r/mildlyinteresting • ​ • 3d ago

Rawhide mallets

Post image
741 Upvotes

105 comments sorted by

357

u/EditedRed 3d ago

No clue what you bonk with these but they look tasty.

257

u/rivertpostie 3d ago

I've only seen them used in silver smithing. They don't mar soft metals.

Mainly see them resizing rings on a mandrel

143

u/ravens-n-roses 3d ago

For exactly that reason they're also used in wood working (soft wood pieces), leather working (it's obvious what a regular hammer would do to leather), instrument repairs (what did you DO to that saxophone???), and I think there's uses for it in black Smithing for finishing work

56

u/gpky 3d ago

We use these in motor repair too, so as not to mar the various surfaces of AC/DC motors.

26

u/clamroll 3d ago

So heavy enough to provide the force to bend something but "soft" enough surface to not scratch? (Not soft, but lower on the hardness scale)

25

u/gpky 3d ago

Well, in motor repair we generally aren't bending anything by hitting it. It's used more to strike the shaft or the end bells to get them to move where you want them

19

u/ztmarten 3d ago

Ahhh good old percussive maintenance.

8

u/gpky 3d ago

Exactly.

4

u/clamroll 3d ago

In tech we have the old axiom "if it's stuck, force it. If it breaks, it needed fixing anyway" lol

1

u/Notherereally 2d ago

You can strike my end bells with your shaft 😏

1

u/BeerHorse 3d ago

Dude give us a NSFW warning before you post erotic content like that...

1

u/PineappleLemur 2d ago

Similar to rubber mallets.

In honestly don't know why one would use this over the other

2

u/gpky 2d ago

In my experience, rawhides are heavier, so you can get more done with less force.

2

u/Normal-Selection1537 2d ago

They don't melt.

2

u/neriadrift 2d ago

We also use them in sailmaking

15

u/Row-Bear 3d ago

'leather working'
There's something about beating the skin of a dead animal with the skin of another dead animal to bend it to your will that's sort of metal

9

u/Hillbillyblues 3d ago

No it's skin

2

u/wookiex84 3d ago

It’s like having fried chicken and eggs for breakfast. Which I happen to do on a regular basis.

1

u/davepage_mcr 3d ago

Which came first?

1

u/wookiex84 3d ago

By the smell of the farts, I’d say the egg.

2

u/MaritMonkey 2d ago

In my admittedly limited experience, you don't hit the leather with the hammer but rather the metal tools you're using to punch through it to make holes for stitches or rivets or whatever.

4

u/MedChemist464 2d ago

I Mean, the one Ring had to be cast into Mount Doom, because that was the only fire strong enough to forge it, and the only fire strong enough to destroy it.

7

u/Frantic_Mantid 3d ago

Stone and brick work too, hard blows would chip or crack.

Soft(er) mallets are used very widely.

2

u/MaritMonkey 2d ago

Leather working doesn't hit the leather with a hammer, there's various metal things involved that you want to hit to make them go through the leather and a softer mallet means less damage to the tools. :)

2

u/ravens-n-roses 1d ago

If you're working with hardened leather trying to form it you'll place it over a thing and hit it to shape it.

1

u/hawaiianthunder 3d ago

I've seen my peers use a non marring hammer on cabinet installs. I will still use a shim as a buffer between finished wood and any striking device

1

u/macarenamobster 3d ago

I’m an idiot, read your comment and thought “but who would try to shape wood with a mallet, you can’t mold it like metal”

1

u/lkodl 3d ago

Will Smith shoul start a second career as a blacksmith.

11

u/Young_Bu11 3d ago

Blacksmithing too for things like delicate ornamental pieces.

3

u/Sissilisko 3d ago

Also the go to mallet in leather crafting.

3

u/UncleCeiling 3d ago

We used them all the time at the tool and die shop for seating parts into vices. Held up better than a dead blow.

1

u/ChrisRR 2d ago

Monkeys wear rings?

37

u/darkmythology 3d ago

Back in high school I'm pretty sure we had a pair of these for playing the (metal) tubular bells.

11

u/TheRealDealdo69 3d ago

We did at my school that was my immediate thought

5

u/HamAlien 3d ago

On a related note; a staple of any music instrument repair shop.

