The Fretz HMR-20 is the chasing hammer we use in the studio, and it's the one we'd point anyone to if they're serious about their bench work. We've been using this hammer for more than 10 years and it still performs exactly as it did when new. Once you've used a hammer that's genuinely well-balanced, you notice it immediately. The weight sits right, strikes land where you intend them to, and the polished faces leave exactly the texture you're going for.
The head is cast from 420 stainless steel, hardened to 50Rc and polished to a mirror finish. That hardness matters for a chasing hammer: softer heads wear over time, and once the face is marked it transfers those marks to your work. This one stays clean. The two working faces give you a larger slightly curved face for flattening and smoothing, and a smaller domed face for adding texture and detail.
The handle is African Padauk, a dense hardwood with a warm reddish grain, shaped into a pistol grip that sits comfortably in the hand for extended use. It's not decorative, the shape and material genuinely affect how the hammer feels in use and how much control you have over each strike.
Like any jewellers hammer designed for precious metal work, this one is not for use on steel. Keep it for silver, gold, and mixed metals, and reach for a general purpose hammer or brass mallet when you need to strike anything harder.
