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How many of us are running around with a cracked hammer handle
that's taped together, full of horseshoe nails to tighten the
head or dunked in water every time we use the hammer so the head
won't sail off while we're working??  I found out that it's not
that hard to change a hammer handle and I'm here to show you
how. A friend of mine gave me a hammer and a new handle to use
for this demonstation. Take a look at this thing. This handle is
HUGE!! Aside from the extra length, a good forging hammer handle
should be small enough in diameter that your finger tips just
barely touch the heel of your thumb when you grasp the handle.
Some people may want it even small than that, but it's a good
starting point.  Obviously, we have a lot of material to get rid
of before we can use this handle for our purpose. Luckily, we
farriers all have the perfect tool for shaping hammer handles.
It's called a hoof rasp. You can remove a lot of material
quickly with a ho