Hit 5000 hammer strikes in one day and honestly I think that's overrated

I see folks bragging about how many swings they can get in during a session like it's some kind of contest. Last Saturday I was working on a set of gate hinges and counted every single hit. Got to 5,000 by the time I was done. But you know what? Half of those were crap strikes because I was rushing to hit some number. Quality matters way more than quantity. I'd rather do 500 good, controlled hits that move the metal where I want it than 5,000 wild ones that leave me with a twisted mess. Anyone else stopped chasing big numbers and just focus on each individual hit?

4 comments

4 Comments

matthews2118d ago

Rowan, you're right that nobody's handing out trophies, but Patricia's point about the hinge working is where the real gold is. Here's what I learned the hard way: if you've got 5000 swings and the metal's still fighting you, you wasted a lot of energy and time. I started timing my rests between hits, like taking a full breath and resetting my stance before each swing. Cut my total strikes by half but the work came out straighter and cleaner. Next time you're at the anvil, try counting how many times you have to reheat because you swung too hard or off center. That's the number that actually matters.

rowan_roberts491mo ago

Is it really that deep though? I mean, nobody's handing out trophies for hitting arbitrary numbers on a piece of iron. I get where you're coming from with the quality over quantity thing, but who actually cares if the other guy is swinging wild? Your gate hinges turned out fine, right? So what does it matter if some forum poster claims he did 10,000 strikes in an afternoon.

patricia3171mo ago

Keep going with that thought @rowan_roberts49, because the real point is the hinge actually works, right? Nobody's going to come check your strike count on your tombstone.

alice33618d ago

Take matthews21's point about counting reheats and run with it. If you're resetting that metal three times because you kept hitting crooked, you're not getting 5000 quality swings you're getting 1500 good ones and 3500 that just made noise. Track your efficiency like you'd track gas mileage. If you get your piece done in 800 strikes with two reheats and the next guy needs 5000 with ten reheats, his arm is tired and his steel is stressed. The hinge doesn't care about his hustle. It cares about the metal not cracking six months in.