FREEHAND Peening Set

The Picard anvil is a good basic anvil, and a cost effective entry point to freehand peening.

The Fux Deluxe Bar Peen Anvil has a very high quality finish and less radius to the working face, which some peeners prefer.

It come with a supporting table and guide plate, which some people find helpful when learning to freehand peen

Phil prefers to peen with an 800g hammer.

With a heavier hammer you can let the hammer fall and allow it’s weight to do most of the work. This can help increase accuracy of placement of blows and reduce fatigue.

We find there are two kinds of peeners:

Some people are a little timid with their hammer blows and are prone to under-peening with a 500g hammer. An 800g hammer can help in this case.

However, some people are used to “hitting” with a hammer. If you prefer to strike firmly you may find an 800g hammer causes you to over-peen the blade.

• Choose the 800g hammer if you think you are likely to strike softly, or would prefer to allow the weight of the hammer to do most of the work.
• Choose the 500g hammer if you think you would prefer to fully strike with the hammer.

• The peening hammer and anvil are for carrying out the actual peening
• The blue (60 grit) Garryflex block is used to clean up your blade prior to peening, removing any rust or build up of sap residues etc on the edge.
• The black (120 grit) Garryflex block is used to give the blade edge a final polish. It is also used to keep the faces of the hammer and anvil smooth and shiny. This avoids imprinting flaws into your blade. Keeping everything shiny also allows you to more clearly see where you are placing your hammer blows (see this video).
• The flat file and Carborundum stone are used to file out areas of damage prior to peening.
• The ear defenders are to protect your hearing. Peening makes a repeated percussive sound that could cause damage to your hearing over time. We encourage everyone to wear ear defenders when peening, especially those who are peening regularly.

You will need to mount your anvil before you begin work. You can:

• Make a simple peening log such as this one.
• Make a simple peening bench.
• Buy a peening bench.

If you already have some of the parts in the COMPLETE SET, you can get the BASIC SET then add any parts you are missing to you cart from our shop.

Here are links to the individual products:

• Picard Peening Anvil or Fux Deluxe Anvil
• Peening Hammer
• Carborundum Stone
• Flat File
• Garryflex blocks
• Ear Defenders

You can learn more about freehand peening:

• in our Peening Guide
• on a Peening and Sharpening Workshop
• on the Scythe Masterclass
• from the videos of Phil’s Peening Masterclass at the Scythe Festival in 2011 (links at the end of the Peening Guide).
• from other tutors via the Scythe Association of Britain and Ireland

Peening with a jig is a great way to familiarize yourself with peening, and it lessens the chance you will damage your blade as you learn.

Next Steps

If you want to move onto freehand peening, a good intermediate step is to use the jig to complete the first lines of peening, then finish the edge freehand.

This is the easiest line to place freehand. Practicing in this way will help you build the skills and confidence to complete the whole task on an anvil.

This guide covers choosing between anvil and jig peening.