Doing the Happy Hammer Dance

There's all sorts of things that I could write about but this has to go first.

My new heavy chasing hammer from Nechamkin Silver Studios arrived today! I've wanted one of these since I took a chasing and repousse workshop from Liza Nechamkin two years ago. At the time I bought her standard chasing hammer and the standard set of tools plus the matting tool set but couldn't afford the heavy hammer. So when I saw that they were going out of stock I splurged and ordered one.

Isn't it sweet? Walnut handle, forged steel head with a lovely blued finish.

Works beautifully too. Fits my hand as comfortably as the original Nechamkin pistol grip hammer but the extra weight and stiffness of the handle mean that I can strike a deep mark with much less effort. Less effort makes for greater control and longer working time. I love it.

Here's a comparison with my other chasing hammer.

Thanks Liza!