Once more... Mauls

O

Omega Leather Works

Joined
Jun 13, 2007
Messages
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I need (I think) a maul for stamping. I have a few tools to smack with, but I'm not satisfied with any of them. I'm slowly building a collection of stamps. I generally buy whatever a customer wants because their idea of cool doesn't always match mine. This has been a good policy for many of my supplies. Tools to smack with don't fall into the policy though. :eek:

My questions.

What do you recommend, in weight, for regular stamping. By regular I mean basket weave, camouflage, etc.

Should I pay more for rawhide?

My personal experience with inexpensive tools has mostly been a disappointment. That said, there are nylon mauls that run about $15 with a wood handle, and the more familiar mauls with leather handles starting around $80. The wood handle models appear to have similar construction, that is, a nut at the end/threaded rod through. I presume I could make a leather stacked handle for next to nothing. Anyone have any thoughts on this? Should I just pony up for the standard Stohlman?

Anything else you care to share?

Thanks guys.
 
I don't want to be the guy that asks for opinions then dismisses them. I just looked at the reviews on the wood handled cheapies and they get very good reviews. I think there are 14 5-star and 1 4-star reviews. Some of these are from people that have more expensive models and they say the inexpensive tool is just as good.

Still very open to ideas,but it doesn't sound like a rehandle would be necessary. I bet Tandy would be fine letting me try a Stohlman against a cheap maul to decide if the more expensive tool is a sizeable upgrade, or no upgrade at all.
 
I use one of the urethane mallets from Grizzly Industrial. I believe that mine is the 24 oz model, but they have three different weights. I've never used a leather maul, but I have no complaints with the mallet I bought, and the price was right.
d2807-da81f82cad18f659fedb5be9925be42b.jpg
 
Thanks Chris! That's a nice looking tool (no snickering please) :D I get the Grizzly catalogs, but I've never seen that. :thumbup:

Looks like I could buy that one, the one I was looking at and a couple more for the price of one of the more expensive tools.

Anyone else have a strong recommendation, or thoughts?

Edit- Dave, I remember talking about the Maul Master mauls, but I can't find the conversation. Was that your favorite? I want to buy stuff from Weaver using my business discount, but the first order has to total $200. I buy everything piecemeal so I don't usually have a large enough order, unfortunately. Have you tried their other Maul? The one with the leather handle?
 
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I'm going to be cantankerous here:

I hate my poly maul, its noisy and strikes are harsh. But it does have its place in the heavy hit category. My big stamps fear this maul.

I like my flat head maul. Its the Stolhman one pound flat head. Its basically a maul stood on end so you get a flat striking surface. Make no mistake, there is nothing similar between the standard mallet and this. I have both and no, they do not work the same, or feel the same. It is a poly head, but the feel is totally different. The compact head and short handle work magic.

My favorite maul is a rawhide head, bar none. Its quiet, has a nice firm but soft strike and the leather handle is so nice to use in both cold days and hot. Cant say that about the awful poly maul I have with the metal collar and soft rubber handle. This one is a heavy two pounder but works in an all around

If I could find a rawhide one pounder I'd jump quick, so far the older models I find like this are swept up fast.

EDIT to add: That urethane mallet looks very interesting, the term "quiet impact" got my attention. I may have to get me one of those to try out. The price of admission is very nice. Thanks for the link!
 
Dang! That does look nice, and at least you wouldn't be out much if it turned out a little off. If you get it use the old carpenters trick. If the handle is coated, strip that off and use an oil finish on it. The grip is much better and no hot spots

The head is poly, thats a good thing, very tough stuff. That material gives hard strikes, is noisy but there are gives to everything.

Overall It looks like a great introductory maul! That and the one above. I will most likely get one of the Grizzly models when I'm feeling a little more liquid. The urethane head has me intrigued.

I looked at the other one by the same maker as the one on Amazon, Aluminum handle??? Can you imagine grabbing that one in a cold shop? Or forbid, sitting in the sun in the summer?
 
I think its the huge nut on the bottom of the striking surface that throws the look off. Not a bad idea, but I can see what your concern is, its a possible rub zone as you choke up on the handle as I do a lot. My heavy maul actually flairs out in the handle at this point so your hand never reaches a potential hurt zone.

I love the rawhide though the two smaller ones are a little thin, the largest one has the ratio I prefer. Some may like the smaller surface though.

