Light strikes with bobbed hammer?

[Rodeo Clown]

Hey guys,

I have a 1969 and I want to carry with one in the chamber and the safety off (because I grew up with 1911's and the "upswing" vs "downswing" is just too much for my brain/muscle memory to handle). However, after reading all about the pencil test and “another way the P-64 can discharge w/o pulling the trigger”, I’m concerned about hammer snag.

So, I read all the threads here containing the search terms "bobbed hammer". I couldn’t find many who really addressed hammer performance after bobbing theirs though. I think I'm ready to do it to mine. But before I do, I would really like to hear from those who already have with regard to hammer strikes (in my head, shaving material off a hammer equates to light strikes). Are you guys experiencing light hammer strikes? Or normal, consistent strikes? If it helps making an assessment, I’m using an 18lb Wolff hammer/main spring and a 22lb recoil spring.

Thank you all in advance.

[snailman153624]

A lighter hammer will swing faster. You want maximum impulse, aka momentum transfer. P=mv, yet the spring stores a constant amount of energy. Being that kinetic energy is proportional to mass and the square of velocity, k=0.5mv^2, your velocity only increases by the square root of the mass reduction of a lighter hammer (this is assuming the hammer moves linearly....the angular momentum equations are a little different than the linear ones, but it's an ok approximation). As a result, you will get less momentum despite the higher speed of the hammer.

So yes, you are right that you will get lighter strikes..but not by much.

[gemini1]

How far to you plan on shaving off/bobbing the hammer? If the idea is to prevent AD in case the pistols falls to the ground, then at least the back of hammer should be at level of the slide's edge, similar to the bobbed hammer of the S&W 3rd gens, correct?
But with the P64 hammer, there's a hole right below the spur. At rest, half the hole is outside the edge of the slide. So if you grind the spur as far as the slide's edge, that would give the hammer's back area a "U" shape horn. Cosmetically, that could be remedied by JB Weld. However, my concern is the whats left on the area that will hit the FP. Without the spur, how strong would that remaining are be? what's the chance of it breaking or cracking up?

[snailman153624]

The triangle hammers don't have a hole.

[Rodeo Clown]

Thank you snailman. Your insight is quite informative. I'd like to know if the "not by much" you mentioned is going to produce an undesirable effect though.

Gemini, I would be taking off the exact amount of material in the hammer you described because my hammer is the rounded model.

Has anyone else done this with positive results?

[gemini1]

The triangle hammers don't have a hole.

Isn't this the triangle hammer?

[snailman153624]

I'll have to go look more closely, but I don't think the hole is visible with the hammer down if it does have one.

[robhic]

I'll have to go look more closely, but I don't think the hole is visible with the hammer down if it does have one.

I looked at mine last night and I could see a small portion of the hole, but it was there.

[gemini1]

It's visible snailman. I've check before posting my comment just to be sure.
Almost half the hole is sticks out past the slide edge. The possible problem I see on OP's mod plan is not much on the light strike, but more on the integrity of the remaining steel, once the spur is grinded. Im thinking it could eventually break from the force of the hammer spring.

[normsutton]

ok the triangle hammer has a shorter firing pin in it than the rounded hammer , can't remember by how much, but it was to compensate for the heaver hammer , there is a tread on it goes back to about 2007 or 2008 ,

NORM
"A gun is like a parachute. If you need one, and don't have one, you'll probably never need one again."

[Curly1]

This may be the post Norm is referencing.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1031&p=22069&hilit= ... pin#p22069