Anybody who has studied Chinese woodworking will not doubt have come across prints like this one where a ancient Chinese woodworker is depicted pounding on a piece of furniture with what appears to be the blunt edge of an axe. For example the Lu Ban Jing, a woodworkers manual written around in the 15th century, shows a woodworker assembling a table by pounding on one of its legs with the blunt side of an axe.
During much of China’s long and colorful history, China has been more or less completely isolated from the rest of the world. Areas of extensive trade have changed hands with areas of almost complete isolation. For that reason many of the tools and methods that have been developed in China differ significantly from tools and methods developed in the rest of the world. So is it possible that all those years Western hammer collectors have missed an important tool in their collections? Have we Westerners been fooled into believing that Chinese woodworkers hit their chisels with the blunt side of an axe? Does there exist a tool that is used by millions of Woodworkers that we so far have been completely ignorant of?
History of Chinese Hammers
Like probably anywhere else in the world hammers evolved from what we tend to callprimitive wooden tools to our modern hammers. But is completely impossible for me to give a complete (or even basic) history of hammers in China, there is simply not enough information on the topic available (so much for an understatement). Instead I will focus on a very unique type of hammer that appears to be uniquely Chinese: the Chinese woodworker’s hammer. I have absolutely no information how this type of hammer evolved, when it become popular and how it became the standard tool for Chinese woodworkers.
Types of Chinese Hammers
At first sight, Chinese woodworkers appear to use the blunt side of an axe to hit their chisels.
During the last few decades China has generated a tremendous amount of real wealth for its people and life has fundamentally changed for hundreds of millions of Chinese. Nevertheless the Chinese woodworkers appear to use exactly the same tool for hitting chisels as they did 600 years ago.
On closer inspection however, the tool that on first sight looks like an axe is everything but. This Chinese hammer is not designed to be used as and axe but is a Chinese hammer. The business side of the supposed axe is very blunt and most likely not hardened at all. Moreover Chinese axes consists of laminated steel where a hardened piece of steel is sandwiched between the main axe body. This clearly is not the case with Chinese hammers.
A West woodworker with a complete shop typically owns a great variety of hammers and mallets; Western hammers/mallets are made of a great variety of materials (hardened steel, unhardened steel, different types of hardwood, hard/soft rubber, leather, etc). The Chinese woodworker seems to be able to produce masterpieces with a single type of metallic hammer.
The head of the Chinese hammer is a triangular piece of metal that is attached to a wooden handle. That’s it, a utilitarian piece of forged steel in the shape of a wedge, very simple at first sight but highly refined when one drills deeper, just like the traditional Ming furniture that Chinese woodworkers produced for many hundreds of years.
Usage of Chinese Hammers
Since the head of the Chinese hammer has triangular shape there are two different facets that are used for different tasks. The short facet, opposite to the point of the triangle is used for roughing in large mortises.
Interestingly, the hammer seems to be held fairly close to the head, although I can not conclusively state that in some cases the hammer is not held further away form the head like Western hammers are.
-- Chris Scholz, Arlington, TX, www.Galoot-Tools.com