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Hi all, My name is Spyro, I do some woodworking just for the pleasure of it, and trying to get into leatherworking for pretty much the same reason I thought I'd share my first steps here before I start bombarding people with questions about leather First thing I tried to do was complete a set of basic hand tools (buy or make) and then make some sort of tool box to put them in. I started by making a stitching pony, because I saw some really nice designs on etsy I think, and it looked nice and very important for some reason LOL Then I made a few awls and an HDPE maul. I know I'm really fussy about hammers and mallets, so I ended up drilling a bigger and bigger hole in it and kept adding metal washers until it had exactly the weight and balance that suited my hand turned out ok in the end, but most importantly it hits well. I made some other little things from wood and brass, some burnishing tools, a little brass hammer and roller etc. I'm not much of a metal worker, probably for the best or I'd still be making tools LOL Then came the tool box. I'm planning to keep leatherworking out of the shed because it's really dusty in there, so I had to make something kinda presentable for in the house, and this is what I came up with (that little knob thing is just some buttons cast in epoxy and turned on the lathe. I'm still deciding on drawer handles) So yeah, so far I'm having a lot of fun with this leatherworking thing without even doing any actual leatherworking LOL But I have started making a tote, and I'll post it here soon for you guys to laugh at in the meantime if anyone wants to make any of that stuff in the photos and is wondering how, please feel free to ask! All the best, Spyro

So I have lived on this forum since I found it and discovered my love for leather products, especially what ever I happen to make....(DISCLAIMER: I am a no on and have not made to much besides a bunch of scrap I can't find beauty in. But it always is taken as an object to learn from, even if I take my diamond chisel and practice my hand sweing!) So to my topic, I see a lot of discussion about stamps, surfaces, thread, machines, and so on. But I have not seen anything as far as what tool you prefer to use as a striker? I happen to have access to a wood lathe and have become pretty decent at using it. This is my maul. Roughly only a month old. It measures in at 9 inch long with 3 inch inch surface, 2 1/4 inch thick. Weighs 9 ounces with the help of lead shot core. As you can tell it does dent easy, but so easy to fix and replace, it works.

I’m here to confess my curiosity about Stricking / Tooling Sticks, along with my lack of knowledge about them. I am hoping this community can help me to understand the construction and use of these sticks so I can reproduce one or two for myself. I am very excited to try tooling with one. I have some these sticks that similar to a maul. Others I’ve seen are 18” to 20” long. Some with both ends square and a handle in between, others with square end and tapered to the opposite end. I’m somewhat confused as to the use of the longer version. Questions: 1). Is the extra length just there for counter balance? Also used like a maul? 2). Or is the extra length used of the lever point, using it and the elbow resting on the table as the pivot point? I have purchase enough Katalox I believe to make a long and a short version, but need your help/input before I can make the first cut. Thank you Tane

Hi guys thanks for checking my listing out! i have a great collection of hand tools that i have collected for my use but unfortunately do to my current health reasons i must sell them all, i can not do the leather work i truly love any more, there for everything is up for grabs. i always like the but the highest quality of tools and materials so here is the list, before you read any further you should know, it is a PACKAGE DEAL, i WILL NOT split anything up, because of my health reasons i simply do not have the will to do so. according to my estimation i have SPENT about $3800 for these tools and such but i am only asking $1525 including shipping anywhere in the USA, sorry no international shipping. i will only accept USPS money order or Paypal as a payment option. i have not posted on Ebay yet, i wanted to give the users of this forum the first chance because i love this forum and i surely learned alot of things here and met a lot of awesome people. please do not be shy to message me with any question you might have, thanks and take care. P.S. if you are willing to pick them up in person and pay me in cash, i will deduct the shipping expense (abviously) and i have a large mystery box of goodies for u. 31 BARRY KING stamps, seeders, bevelers... (anything you would want from Barry King, great and super quality tools) 33 Vintage Carftsman stamps, most are not made anymore 5 HideCraft stamps 3 Craftool Edge Bevelers 1 Craftool Adjustable Groover 1 Craftool Overstitchers 3 Craftool Pro Modeling Tools 1 all metal Craftool Pro Modeling Styles 1/4 Craftool Pro letter stamp set in a box Craftool Pro Model Skiving knife 1 Chuck Smith Swivel knife 1 Carfttool Swivel knife 1 Tanglefoot Swivel Knife 2 Swivel knife sharpening guides 1Tandy Leather Factory Al Stohlman Brand Poly Head Maul Medium 3 Pro edge cocobolo wooden drill burnishers 2 hand edge burnishers 1 Terry Knipschield leather knife (truly amazing knife) 1 instruction book 3 pattern books

