Getting ready to start a project pistol and want to add a brass hammer to the tool arsenal. Was thinking 8 oz but don't know if that is too heavy or too light?
I have brass & copper hammers,
I have soft face hammers with replaceable strike faces.
Having been a gunsmith & machinist for many years, I don't confuse the two.
If you REALLY want to knock the crap out of something, there are always bronze hammers.
The ONLY steel hammer on my gunsmith bench is a really small ball-peen, and I mean in the 4 ounce range small.
About the only time you need steel is for driving roll pins (punch involved) and the 'Little Pecker' hammer is just fine for that.
The best way to screw pins up is with a big hammer.
I've smithed for 25 years. You need a small and a medium brass or bronze ball peen or cross peen hammer. NO STEEL! Trust me on this. You'll also need a nylon or rawhide mallet for "bumping" S&W revolvers to remove the sideplate. I also keep a hickory hammer handle (just the handle) in the drawer for "bumping" stuff. ANYTHING you're gonna strike a gun with must be softer than the gun or you will leave tracks. Don't leave any tracks. Lyman offers a nice hammer with a brass handle that is knurled with a brass face and a nylon face. I use that sucker a lot.