Raw Hide Mallet Repair

[zzmikeg]

Hi Everybody,

Does anybody know if this misshapen raw hide mallet can be repaired?  I got it used so I don't know how it got so deformed.

Can I file it? Heat it up? Soften it under water? Hit it with a stick?

Thanks for any feedback and or ideas.

Mike

[Hildebrand]

I would put it on a belt sander until it was back to a flat surface. No guesses as to how it got so out of shape. 

Todd

[battlemunky]

Yep, belt sander. I've reshaped mine before but from mushrooming/wear. I don't have any idea how that happened either.

[zzmikeg]

 

Hey guys

Thank you kindly for the feedback.  To the belt sander she goes.

Mike

[battlemunky]

How'd it work out?

[zzmikeg]

Thanks, battlemunky, for asking me how it worked out.  Your email helped me get back here to this post.  I don't spend enough time navigating the site and I was having trouble finding my way back,  so, thank you for that!  I wouldn't have given up, just for the record.  I'm big on contributing as much useful info as I can, no matter what forum or website I'm on.  I've been the recipient of so many good tips, etc, that I feel obligated to contribute.  I say this to anyone who doesn't contribute. You know who you are.  :  )

Here's where it sits right now.  I was afraid of getting carried away so I didn't take it completely flat, but flat enough to make a difference.  Plus I was using an angle grinder.  A "burning flesh" smell lingered for hours afterward (I got burned once, and although the mallet is made of rawhide, the smell was similar to what I remember.  A kind of sweet and sickening stench that you can almost taste.  But I digress... )

The mallet came out just fine.

 

After:

and Before:

Both ends were deformed similarly.

 

[battlemunky]

Pretty cool. Glad I could help! Word of caution though, those facets created from the grinder may contribute to miss striking when using leaving you with an unclean hit. If you find you are having some inconsistency you may want to try and sand it more evenly.

Good luck and keep posting!

[Rockoboy]

On ‎8‎/‎23‎/‎2019 at 10:58 PM, battlemunky said:

those facets created from the grinder may contribute to miss striking when using

What about covering the face of the mallet with a disc of fairly hard stiff leather to fix any problems with an uneven surface?

Somebody gave me a wooden mallet recently, that had a piece of leather stuck to the face. Granted, it was worn out and I had to replace the leather, but it works just fine.

[battlemunky]

Yeah @Rockoboy that'd do it I suppose. I think that maybe hitting some hard surfaces would even it out too.

[Clintock]

That smell is probably the same smell I grew up smelling when my dad made fox horns from cow horns. You could hear those horns for miles on a cool night listening to dogs. 

[zzmikeg]

battlemunky that's a worthy word of caution.  I think I'll play it safe and  just smooth it out.  It shouldn't take off that much.

If I chicken out though I might give it a new face like Rockoboy said. I stopped short of doing that before cuz I was wondering if that would change the unique feel of that unique mallet.  Anyone have any thoughts on that?

Also I currently often use  a very hard rubber mallet for tooling because it's more quiet than my other mallets.  I live in a condo and respect my respectful neighbors. But I do use others when it's not too early or too late.

And the sound that those Fox/Cow horns make is so pure and raw!  I don't think any man made instrument can quite match a natural horn.  There are some great horns out there but there's something missing from the man made ones.

[Handstitched]

On 8/25/2019 at 6:41 PM, Rockoboy said:

What about covering the face of the mallet with a disc of fairly hard stiff leather to fix any problems with an uneven surface?

Yeh, I did that on my mallet  with a bit of 4mm veg tan when it got a bit worn , but my mallet is a rubber mallet . And believe it or not, its childs size,  I found it in  the toy section  of a 'red dot'  years ago, but its just the right size and weight . 

HS 

[woto]

Hi

Came across this site while looking for an answer to my mallet problem and thought you guys might have a solution.

I have inherited a very dried out leather mallet and would like to bring it back from the edge if possible and would like to know what is the best substance to soak it in, presuming that soaking is what is needed?

Many thanks

Andy

[sbrownn]

My rawhide mallet has ends that are replaceable.  

[Resurgam3191]

I had an old misshapen one like that. I trimmed the ends off on a mitre saw. (Carefully) Worked great. Still using it

[blue duck]

@woto if you can post a picture it will help us see your problems. But, I doubt soaking it will help. More than likely make it worse.