hammer face

From hammer +‎ face.

hammer face (plural hammer faces)

1. The face of a hammer: the part of the hammerhead that strikes the stricken object (e.g., nail, chisel, stone).

   Alternative form: hammerface

   Holonyms: hammerhead, head < hammer

   Comeronyms: handle, haft, helve

   • 1882, Charles Haynes Haswell, quotee, The Mechanical Miners' Guide‎^[1], San Francisco, California, USA: California Wire Works, page 74:

     Tempering Steel. (Haswell. [i.e., quoted from Haswell's Engineers' and Mechanics' Pocket-book]) Steel in its hardest state being too brittle for most purposes, the requisite strength and elasticity are obtained by tempering—or letting down the temper, as it is termed—which is performed by heating the hardened steel to a certain degree and cooling it quickly. The requisite heat is usually ascertained by the color which the surface of the steel assumes from the film of oxide thus formed. The degrees of heat to which these several colors correspond are as follows: At 130, a very faint yellow … [and] At 450, a pale straw color … Suitable for hard instruments; as hammerfaces, drills, &c.

   • 1912 [1908], “Forging”, in Howard Monroe Raymond, editor, Cyclopedia of Mechanical Engineering‎^[2], American School of Correspondence, page 73 [341]:

     The small end is first hardened by dipping in the water as shown at Fig. 132. As soon as this end is cooled the position of the hammer is instantly reversed and the face end hardened. While the large end is in the water the smaller end is polished and the temper color watched for. When a dark brown scale appears on the small end the hammer is again reversed bringing the large end uppermost and the pene in the water. The face end is then polished and the temper drawn. If the large end is properly hardened before the temper color appears on the small end, the hammer may be taken completely out of the water, the large end polished, and the colors watched for on both ends at once. As soon as the end shows the proper color it is promptly dipped in water, the other end following as soon as the color appears there, but under no circumstances should the eye be cooled while still red hot. For some special work hammer faces should be left harder, but for ordinary use the temper as given above, is very satisfactory.

   • 1936, “Some of the things you can do on your bench grinder”, in Automobile Digest: The Master Journal of Complete Automotive Service‎^[3], volume 24, page 27:

     […] indispensable for removing tarnished spots or stains from nickel or chromium parts such as bumpers, door handles, plated hardware or tools. The latter include dolly blocks, spoons and hammerfaces. Not only plated ware but parts like steering ball studs, drag link ball cups, carburetor parts, and others with polished surfaces can be cleaned of rust and dirt on the buffing wheels.

   • 2010, “Wiha Safety soft-face hammers for carpenters”, in Professional Tools‎^[4], International edition, number Spring, page 139:

     The special feature of the Wiha Safety range is its variety of different color-coded hammer faces. These can be selected to suit the size and hardness requirements of the respective application. This means it is possible to apply controlled, individual blows to delicate materials, such as soft woods, plastics or aluminum. And the same hammer can also be used for powerful blows. The Wiha Safety soft-face hammers with exchangeable hammer heads in different degrees of hardness are thus suitable for all applications. Wiha has developed a special combination of hammer faces for use with wood: The blue, square and soft elastomer face at one end. And the yellow, square and medium-hard polyurethane face at the other end. Both hammer faces are colorfast and wear-resistant.