Hammer Making with Derek Melton

Derek Melton is a part-time blacksmith & bladesmith who is currently located in Clinton, Mississippi. He’s been working with wood and metal for most of his life, and he’s been making knives and other items from metal since 1999. Having a love for the forged blade and a keen eye for detail, Derek took his skills to television in 2018 and appeared on an episode of the hit History Channel show “Forged in Fire”.  He competed for and won the title of “Forged in Fire Champion” on episode 21 of Season 5.

Derek is on the board of the Mississippi Forge Council (MFC) and can often be found demonstrating blacksmithing in the MFC’s McIntosh Blacksmith shop on the grounds of the Mississippi Agricultural Museum in Jackson, Mississippi.  Derek’s current maker's mark is simply his name. “Melton”, with an elongated and stylized “t” which represents his faith in Christ.

In this video, Derek demonstrates how he makes a rounding hammer in the popular Brian Brazeal style. While Derek uses some pretty heavy equipment throughout the video, he also explains how one can carry out these same processes using hand tools.

This video contains the following chapters:

• Introduction
• Shaping the Billet
• Punching and Drifting the Eye
• Troughing and Cheeking
• Cleaning and Heat Treating
• The Handle - Part 1
• Detailing the Head
• The Handle - Part 2
• Finishing the Hammer
• Closing Remarks

(Total Run Time: 2 hours 5 minutes.)

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