Wrist Pain...

[gudspelr]

Clearly I'm not used to forging.... Spent a while yesterday beating on steel and my wrist is telling me about it today. Is this common or am I hammering incorrectly. I never had this problem while working construction but then I was never hammering against an anvil either. I've seen pictures of smiths wearing some kind of wrist strap while forging. Is that to help the wrist or for something else? Thanks for any help.

Jeremy

[Ragnarok Forge]

Jeremy,   You want to swing the hammer up to above your shoulder.  Start the down swing and then let momentum carry the hammer down and onto the steel.  If you try to force the hammer stroke all the way down to the steel you jar your arm and it hurts later.  It also helps to use a 3.5 to three pound hammer.