snowball hammer

[mitchmaine]

One old logger, who gave me most of his horse gear, gave me his snowball hammer in the mess. It could either hang on the pole or clip into the harness, but it was with him all winter. Pick up a foot and wrap on the shoe with the hammer and out popped the ice ball.
Stop on a slick hill where the team needed traction and clean out the ice. Stop before walking in on the barn floor and clean out the snow.
When I shod my horses, I had it with me all the time. Now I’ve mislaid it and can’t find it anywhere. I had two. A while back, I showed it to a blacksmith, and he made me a fancy one. It was one inch square stock. Had a hammer head on one end and was drawn out to a pick on the other end. Had an eight inch twisted wire handle, and weighed about a pound.
It looked like a metal woodpecker. I used the other one mostly, but now I can’t find either one. Anyone still use one?

[Matthew]

I don’t know if it works but I have heard of oldtimers putting lard or crisco on the bottom of thair horses feet so the snow wouldn’t ball up. I know the snow pads work well for keeping snow out of thair feet but make a nasty mess out of thair sole and frog. The hammer is probably the best for the horse just more work for the teamster. If it worked 150 years ago it should work today. A lot of things that were used years ago you hardly see used today, you don’t see many people useing fly nets anymore I guess they ether use fly spray or nothing, and you don’t see the old high wheeled carts (with wheels 6 or 7 feet tall) any more to pull logs. I am shure they worked better when everything was clear cut but they could still be usefull someware.

[Iron Rose]

I have used them too. Made my own from a ball pean hammer head. Just throw in forge ,heat to cherry red , and draw out the pean end to shape wanted. Put handle in drill hole for strap and use.

Dan Rasmussen
SE Minn

[Marshall]

Would someone please post a picture? I have never heard of such a thing but it sound very useful.

[Carl Russell]

I have rarely found that balls cause regular problems to the point where I felt I needed a specific hammer. I have never seen one. I always have a hammer or axe with me for felling, so if I need to I usually use that. Most of the time the balls will break out before they become a serious problem, even without lard or sno-ball pads.

It would be good to see a picture of one though.

Carl

[mitchmaine]

I’ll try and see if I can find them. Not much to look at really. Just a heavy hoof pick.
Carl, I wonder if it might be regional. You guys have your cold dry snow up there and we have wet heavy snow a lot. Just a thought. The 90 year old man who gave me the old one, mentioned rolled glazed hard packed town roads for teaming, and we don’t have them anymore. But our snow would ball up and freeze tight in their shoes, and when they came in on the plank floor of the barn, they’d go down with crash. I loved that hammer.
Those old men would see me coming. Mid-twenties with long hair and you’d think you had leprosy. When they found out you had hosses, they’d warm up a little, and after you told them about your first runaway, you was in the kitchen with coffee listening to tales and stories and how-to’s for as long as you wanted and before you left you would be out in the barn piled high to the chin with harness and eveners and irons as much as you could lug. Best tastin’ coffee I ever drunk.

Mitch

The hay wagon was beginning to show about a foot out of the snow, but yesterday covered her back up.

[Iron Rose]

Google snowball hammer pictures of them there

Dan Rasmussen
SE Minn

[mitchmaine]

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Found those hammers. The old one is on the right in the top photo alongside the new one and a hammer for scale. The new one with the double wire handle was made about twenty years ago by a local blacksmith. Gerry galuza from woolwich. He’s a big man with a big voice, and most things he makes are oversized. Normal size for him. He’s a pretty interesting man and very talented, and everything he makes is solid. But these hammers were just neat. delicate for him. I rubbed some sawdust into it to show its eyes and nostrils. supposed to be some kinda bird.

[Jared Ashley]

snow rim pads work well. they have a pumping action when stepped on that keeps the snow loose so it can fall out when the foot is lifted. and, they let the feet breathe because the pads are open in the center.

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