Before air nailers, pneumatic machines, and chemical adhesives, humans had hammers. Designed to deliver force to an object by impact, striking tools have been essential for building, breaking, farming, and feeding us for over 3 million years. Century after century, innovative furniture makers, upholsterers, and fabricators developed countless variations on the hammer to meet the particular needs of delicate materials, novel applications, and discerning customers.
Some hammer-like tools did not stand the test of time, like the agricultural flail, replaced by the modern combine, or a carpenter’s beetle, replaced by hydraulic tampers. Others are still used to this day and serve an important purpose within the upholstery and furniture industry.
Differences Between Hammers, Mallets, & Mauls
While these striking tools may seem similar at a glance, each is designed for specific tasks and materials, making it important to understand their unique features and functions.
What Makes a Hammer?
Unlike mallets and mauls, hammers are built for direct contact with fasteners while driving them into place. With moderate power and high portability, hammers prioritize quick, precise results but can often marr the material being hammered if it is not protected or compatible with hammer head material. Some common specialty hammers include:
- Split-head hammers are heavy-duty striking tools with a removable face system. The hammer heads split into two sections that clamp around interchangeable striking faces like nylon replacement heads or rawhide replacement heads. Great for a variety of applications and materials, this customizable and cost-effective hand tool is popular in upholstery and furniture making.
- Pneumatic hammers, also called air hammers or air chisels, these power tools use compressed air to rapidly drive a piston that delivers high-frequency blows to a surface, tool, chisel, or punching tool. An essential tool in automotive repair available in a wide variety of sizes and types, it’s also excellent for awning and marine fabrication.
- Magnetic tack hammers are small, lightweight hammers used in upholstery, furniture building, and restoring to drive tacks or small nails. To save you time and hassle, this tool is engineered with one magnetized face, to hold and start the tack, and a non-magnetized face for striking.
What Makes a Mallet?
Different from hammers and mauls, mallets are lighter and less precise but an ideal option for use with delicate materials. Mallet heads are made with soft materials, like rubber or wood, and are not meant to drive metal fasteners or nails. Instead, mallets are designed to prevent marring while maintaining striking power in applications like upholstery trim, wood joinery, leatherworking, and other finishing tasks. A few typical mallet types include:
- Rawhide mallets are striking tools with a head made from tightly wound and compressed rawhide, typically attached to a lighter-weight wooden or composite handle. This kind of mallet is designed for non-marring applications where other hammer head materials would damage the workpiece.
- Rubber mallets are made with solid rubber heads, usually mounted on a wooden or fiberglass handle and are more “bouncy” than rawhide or wooden mallets. These tools deliver a softer, broader impact than a metal or rawhide hammer, great for distributing force without damaging surfaces.
- Dead blow mallets are designed to provide a strong strike but reduce bounceback and evenly distribute striking force. Typically filled with sand, steel shot, or lead shot, the hollow head absorbs recoil and spreads impact. These kinds of tools are used in woodworking, metal working, awning fabrication, and more.
What Makes a Maul?
Compared to hammers and mallets, mauls prioritize power over precision or material protection. The maul’s roots are deep - with a design derived from medieval war hammers and a name rooted in Old French - the tool became essential for farmers and foresters as they cleared land, drove stakes, and split logs. Today, mauls maintain their striking power and offer alternative head materials to fit any application need, including:
- Rawhide mauls are used in a variety of industries for many applications. Heavier than rawhide mallets, these tools are made to provide a forceful impact without marring the materials you are using. The rawhide material also resists splintering, extending the life of the tool.
- Caulking mauls are specialized striking tools used primarily in shipbuilding. These striking tools are used to drive cotton or oakum between wooden planks creating watertight seams. Made of wood or metal with a shorter handle and large, cylindrical head, caulking mauls are still used today for antique restoration or with traditional boatbuilding techniques.
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