I’ve seen a number of examples of cobblers’ hammers with leather straps wrapped and tacked from the side of the handle over the sides of the head, across the eye, and down again. Some hammers from Italy seemingly come with bent sheet metal doing the same thing, from the factory.
I have to admit I’ve no idea why.
i think its just a very cobblery way to ensure your hammerhead doesn’t fall off. also maybe it’s more grippy and comfortable when you hold it at the head for carefully hammering the uppers/stiffeners
Welcome to the forum, and thanks so much for chiming in!
The only idea I’d had so far was that maybe it makes it easier to lay the hammer down without banging the bench or the edges of the face, which might be dressed. But I’ve still found nothing written about it, even searching online.
Maybe it’s just hammer fashion! It looks cool, and the people who think so have scrap leather.
Victor Onyegbado in Lagos, who does the Kpomo Bespoke YouTube Channel, posted a video with a set of beginner’s tools this week. I saw his hammer had a wrap, too, so I asked him about it, and he replied:
The hammer head kept coming off the handle so I used what I had most readily in my shop to hold it on. The leather is just to keep the head in place. Nothing fancy. I suspect that’s the reason the others do it as well.