What Hammers Do You Use?

[Marshal Will Wingam]

Rube got me thinking this morning about what hammers/mallets I prefer for different aspects of leather working. It's a fact that NO ONE uses the same ones. Charlie in the saddle shop where I worked used a 4 oz ball peen hammer for everything. Period. He even stamped border designs in saddles with it. He might have had some other mallet squirreled away for tooling but I never saw it. Even mallets vary drastically from person to person. Some like a round maul while others like a straight mallet or some other hammer. Barry King even offers a straight mallet with an angled face.

For floral carving and stamping border designs, I prefer a 4 oz UHMW mallet I made. For basket weaves and repeat patterns that take a little more oomph, I use an inexpensive 8 oz mallet I like. I used to like rawhide mallets but in recent years have found my preference is synthetic.


For heavier work such as punching holes or setting grommets, I like a Barry King 28 oz mallet.


To set copper rivets, I have a 2 oz ball peen hammer. For the rare time I might install a tack, I have a tack hammer that was my father's. For setting glue or other times I have to use a hammer on the leather itself, there is my grandfather's cobbler's hammer. For setting snaps and other light work, there's another 4 oz mallet I made with a longer handle than the one I use for tooling.


So, that's what I use. What do you like? Lets hear about yours.

[Rube Burrows]

I have a 2 pound round maul from Craftool that I use or basketweave and such.
A generic yellow synthetic hammer for other stamping.
I recently got a 2 inch 20oz round maul from Barry King and find it a good in between the light yellow hammer and the heavy Carftool hammer.

I really want to get a metal flat face hammer similar to the one in your photo that I believe you said was your father's or grandfather's.

[Marshal Will Wingam]

thanks for the reply, Rube. That looks like a good selection.

Yes, that cobbler's hammer was my grandfather's. It has a smooth but crowned face that doesn't mark the leather. CS Osborn has some that are $65 but I looked on ebay and there were a bunch of used ones there. Some were pretty rusty but mine was really rusty, having been in the bottom of a bucket for many years but it cleaned up fine. I did have to power sand part of it through some pits but it cleaned up fine.

You could get one of those or just the head, clean it up and be in business for $20 or so. It's easy to put a new handle in it if needed.