Why two hammers should never be beaten against each other

The surface of the head of the hammer is made of hardened steel, the same material that anvils are also made of.

“Hardened” simply means that it has greater hardness, which comes at the cost of being much more fragile.

By hitting two hammers together, or hitting with a hammer the edge of an anvil, you run the risk of splinters of various sizes coming off.

That’s because these tools are meant to be used on more ductile materials, not on stuff of equal hardness.

The shrapnels generated with the impact can be extremely dangerous, since they are both sharp and very fast. They’re almost impossible to see and as such, almost unavoidable.

That’s why it’s smart to always wear protections, especially for hands, chest and eyes, when doing manual work of any kind.