This is one of those things that have always bothered me. Why does the balpeen hammer have the ball on one end? Was it just used as a weight before someone decided to but a claw on the other side, or did it have some actual use to it?
Formerly known as Nec3f on the AOL SDMB
The peen has many uses in sheet metal work. It is used to shape copper & brass.To fold a hem on edges of metal is often called “peening” It’s handy for making hammered metal & Steel Band instruments…Tin knocker
The peen (n.) is the end of a hammerhead opposite the flat striking surface. A ball peen hammer has just that; a ball (or at least a rounded surface) opposite the main striking surface. The act of peening (v.) is to hammer, bend, or shape with a peen. It is often used in metalworking for indenting, moving metal (as in setting a rivet), or many other hammering tasks where the rounded head (and more precise striking point) is desired.
Please note spelling - ball peen hammer.
“The intellectuals’ chief cause of anguish are one another’s works.”
Jacques Barzun
Cheers! CAL