Fluffy hammers

[Newton Hunt]

Hi, Bill,
      Ronson hammers wear early but do tend to brighten in the mid range.
      Isaac hammers develope much more power, wear better and voice nicely
and maintain that voice for a long time.
      Steinway hammer remain soft if soft to begin with.  Those sets that
are bright continue to get brighter.
      Renner hammers are quite nice and remain so for a long time.
      Check your shanks carefully for proper pinning, knuckle condition and
condition of the wood.
      It may be more profitable for the Hotel to have you hang the hammers
on new shanks to reduce downtime.
      I have used the above hammers including one set of Abel hammers that
I liked and plan to use again.
      I like to bore my own at times, other times I have had Wally Brooks
hang them for me.  I think his charge for hanging is about $90.00 and he does
a beautiful job of it.
            Newton
            nhunt@gandalf.rutgers.edu