I've been using a 16oz. rubber mallet from Lowe's ever since I started working with leather, about two years ago now. I use it for everything: tooling, setting rivets and snaps, driving punches and chisels, you name it. It's the only hammer I've ever used for leather. It's starting to wear out and I've been thinking about replacing it. Now, this hammer cost about $4 and has lasted me for years (I've only been using it for leather for 2 years, but I've probably had it for 5 or 6 now) and that's a strong argument in favor of getting another one just like it. But copper and tubular rivets, and some of the heavier snaps, take forever to set with the thing. So I'm starting to wonder: Would a heavier hammer might be more suitable to the task? Also: would a rawhide or poly striking tool have less bounce, and would that make a difference? I'd rather not buy several expensive tools if I can avoid it, so is there One Hammer to Rule Them All out there? A leatherworker's Mjolnir that's just great, or even pretty good, overall for All The Jobs? (If it comes right down to it, I'll buy two hammers, one for These Jobs and one for Those Jobs, but I'd rather avoid having to build a whole rack for a hammer collection, is what I'm getting at.) Thanks in advance for answering what is probably a dumb question.

Hello all, I'm just getting into leather work and can already tell I need an upgrade from my current maul (20 oz soft poly woodworking maul). I am going the DIY route and will be making three or four in a variety of weights. UHMW, HDPE, or Delrin heads (2", tapered), wood handles, and lead insert weights are the plan. What I don't know is how / where these should be balanced. Head heavy, head /haft joint, or...? I'm guessing the heavier mauls should be weighted towards the top and the lighter tooling mallets should be more balanced, but thought I should ask before putting tool to material Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated! Thanks! Jay M

I love tools... especially old tools. But... I don't think branding/ego polish should outweigh function and at my core I don't think clubs (hammers) should be expensive unless they include warranties and guarantied outcomes or power cords. Don't get me wrong... I PAY for quality name brand when it's warranted but so many of our "Name Brand" previously quality tools and implements have been farmed out to the lowest bidder (no, I'm not looking at any particular country, I've found good to great quality from many nations... even those that get a bad rap generally). SO... when the inexpensive mallets began showing up on Xbay (no Art... this is not for the adults only section) I was curious. I bought one with free shipping for $12.00usd. No... doesn't come with an engraved headpiece, no stacked leather handle... just a polished aluminum (I think) handle and a poly head. It's okay... works like a maul... you hit something with it and energy is transferred. I don't have big mitts so the somewhat shorter overall length isn't a problem. And since it's primarily for tooling I ain't swinging it very hard. Then... I saw (gasp) similar mallets with WOODEN HANDLES appear. Much prettier and traditional looking to boot! So when the price dropped I ordered one of those... just for comparison ofc. The 24oz is a Shop Fox I picked up on sale from I think WoodCraft for $9.99 plus shipping. They do their jobs... not badly balanced, I wish the white poly heads were a bit larger diameter but hey... for the price I'm not gripping. The wooden handle poly is ~49mm dia while the silver (comes in anodized black too) is ~50.8mm dia. For a beginner to intermediate worker they work and don't break the bank. I've used the Stohlman mauls and *shrug* best I can say is they may fit bigger hands better and they have a larger diameter head but I'll wait for a significant price reduction/sale before investing in one. Not that they don't work well.....

So I have had my al stohlman 2# maul for a couple years. The issue I am having is the metal collar between the handle and the poly head seems to be getting loose because as I work it rattles or rotates and its really annoying. any ideas on how to fix this? Can't really afford to buy a new one right now.

Hi There, I'm very interested in making my own maul. Does anyone have any Ideas as far as the type of material I would need to make the head of the maul. I was thinking of getting a cutting board and trying to glue or melt the disc together somehow but not really sure about that approach, being that I don't have many tools around to attempt this, and I was looking at the Beary Mauls and I really like them, but the price tag is a bit much right now. Any Ideas, Thanks in advance.

