Introducing Fretz's interpretation of this classic jewelry hammer. Based on an old engravers chasing hammer in Bill Fretz's personal collection, the Fretz chasing hammer has a highly polished cast stainless steel head with a slightly domed 1-1/8" (29mm) diameter hammer face with the ball pein end measuring 12mm. The Fretz chasing hammer feels top heavy compared to other chasing hammers on the market, but the extra weight in the head, with a corresponding balance point far up the handle, is to allow the hammer to do the work while striking chasing tools. Since chasing work means extensive hammer time, the Fretz chaising hammer is designed to minimize the physical effort required to perform the work.
The head on the Fretz chasing hammer is hardened to 50c on the Rockwell scale, but keep in mind that this is the only hammer in the Fretz collection that is meant to be used against a tool and not directly on metal, meaning that the polished head may become marred during normal use. Bill Fretz says that properly hardened chasing tool (chasing tools that are hardened on the working end-but not the striking end) should show mushrooming on the striking end of the tool during normal use. Marring on the face of this hammer will not affect the intended use of the hammer in any way.
Like all Fretz hammers, the handle of the chasing hammer is made of Paduck, which a type of Rosewood.
