A FINE TOOL: The Atha Hammer, by John Giovanni Meola To a tool collector, this is pretty much the icon of hammer collecting: the Atha small sledge hammer- 6 lb, cross peen pattern. This hammer would have been used to coax a coal scuttle or ash cleanout door open on a steam locomotive, or maybe align a saw buck or straighten the tooth on a re-saw. The cross peen is widely acknowledged as the most useful general purpose hammer, favored by blacksmiths and metalworking trades. In addition to the versatility afforded by the cross peen section, this pattern has a unique weight distribution. The hammer dates to the 1920’s or 30’s. Atha was purchased by Stanley Tools and eventually the name was changed. Dating the hammers is done by the logo and also the chamfer pattern.  This hammer head was retreived as a ‘found object’. It must have been standing on a damp floor for a long time- the crown surface was heavily corroded. As testimony to the quality of the forged steel they used back then, it cleaned up pretty well with minimal loss of profile. The handle was fitted by me and was made in Roanoke County, VA in the 1970’s on a duplicating machine using a classic slender neck pattern. This design was favored because it minimized rebound shock into the handle. Paint applied was two coats of primer, one coat of International Harvester Red Enamel. A hammer of this weight and pattern would have been widely used - in factories, saw mills, paper mills, steam boiler and engine rooms, general steel fabricating and construction.
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A FINE TOOL: The Atha Hammer, by John Giovanni Meola

To a tool collector, this is pretty much the icon of hammer collecting: the Atha small sledge hammer- 6 lb, cross peen pattern. This hammer would have been used to coax a coal scuttle or ash cleanout door open on a steam locomotive, or maybe align a saw buck or straighten the tooth on a re-saw. The cross peen is widely acknowledged as the most useful general purpose hammer, favored by blacksmiths and metalworking trades. In addition to the versatility afforded by the cross peen section, this pattern has a unique weight distribution. The hammer dates to the 1920’s or 30’s. Atha was purchased by Stanley Tools and eventually the name was changed. Dating the hammers is done by the logo and also the chamfer pattern.

 This hammer head was retreived as a ‘found object’. It must have been standing on a damp floor for a long time- the crown surface was heavily corroded. As testimony to the quality of the forged steel they used back then, it cleaned up pretty well with minimal loss of profile. The handle was fitted by me and was made in Roanoke County, VA in the 1970’s on a duplicating machine using a classic slender neck pattern. This design was favored because it minimized rebound shock into the handle. Paint applied was two coats of primer, one coat of International Harvester Red Enamel. A hammer of this weight and pattern would have been widely used - in factories, saw mills, paper mills, steam boiler and engine rooms, general steel fabricating and construction.

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