A few months ago, I was happy enough to get a visit from Leigh Betsch and his family. They spent a few days here in Germany and visited me and my family in my home. Needless to say that I enjoyed the few hours we had really a lot.
A few days ago, I recieved a little package from the states. It was from Leigh! He surprised me with a shop made hammer head, but what a beautiful one. The head is milled out of bronze and the pein is O1 Steel that is silver soldered to the head. The shape is very thoughtful, the craftsmanship and the finish are top notch.
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I hurried up to handle that wonderful piece of jewelry by making my first hammer handle. The first idea was to make a handle of English yew. I love that wood and it is that tenacious that one hardly can find a better wood for a hammer handle. Sadly I wasn't able to work with this wood. I got very hard allergic reactions so I had to cancel the attempt.
The usual handle woods like Ash or Hickory I didn't like to use since they visually don't do justice to the wonderfully crafted head. I remembered to have a board of caramelized Maple. Yes, the wood, Veritas uses for chisel handles. And: It's an original Veritas wood since I was lucky enough to get one board from Rob!
This wood I was able to work without allergies. It should stand the stresses since it's straight grained. I'm happy with it.
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Thank you Leigh, It was a big surprise, I will cherish this fine tool.
Klaus
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Originally Posted by Joshua Pierce