Are the top and bottom metal areas bronze?

Overall its a good looking tool, but for the nut. But not something a little athletic tape couldn't solve.

89 Euro isn't a bad price if its a quality tool. Traveling here might be pricey but over there its not a bad thing.
 
Bronze is not a bad idea! less expensive and wont rust. :)

I just looked at the specs on the one Anthony linked to, .76 pounds. Three quarters of a pound approx. Might be a little light for heavy tool work. Nice for light strikes though.
 
leatherman said:
Dang! That does look nice, and at least you wouldn't be out much if it turned out a little off. If you get it use the old carpenters trick. If the handle is coated, strip that off and use an oil finish on it. The grip is much better and no hot spots

The head is poly, thats a good thing, very tough stuff. That material gives hard strikes, is noisy but there are gives to everything.

Overall It looks like a great introductory maul! That and the one above. I will most likely get one of the Grizzly models when I'm feeling a little more liquid. The urethane head has me intrigued.

I looked at the other one by the same maker as the one on Amazon, Aluminum handle??? Can you imagine grabbing that one in a cold shop? Or forbid, sitting in the sun in the summer?
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Hey, thanks for the tip on stripping the handle. I'd never heard of that trick. Off topic, but do you think that would be a good idea for my wood carvers?

l4XbDb9.jpg


I love the way they look, but the bottom ones do give me some hot spots. Will the oil make the burl less attractive?

The head is actually nylon. Is that about the same as polyurethane? I thought it would be quieter, but less durable? Honestly, I have no idea. Also, about the Grizz, is polyurethane and urethane different? It would be nice to know the durometer of each of these maul heads.

There is a seller on eBay that sells a replacement rawhide head, but he doesn't list a maul for the 1lb'er. I think if I get the cheap tool I'll contact the eBay guy and get measurements. How cool would it be if you could adapt it? I can't see paying almost $200 for an Osborne.

I really dislike the look of the aluminum handles, in fact, one look was enough for me to eliminate them from my list of possibilities. I can't stand aluminum or steel handles on knives either for the most part.

vilePossum said:
what do you think of these?

http://www.rickert-werkzeug.de/de/L...gen/Rohhauthammer-Schlaegel-Rawhide-Maul.html

i do realize most of you won't be able to understand the text, the lightest one is about 2lbs. they look kinda strange in the closeups, is this normal?
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Gotta love Google translate! I'm thinking about 1lb is what I'm shooting for for my first maul, but if I knew what I needed I wouldn't have had to post this thread. :D



leatherman said:
I think its the huge nut on the bottom of the striking surface that throws the look off. Not a bad idea, but I can see what your concern is, its a possible rub zone as you choke up on the handle as I do a lot. My heavy maul actually flairs out in the handle at this point so your hand never reaches a potential hurt zone.
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The nut on the smallest one looks to be much smaller than the others, but yeah, I've seen where guys choke up on the handles for a lighter tap. Hmm... I wonder how hard it would be to have a machinist fab a taper, or maybe you could find a smaller nut? Neat looking tool in any case.

Possum, please let me know how you like it if you buy one. I'm especially interested in the weight.
 
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I would like to ask a question, though it may seem dumb. Why is a maul necessary ? I have never spent the bucks on one when I have a perfectly good hammer on the bench. I make a few sheaths, holsters and craft projects with my grandkids and a couple of hammers in the 1-2lb. range seems to work fine. What am I missing ???
 
It boils down to one thing, tool abuse. The steel in hammers is very abusive to the steel in your tools. I have some old tools inherited from crafters who used a steel hammer, all are mushroomed and cracked at the top. Stress risers are the death throes of all steel tools and are caused by steel on steel impact. Its difficult at best to get an accurate strike on a broken tool.

The softer material on mauls and mallets, be it polymer, wood, or rawhide help prolong the life of your tools. They do wear out in time, but the money you save by replacing one tool (maul) instead of a few ( stamps etc) is huge.

fyi, the rawhide maul I have is over ten years old and just starting to show its waist. its got quite a few more years in it so you see the savings. My poly maul has some marks in it but nothing big, and its older than the rawhide. Poly lasts longer, but to me the rawhide offers what I like. I'll spend more on what I like, but at 50 I dont think I'll wear out my rawhide before I'm incapable of picking it up.
 
