Mallets/mauls

[Art]

Syl,

I have different colors of BearMan and there doesn't seem to be a difference. The Black Beard is almost indiscernibly different, only some strikes some times, might be the way I hold it. I hold the head, don't know of many others that do it that way. Barry's mauls feel a little different, but not in a bad way. The hatch pattern on the poly is a definite plus although possibly psychologically.

Three lbs would not be good for tooling. With all that mass, walking a beveler would be very slow, if not impossible. Get a 1lb or so, it will work on pretty much everything except heavy striking.

Art

Thanks again, Bruce. I imagine most of the "tool makers" are there... heck I would be if I could afford it.

I think I am zeroing in on a 16oz Poly head one to start with. Though I am still not clear if the different colors of poly has anything to do with the feel and behavior of the material. I had actually had my eye on a 3lb one... but I don't want to drive my seeders through the leather with one blow.

[Sylvia]

Thanks again Fella's!

I've made my choice and have placed an order. I went with a Barry King 20oz (even though it was $ more than I wanted to pay) because I felt I needed a little more heft for those dog-gone bag punches. If all else fails I'll still have my el cheapo light weight one for the lightest work.

***Edit... I actually ended up with the 16oz Barry King. I got to flailing around with that 1lb 1.6oz rubber mallet and that 20oz might be a little to much for me. LOL

Please do continue to offer your insights... I'm sure Double C and other's find it helpful.

Edited May 18, 2012 by Sylvia

[LNLeather]

Yes, the different materials are different colors...

I started out with a standard Tandy wood mallet and that was fine to start with.

I also bought a 16 oz Stohlman maul and I never liked it - just put it back in the box and went back to using the wood mallet.

About a year ago I got a 5oz cropped Bearman maul and WOW what a difference!

Since I got my Bearman maul the old wood mallet just collects dust (or I use it with a long knife to cut acorn squash in half)

My maul has the brown material on the head and it has held up perfectly with no chips.

I just gottta say I love my Bearman maul.......

Edited May 18, 2012 by LNLeather

[Sylvia]

About a year ago I got a 5oz cropped Bearman maul and WOW what a difference!

Since I got my Bearman maul the old wood mallet just collects dust (or I use it with a long knife to cut acorn squash in half)

Ok you bought a 16oz AS Maul and put it back in the box... was it because of the weight,... or the feel of the thing?

[LNLeather]

Ok you bought a 16oz AS Maul and put it back in the box... was it because of the weight,... or the feel of the thing?

It isn't the weight, it is the feel of it, it's the balance.

I just went and got them together and even though the weights are similar,

the AS maul is top heavy and that makes it feel much heavier in my hand.

I would rather use my old wood Tandy mallet than the AS maul.

The Bearman maul is far superior, ( oh - in my humble opinion )

Anyone want to buy my AS maul?

[Sylvia]

It isn't the weight, it is the feel of it, it's the balance.

I just went and got them together and even though the weights are similar,

the AS maul is top heavy and that makes it feel much heavier in my hand.

I would rather use my old wood Tandy mallet than the AS maul.

The Bearman maul is far superior, ( oh - in my humble opinion )

Anyone want to buy my AS maul?

I bet Double C would if the price was right.

[TwinOaks]

Thanks for the good topic Sylvia, I've been kinda wondering about this. With all the good reviews on the mauls, I feel kind of silly boring out the spare wood mallet and using shot pellets to make a wooden dead blow hammer.

[busted]

How much do you want for your outdated AS maul?

It isn't the weight, it is the feel of it, it's the balance.

I just went and got them together and even though the weights are similar,

the AS maul is top heavy and that makes it feel much heavier in my hand.

I would rather use my old wood Tandy mallet than the AS maul.

The Bearman maul is far superior, ( oh - in my humble opinion )

Anyone want to buy my AS maul?

[DoubleC]

Wow I just woke up and what a wealth of info. I'm going to have to read this all again. Although Sylvia is right, I'd use an AS right now if I could afford it. I had already contacted Bearman before I went to sleep and asked about his mauls because I wanted one of his awls and asked if I could change that to a maul. I haven't checked my messages yet so need to do that to make a decision. Now I have to decide what SIZE because I need something that will do oblong punches, and strap end and could use my silly Tandy wood mallet for the little amount of tooling I have a chance to do these days compared to the other things I do. I'm going to probably write Sylvia since I'm still 1/2 asleep from being up so long yesterday before I laid down to let her just tell me what I need, LOL. GREAT info. Cheryl

[Sylvia]

Thanks for the good topic Sylvia, I've been kinda wondering about this. With all the good reviews on the mauls, I feel kind of silly boring out the spare wood mallet and using shot pellets to make a wooden dead blow hammer.

That certainly is a valid temporary solution, Twin. Ive considered doing that myself! But even with a bunch of lead shot I don't think you'll get the heft you want, unless you melted the lead and poured it directly into the cavity. If you got lucky and it didn't catch fire... it might work. lol

From what I gather 14oz to 20oz Poly headed mauls are preferred, for all around use, with 5-9oz being used for lighter more delicate stamping. Balance seems to be important depending on the users method of holding the maul. I tend to old my mallet like I would a 16oz framing hammer... all the way down on the handle. Especially when I am using brute force to get some of these larger punches to go through.

According to the young man at Barry King (not Barry, and I've forgotten his name), the white material is the most resilient, and there was some side note about nylon I don't recall. The brown and black apparently have a slightly, almost indiscernible, difference in feel from the white and yellow.