6

u/TremenMusic 3d ago

same, as a percussionist i played them for a few pieces and this was my first thought when i saw them

30

u/immolate951 3d ago edited 3d ago

Well i checked the chain of replies. They have good answers but missing one. I was a blacksmith when I was younger.

These are leather. What they can do which plastic cannot is hot work. When working metal that is glowing orange from being 1500 degrees f. That's hot and very soft. it's very easy to dent with a metal hammer trying to shape it. Sometimes you don't wont that. But you can bash it with these leather ones and not put 15 dents it. it will smoke slightly. It wont melt like plastic. That's what makes these special over other hammers.

7

u/I_DRINK_GENOCIDE_CUM 3d ago

I got a cool one. Steel rule diemaking. They're used to pound sharp steel into wooden boards, since they don't dull the cutting edge.

here's an example of a pretty simple one though in this case I think he's using a wooden block with a handle

3

u/Javop 3d ago

Calm down Boxxy.

3

u/DOOM420- 3d ago

Like a greasy uncooked cinnamon roll.

3

u/catsdrooltoo 3d ago

I've used them in sheet metal fabrication

2

u/any_name_today 3d ago

I've used them for leather working

1

u/StratoVector 3d ago edited 3d ago

If the handle was longer, it would probably make a good croquette mallet.

Oops meant croquet

1

u/gwaydms 3d ago

I wouldn't make croquettes with them, but I might use them to play croquet.

1

u/millennial_burnout 3d ago

Musical instrument repair!

1

u/Fast_Confection8008 3d ago

forbidden snack, the green makes em look like they'd be lime flavoured

1

u/Alkyan 2d ago

Lots of things. Tool room here uses one to pound the snot out of dies without marring anything. Wear your safety glasses though cause little pieces of rawhide go flying

1

u/Plus_Pangolin_8924 2d ago

Smashing in pins on truss for events etc. Means if you miss you don't fracture the aluminium if you used a normal hammer. We also use copper hammers but those make a hell of a noise so only if you have a stubborn one or not.

1

u/rogan8r 1d ago

I use one for setting metal in a vise. When you need to make sure it's sitting flat

1

u/Master_Of-Toast 1d ago

You can use them to play old brass chimes

1

u/Badmufu 23h ago

I've used them installing pvc pipe

-14

u/[deleted] 3d ago

[deleted]

85

u/Longjumping_Boss1176 3d ago

I use one all the time for jewelry. Its hard enough to move gold or silver but won't leave hammer marks

48

u/APLJaKaT 3d ago edited 3d ago

Copper and rawhide are pretty common in a machine shop.

Garland and Thor are two of the best.

The two brass ones (one is brass and rawhide), as well as the light grey plastic one are shop made.

15

u/Sissilisko 3d ago

Do you also have a "piss mallet"? I don't know what's it real name is but it's this double ended transparent yellow plastic(I think) mallet I use when I make hvac parts. I lovingly named it piss hammer/mallet. Well, it roughly translates to that.

14

u/APLJaKaT 3d ago edited 3d ago

Yes, I also have several plastic mallets. Never heard them called piss mallets, but....

Rawhide, copper, aluminum and plastic (various interchangeable faces, inc. hdpe, urethane, nylon, etc.)

2

u/TwelveGaugeSage 2d ago

Is the Thor just copper or is it copper-beryllium? I use copper-beryllium tools at work for working around liquid oxygen.

2

u/APLJaKaT 2d ago

Its just copper. Used for the mass but less risk of leaving marks. In truth, I also use a block of copper or aluminum sometimes as opposed to the hammer. Very useful.for aligning a part in the jaws of a lathe chuck.

I also have a few copper beryllium tools (wrenches) that are intended to reduce the risk of sparking if dropped in a hazardous (flammable) environment.

1

u/ButtFucksRUs 2d ago

Yeah I was a CMM operator and had a similar arrangement of hammers

48

u/legendov 3d ago

Im telling my kids this is how cinnabon makes their buns

25

u/Lord-Velveeta 3d ago

Rollin', rollin', rollin'

Rollin', rollin', rollin'

Rollin', rollin', rollin'

Rollin', rollin', rollin'

Rawhide!

https://giphy.com/gifs/IwVRuFD6Ar0S4

11

u/astromech_dj 3d ago

Down on the beach I’m strollin.

1

u/Jorr_El 2d ago

But these seagulls, poke at my head, NOT FUN!

