Woodworking Mallets: Types, Weights and Uses

A mallet drives a chisel, a carving gouge or a joint together without the damage a steel hammer would do to most Western chisel handles. Many chisel makers are clear about the difference: Lie-Nielsen says its chisels should not be struck with a metal hammer. Wood, leather and urethane heads give a firm blow while sparing the handle.

• Joiner’s mallets have angled faces for a reason. A mallet swings in an arc, so a face square to the handle meets the tool tilted; Christopher Schwarz explains the angled faces of Blue Spruce’s mallets as a way to hit tools and work with the full face.
• Carver’s mallets are round, so the head presents the same face however it is turned in the hand — useful when attention is on the edge rather than the mallet. Wood is Good describes its urethane heads as gentle on tool handles because they spread the load over a large area.
• Soft faces protect the work. Blue Spruce puts harness leather on one face of its joiner’s mallets, for assembling joinery without marking the wood and for softer blows on chisels.

A heavier head delivers more energy for the same swing, so it drives a chisel deeper with fewer blows; a lighter one is easier to control and less tiring for fine work. Makers size their mallets to match. Blue Spruce makes its joiner’s mallet in a small 14–16 oz size for dovetailing, furniture assembly and smaller mortising, and a large 22–24 oz size for large mortise and tenon work; Wood is Good makes carving mallets from 12 to 30 oz.

Head material affects weight as much as size. Blue Spruce infuses its maple heads with resin to increase their density, so a compact head carries more weight.

Japanese striking chisels are made to be driven with a steel hammer. Their handles carry a steel hoop at the struck end that takes the force of the blow and stops the wood splitting. Stan Covington, who sells Japanese tools, argues that a hardened steel hammer delivers more energy to a chisel in a more controllable way than any other striker. He describes a wooden or plastic mallet as acceptable, though not necessary, for these chisels.

The same hammer can wreck a Western chisel handle that was not designed for it — Covington says so himself. The rule is the maker’s: Lie-Nielsen, for example, says its chisels should not be struck with a metal hammer. If a chisel has no hoop and its maker does not say it may be struck with steel, use a mallet.

• Paring chisels. They are made to be pushed; Narex states that its paring chisels are not meant to be struck.
• A Western chisel with a metal hammer, unless its maker says it may be. Use a wooden, leather or urethane face. Hooped Japanese striking chisels are the exception described above.
• Damaged tools. OSHA lists loose or splintered handles and mushroomed heads on struck tools as hazards: the head can fly off or shatter. Replace or repair them before striking.

This page is about choosing and using a mallet rather than making one. For chopping technique, see how to use a chisel; for the heaviest chopping, the mortise chisel guide.