Tiny Claw Hammer

Maybe for furniture building.

Maybe one of Santa's elves dropped it? Tis the season.

Could be from a Cobbler? or some sort of Tinkers tool? Its sure seen some work though, pounding on hard objects...judging by the mushroomed head..Interesting find there Dr.W!

Mud-puppy said:

Could be from a Cobbler? or some sort of Tinkers tool? Its sure seen some work though, pounding on hard objects...judging by the mushroomed head..Interesting find there Dr.W!

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Ditto on this call. More likely a Cobbler, can't think of a reason a Tinker would need the claw. As was said, with that bitty little head, somebody was flailing on that little guy, for some time.

My suspicion is that it is NOT a cobbler's hammer. All the images of cobbler's hammers I've seen on the web, (like this one) have an overly large hammering surface and do not have the split in the middle of claw.

The idea of it being a furniture or cabinet-maker's hammer strikes me as more likely, but would really appreciate hearing a more definitive ID.

Next to finding artifacts, I really enjoy the research to ID them...

Cheers,
--Bert

Thats the thing about it being a claw hammer and not a cobblers peen or tinkers tin kind of deal...it has seen work obviously, been wielded carelessly and with vigor against an unyielding matrix for thousands of strokes......so its not a salesmans sample, on that we can all agree...tiny little claw hammer from the Colonial/Revolutionary era is whats confusing and adds to the puzzle?...It aint from a boat builder setting copper rivets and roves in lapstrakes I can tell you that...or even clenching over small iron nails...and this was a common industry in your AO in that time frame requiring a hammer to do thousands of hits...Its much too small and light for a guy nailing on lathe for a plaster/lathe construction even...

I just dont know..its small and light, but has seen its share of hard usage..not high quality craftmanship like what a fine furniture maker would employ though......some careless use on a mandrel of sorts to peen it over like that...and the claw puller on the back end adds to my confusion...have you researched just exactly when claw hammers were of common usage? The uneven forks on the claw point to it being a handmade specialty tool and not a machine forged stamping...

If only it could talk! Perhaps it was an apprentices attempt on a small piece of scrap, in both construction and tempering?

Mud-puppy said:

...have you researched just exactly when claw hammers were of common usage? The uneven forks on the claw point to it being a handmade specialty tool and not a machine forged stamping...If only it could talk!.

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From what I can find, 'claw hammers' went back at least to the 1600's and perhaps lots earlier.

Found interesting images on the British Museum website:

https://finds.org.uk/database/search/results/objecttype/hammer/broadperiod/POST+MEDIEVAL

plus, a very similar form (note the octagonal shape of hammer head), albeit it listed as "cast iron" and a lot larger than my find:

https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/506192

Compare this image from the above web page to my find...

Cheers,
--Bert

Upholsterers hammer?

Nut cracker

DoctorWhy said:

Found this little claw hammer head about 9" down in the yard around a Colonial/Revolutionary War-era cellar hole where I've found several period artifacts including coins, tombac and dandy buttons. When it came out of the ground it was so encrusted in dirt and rust that I thought it was a bent small wedge. A good cleaning and 6 hours of electrolysis revealed it as a tiny hammer!

The claw hammer head is a wrought iron forging and is approximately 3" long. Any idea of its intended purpose. Its way too small to have been used for general carpentry.

Cheers,
--Bert

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I had found a tiny hammer head also. This one in a farm field where a house once stood. Notice the small handle hole, Washington's head couldnt fit through it.
Coins from this site were only in the 1870's to 1900. The house falls off the maps in the 1930's.

I have another one, fully functional with the handle intact, from my grandfather out in the barn.

In all seriousness, that item is a toy making hammer as seen many times this time of year in Santa's workshop.