Anthony, I've got some answers for you but took too much time, gotta get some errands done, but I do have some good ideas for you. Before I go, for industry standards: poly means polymer thus a huge zone of gray. yea. YAY! :p
 
It boils down to one thing, tool abuse.
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Ok, that makes perfect sense, even for a tight wad like myself :)

So, if you wanted to limit yourself to one(maybe two) excellent maul(s) for all around use without regard for price, which would it be ? I know you said your favorite was rawhide, but which one ? I see so many variations and makers that it is difficult to decide on one.

Thank you for the advice.
 
SouthernComfort said:
Ok, that makes perfect sense, even for a tight wad like myself :)

So, if you wanted to limit yourself to one(maybe two) excellent maul(s) for all around use without regard for price, which would it be ? I know you said your favorite was rawhide, but which one ? I see so many variations and makers that it is difficult to decide on one.

Thank you for the advice.
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As far as I can tell, you will need to buy vintage, Osborne ($), or custom if you want rawhide. There may be something I'm missing though, most of my searching has been on synthetic heads.

If you're really cheap and don't tool often, maybe try an orange dead blow from Harbor Freight or a hardware store. Honestly, they aren't that bad. They don't bounce like my yellow poly mallet can. I just don't like the shape of a "hammer". I think the strike zone of a maul, much closer to being in line with the handle might be a better fit for me. I did briefly try a Stohlman maul at Tandy and liked the difference in strike. My other concern is weight. I bought a 1.5lb dead blow, then a 2lb. I didn't see an improvement in impression quality and now I'm thinking I was going in the wrong direction. Lighter may be better.

Dwayne, I'll look forward to your reply. Thanks for clarifying the gray area, I didn't know. I use to be into vehicle performance and sometimes you see suspension equipment referred to as urethane or poly, but meaning the same thing. Hard not to draw a line sometimes out of ignorance. :)
 
Actually, if you wanted something easy on your tools while being rather inexpensive there is a mallet with replaceable heads out there. I saw one at Harbor Freight recently. http://www.harborfreight.com/1-12-lb-soft-face-mallet-69048.html

Also at harbor freight they used to carry a rawhide mallet for not much money. Not sure if they still do though.

Avoid the rubber mallets and the dead blow hammers, they dont last long and were only meant for blunt hitting anyhow,

This one is intersting as well http://www.harborfreight.com/2-inch-teardrop-mallet-66205.html Nylon head an all!

They also have brass head hammers as well that wont mar steel tools.

These are all "good enough" tools but a bit inferior to professional tools, but you pay the price for those eh?

Above all these I'd still go for one of the aforementioned mauls at similar pricing to the more expensive stuff that I just listed. The poly and urethane mallets with the wood handles look very tempting, and a great price as well. Poly is hard and noisy but lasts longer, urethane is quiet but not as durable.
 
Looking at the Osborne maul, it looks very similar to the German tool.

WcC7Aai.jpg


Actually, now that I look more closely, the German website sells Osborne tools too. Wonder if it's the same maul. Price seems about right too.
 
Omega Leather Works said:
Actually, now that I look more closely, the German website sells Osborne tools too. Wonder if it's the same maul. Price seems about right too.
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BINGO!!! I think you are right.

I think I've got an Osborne Raw Hide maul somewhere around here, IF I haven't already given it away. I used it quite a bit when I was making Saddles and needed heavy strikes. I have used the round poly faced mauls for the past few years and for me the different weights make all the difference and I think that may be true regardless of whether you are using raw hide, poly or other. I use a 12oz for sharper faced stamps like small basket weave, seeders, veiners, etc. Then I have a 25oz for the broader faced tools and when I want a deeper impression, and finally about 36 or 40 oz. monster for the really heavy work, and now I rarely pick it up.

I do find the round maul styles regardless of make up are much more to my liking and when you get used to them I think it would be hard to go back to a mallet or hammer configuration. The lack of a flat face on the round mauls took a little "muscle memory" time but once you get past that learning curve they are great. It's kind of like making the transition to a round knife going from pull cuts to push cuts. Seems awkward at first but soon becomes natural.

Way back in 1951 I was using a small ball peen hammer to strike my tools and as Dwayne said it didn't take long to cause some real damage to the stamps, mushroom tops and splits.

Paul
 
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