I am making a new maul and decided to try making a leather handle like on my Tandy Stohlman maul. I glued up a bunch of 3" squares using contact cement and clamps and then mounted in my wood lathe. So.. I have a few questions for any of you who have done this. 1) Is leather harder on the tools than wood? I seem to be having to sharpen my roughing gouge frequently. 2) I do not have a chuck - only the spur and live centers that came with the lathe... How do I taper it down thin at the end of the handle. I have about a 2.5" cylinder now and can already see it flexing as I cut it. Thanks

I am having a hard time deciding on what hammer to buy. In the past I have used a heavy rubber mallet for my general stamping. The 'bounce' didn't bother me. Since then I've recently been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and the weight of it alone tends to kill my hand pretty quickly. I've tried the yellow polymer hammer and found it extremely light and my scrawny arms didn't provide any help. The rawhide one was somewhat in that same catagory..and since I am trying to buy an entire shops worth of tools, i would rather not be spending that kind of money on a rawhide or maul. The last thing i used was a newer and smaller/lightweight rubber mallet which seemed to work ok...only because the big one was getting old and falling apart lol. This is the last thing on my list I need to open my shop back up (*crosses fingers*). What do you use or recommend? I was planning on just getting a 16oz rubber mallet off ebay...with a steel handle (instead of wooden). I have no idea if the 16oz is the same as what i had before or not. Thanks

Actually, it was almost free, since a saddler buddy of mine donated the rawhide ( after a good chuckle ), so all I was out, was about a foot of rawhide lacing. And the rock, like nearly everything else we know, is made of stardust. I have used a rawhide mallet for 45 years to do leather tooling with no problem. I even have a couple of the plastic mallets, And yes I have a maul. So what was this big following that mauls have developed over the last decade? Do they really improve your tooling? Are they worth the money that they cost? What are the advantages, and disadvantages, to using a maul? One development of my research into this subject, which consisted mainly of watching YouTube videos, was that maul users seemed to consistantly hold the maul in a way that was no differant than you might hold a rock, or a brick, to hit a nail. So.......why not a rock? Living, as I do, in a river valley in Wyoming, I resolved to go down to the river and see what nature could provide. As it turned out, I didn't have to. I noticed a rock in the alleyway at work which looked like it would fit the bill. Since I didn't want to be hitting my tools with a bare rock....nor did I want rock dust on my tooling bench, I made a covering out of rawhide which I wetted, stretched around the rock, and laced together. After the rawhide dried, I tried it out......using it in the manner as shown in the videos. The learning curve was very short as the 99 cent maul had one big advantage over a maul. It had a much larger "sweet spot" than a maul.....which, until you get very used to using them, can result in a miss-strike since the sweet spot on a round tool, be it a bat, billiard cue tip, or maul is relatively small. The 99 cent maul even worked well using it in the ergonomically correct manner as shown by Don King above. Notice that he is not using his maul like a nail driving hammer, but much like the way reccomended for mallets........his elbow on the table and the action supplied by his wrist and forearm. I suspect he started out using a mallet, or striking stick.......and moved to mauls when he began tooing saddles (heavier leather) with his distinctive deep tooling style. LOL And I suspect that is why some folks think mauls are better......just the fact that they got a heavier maul than the mallet they had been using !

Hey guys, Here in South Africa, there is only one place to get any tools ; a third party retailer for the Tandy shop halfway across the country who seldom has stock. As a result, I am always on the lookout for easy tools that I can make myself to do the job. Mallets and mauls are very expensive here and there is only one in stock at any one time! I have been using a hammer handle with an old belt around it for about 5 months now but I am tired of it and wanted to upgrade. I have been coveting an Stolhman Poly Maul and decided that yesterday was the day that I try and make one for my self. No... I didn't really nail it the way I was hoping. It's a bit rough and ready and a lathe would have been a VERY useful tool to have so that I could turn down the handle nicely but, alas, I don't have one. However, I am thrilled with the outcome. and love the new feel of it. Here's a shot of the "raw materials". The threaded bar is a 6mm diameter and I used nyloc nuts to keep it all together. I didn't use any glue at all. It is seriously straight forward to make and so my only advice is to clamp the leather down when you drill the disks out! DO not try and hold it flat on the bench with your hand. I nearly lost a finger nail when the piece I was drilling, bit into the hole saw and wrapped my hand around the drill! It was a painful realisation of just how strong leather is. I have no idea where the center of the weight should be but I recon you could balance it by taking off the end disk, drilling a few small holes in the second disk down, inserting a few lead fishing weights, and clamping the whole thing back together. That way you could add weight to the head if necessary. The center of this one is right at the join between the head and the handle. Can any one tell me where the weight should lie? For the rest of us noobs out there, you don't need a huge budget to get started. Just a bit of patience and some effort, after all, this is a craft and an art so we may as well invest some time into the set up. Cheers Alex