Quick Hammer Handle Tips

If you spend enough time at the anvil or driving nails, you’ll need to replace your broken hammer handles. Jim Poor demonstrated handle replacement during the American Farrier’s Association Convention in Arlington, Texas. The owner of Flatland Forge in Tuscola, Texas, offered a few tips when the time comes to change out a broken handle.

The Hall of Fame farrier likes burning his handles for feel. He burns the handle through the forge’s ports, making sure to turn the handle repeatedly during the few seconds it is in the fire. He’ll then take a sanding block to the charred handle.

At his shop, Poor uses a vertical pipe to hold his handle while working on it. This will secure the hammer so he can drive a wedge into the mounted handle top. If using a wooden wedge, he uses Elmer’s or TITEBOND’s wood glue. After driving the wedge, you may think it is snug, but Poor showed striking a metal tool handle atop the wedge will ensure a tighter fit.

A Hand from Mike Rowe

A Heartland Horseshoeing School graduate has been awarded a scholarship from a high-profile advocate of blue-collar workers.

Bryanna Solmonson, a Lexington, Mo., farrier, received a Work Ethic Scholarship from the Mike Rowe Works Foundation. She owns and operates Dixie Horseshoeing with her husband Shaun.

Solmonson earned a bachelor’s degree in equine administration from William Woods University in 2018. However, she soon realized that managing a barn wasn’t what she wanted to…