claw hammer in period?

Magmaforge · Post by **Magmaforge** » Thu Aug 21, 2003 3:14 pm

http://www.tempora-nostra.de/index_f_neu.shtml?manesse0-9
figure in center-right area

Egfroth · Post by **Egfroth** » Thu Aug 21, 2003 8:38 pm

If you want to see a really wierd claw hammer thingy, look here and herefrom an early 11th century shipwreck off the coast of what is now Turkey, but was then the Anatolian south coast of the Byzantine Empire. The URL for the whole thing is http://ina.tamu.edu/SerceLimani.htm - As you can see from the second pic, they have claws not only in the heads but also in the handles. Maybe a very useful tool???

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Jacob · Post by **Jacob** » Fri Aug 22, 2003 1:57 pm

I think there are surviving claw hammers from roman times. They look much like current ones.

chef de chambre · Post by **chef de chambre** » Fri Aug 22, 2003 2:12 pm

Actually, most Medieval ones I have seen are as in the first picture. The Merode Altarpiece by Van der Weyden shows Joseph in his very Flemish workshop, with one clearly seen on the table. Unlike modern claw hammeers, they have squared heads (as do the ones recovered from the shipwreck posted), and are thicker through the center than modern ones.

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Bob R.

mattmaus · Post by **mattmaus** » Fri Aug 22, 2003 2:43 pm

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by Egfroth:
 As you can see from the second pic, they have claws not only in the heads but also in the handles. Maybe a very useful tool???

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

It's a wonderbar/hammer combo!

You always have the coolest pics!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Aug 22, 2003 9:36 pm

Modern style hammers are refered to as "adze eye" hammers; a 19th century invention. Simple claw hammers, with just an eye through a straight head, worked well for hammering which is a pretty straight-forward movement, but prying out nails with the claw would put a "rocking" movement on the handle/eye joint, so the suckers would tend to loosen on the handles. Some had integral or separate "cheek" straps to resist this tendency.
Dispite the invention of adze eye hammers, the old style persisted into the 20th century. I have one marked "cast steel," indicating very late 19th or early 20th century manufacture, that I keep in my Viking style tool box. You sometimes come upon them at flea markets and antique/junk shops. "A Museum of Early American Tools" by Eric Sloane illustrates several examples.

The other possibility is that it's a farrier's hammer, used in pulling shoes and twisting off nail points (at least in modern usage). The horses are certainly prominently shod with detailed nailheads shown.

Is there any text or interpretation of the pictures?

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