Ok, after all the excitement about what to get....i ordered and just today got my war hammer from MRL. ITs very nice. The Steel head is super solid and the fastenings are strong. The wood is also to me very sturdy. Its a pretty good looking and solid instrument. I was thinking though, the wood is very light and yellowish; if i could stain it with a wood oil finish to make it dark oak or something of the sort. What do those of you with the experience thinK?

By the way, thanks to everybody for the input. I really enjoy the weapon now :)

Thanks for posting Austin, hammers don't get alot of screen time. Congradulations on your new aquisition!!! :D

I will post pictures as soon as possible for the sake of those people out there who want one as well. And because i never came across any user taken pictures, i will feel honored to show people interested :)

Austin-

I got one of their hammers not too long ago as well. I tried to darken the wood but it was coated with varnish or wax that prevented the wood from taking stain or oil. I tried sanding it lighlty to help the wood take the stain. It still didn't quite work as the varnish they used seemed to go pretty deep into the wood. I actually used a heat gun at very high heat to slightly burn the wood, and then used a bit of stain to darken it. It came out reasonably well, a bit uneven but much better than the butter colored wood that it came with! My camera is on vacation right now or I would post pics for you to see. Anyway, hope this helps. Enjoy.

-Tim

Dyeing your hammer 'dark oak' wouldn't have been a good idea. Oak is pale and only darkens with age, so I imagine that the real thing would have had a pale rather than dark handle: these weapons weren't always antiques! I guess there's no accounting for fashion though... :)

I finally got some pictures of my weapons up on angelfire. you can see them here. http://www.angelfire.com/co4/austin7704/Weapons/They arent too good or anything because i cant work the camera very well, but they explain a thing or two.

Tim Lison, if you ever get your camera would you mind putting some pictures of the hammer up ? :) :)

usually, the marking is just printed on. A quick hit with scotchbrite will take care of it, than match the finish with sand paper.

Steve Grisetti:

The label is printed as M Smith said. Nothing too serious. As far as the head connected to the haft, it is some sort of 1/4 inch rod that looks like it might go through the haft. As for it being a rivet, i really cant say, ill try to post more pictures for you too look at it because im really not sure. It used both ends of the hammer today on a wood stump and a tree, hitting pretty hard and nothing budged. SO.... i think the head is very well fastened.