour week, the control isn't just about the piece, it's about not wrecking your joints. Once you stop muscling it, you start reading the heat better too, because you're not in a rush to beat the metal before it cools. That's the real secret, it's not a Midwest thing, it's a patience thing.