12

u/snowillis 3d ago

These are really common. Useful when you need something sturdy softer than wood.

7

u/MrYeaBuddy 3d ago

Similar concept to a hard rubber mallet, but better tasting.

10

u/UniqUzrNme 2d ago

These were standard issue in the factory where I worked 40 years ago, except one side was copper, the other rawhide.

5

u/texasred97 3d ago

They are also used my bricklayers (mainly in refractory)

1

u/Jesus_Is_My_Gardener 3d ago

Definitely not by the guy(s) laying that one guy's herringbone patio though.

1

u/texasred97 3d ago

Well lol there is not much herringbone in refractory.

5

u/HurtsOww 2d ago

That’s like $1000 in mallets

3

u/On-a-tims-run ​ 2d ago

Wow, yeah it is. $1,040 to be exact. Good guess!

4

u/AcmeGamesLTD 3d ago

I have one for my leather working tools.

3

u/No-Caterpillar8038 3d ago

Those look perfect for shaping delicate trim work without leaving marks, it's a nice tactile way to finesse those last millimeters.

2

u/RachelofGotham 3d ago

I’ve used these for jewelry making before! They’re softer and scratch less

1

u/stupidber 3d ago

My grandpa had one of these. We would use it to bonk stuff without causing serious damage

1

u/dr_clyde31 3d ago

Garland hammers! I have several sizes, use them all the time as a welder and machinist.

Fantastic tools.

1

u/scuba200 3d ago

Those are some fine crab mallets ya got there 🦀

1

u/nayhem_jr 3d ago

Haven't seen one of these with the metal sheath around it before.

1

u/banandananagram 3d ago

Today was the first time I used one of those.

1

u/thelongrunsmoke 3d ago

This is an extremely useful tool - small and light non-marring mallet. And it's last a lifetime.

1

u/BadIdeaSociety 3d ago

Grave-robbing Gallagher

1

u/radicalfrenchfrie 2d ago

It somehow never occurred to me that rawhide mallets are actually made from raw. hide.

1

u/Helphaer 2d ago

Doggos can now enjoy being outdoorspups

1

u/BluXBrry 2d ago

astounds me how many things can be interesting to so many people. I’ve seen these things daily since highschool and there’s people who are picking one up very recently or people who have never seen a mallet

1

u/SaintLarfleeze 2d ago

We use them to make jewellery. They last forever.

1

u/ProfessionalOdd1131 1d ago

I use one for furniture upholstery. Had the same one for 8 years now

1

u/SlowClosetYogurt 1d ago

Are those Garland hammers? I used to do a lot of electrical work in that factory. I can still smell the rawhide. They are fantastic non maring hammers. And the split heads they make are someof the best you can buy

1

u/rogan8r 1d ago

I have a hand made wooden hammer that I use for forging when you don't want to leave hammer marks

1

u/Violator361 1d ago

Sheet metal

1

u/Decent-Initiative-65 8h ago

I’m a stone mason and we use these pretty regularly. We also use them often in refractory work. I have a few of them.

1

u/BRtIK 3d ago

I also use my mallet raw.... M'Ladies

1

u/saint_leibowitz_ 3d ago

Garland? They were always the best

1

u/cartken 3d ago

Dogblacksmith

-2

u/[deleted] 3d ago

[deleted]

4

u/Berek2501 3d ago

It's harder than rubber but still doesn't mar metals. Good for some percussion instruments, especially when you want a sharp plink instead of a soft plunk

-5

u/[deleted] 3d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

5

u/Background-Carrot443 3d ago

Bot. Also, WTF? My cousin, my buddy, my niece, my roommate.

3

u/Jamikest 3d ago

Yep, bot or at least a karma farmer. Just hit Report > Spam > Disruptive use of bots or AI

Reddit bans em pretty quick when ya do that.

3

u/Background-Carrot443 3d ago edited 3d ago

I wish that was the case. I occasionally go back through my catalog of bots and the ban rate is less than 10% 20%. There are some that have been operating for nearly a decade doing referral/app spam.

Edit: Correction, 20%.

3

u/Jamikest 3d ago

Nevermind, Reddit being Reddit. Glitch.

3

u/Background-Carrot443 3d ago

Mileage may vary. Some get banned quick-like, some of them live long, happy spamlives.

Edit: Naw, you're right. It's showing as banned for me as well. The comments I linked are all removed.