Old hammer of some sort. Wedge head and metal shaft and wood handle

[AmInRussia]

My girlfriend found this hammer cleaning out an old farmhouse in Russia. I'm not sure what it was meant for. Any ideas?

[Papaw]

Welcome to Tool Talk!

Could be a welder's chipping hammer or a stone mason's hammer. A Stonemason's hammer, also known as a Brick Hammer, has one flat traditional face and a short or long chisel-shaped blade. It can thus be used to chip off edges or small pieces of stone, cut brick or a concrete masonry unit, without using a separate chisel. The chisel blade can also be used to rapidly cut bricks or cinder blocks.

This type of hammer is also used by geologists when collecting rock and mineral samples and is one of several types of Geologist's hammer.

[oldgoaly]

if the head of the tool is a copper / brass like metal it would be
a soldering iron. there is a name for that style but it escapes me @ this moment.

[leg17]

Handle does not look suitable for "hammering".

Perhaps soldering, if head is copper.

Possibly some sort of 'struck' tool.
The handle is simply for positioning.

[Bill Houghton]

That sure looks like copper, which would confirm the soldering copper idea.

My only experience with soldering coppers has been with sheet metal soldering, and I've never used one like that.

[Batz]

That's a soldering iron, usually used with a blow torch.

[oldgoaly]

or a soldering iron furnace, charcoal or gas. mine's gas & stationary.
You can find these cheap sometimes, redo the "refractory" they work well.

[Lostmind]

Probably for copper roofs.

[wvtools]

I always called that style offset head soldering iron, but I think I have seen them called hatchet style also.

[Nolatoolguy]

Welcome to Tool Talk!

Could be a welder's chipping hammer or a stone mason's hammer. A Stonemason's hammer, also known as a Brick Hammer, has one flat traditional face and a short or long chisel-shaped blade. It can thus be used to chip off edges or small pieces of stone, cut brick or a concrete masonry unit, without using a separate chisel. The chisel blade can also be used to rapidly cut bricks or cinder blocks.

This type of hammer is also used by geologists when collecting rock and mineral samples and is one of several types of Geologist's hammer.

Isn't the shaft part to thin thoe, I would think it would have to be stronger?

[Billman49]

Hatchet type soldering iron in the UK as well.... also known as copper soldering bit or just as a soldering copper....

used by tinsmiths as well as roofers...

[Billman49]

Like the straight irons they also came in a range of sizes (weights)....

Called irons, even though made of copper, as early lead welding was done with an iron heated to red heat.... Lower melting alloys, i.e. solders were not used on leadwork until much later....

[oldtools]

Nice find! Tell us about yourself!

[Bill Houghton]

Called irons, even though made of copper, as early lead welding was done with an iron heated to red heat.... Lower melting alloys, i.e. solders were not used on leadwork until much later....

Possibly regional terminology differences.  I was taught to call the elecrically powered tool a "soldering iron," but during my brief time as a tinbender, we always called the copper-on-a-stick (would that make it a "coppsicle?"), heated by propane, when I did the work, a "soldering copper."