Breaking in Rawhide Mallet

Hello everyone – happy weekend!

I have a small rawhide mallet that needs breaking in; at the moment
the hard outside coating is marring my metal. I’ve been told to just
hammer it repeatedly against a bench block until it breaks up, but
given the fact that I have wrist injuries I wonder if anyone can
recommend something to speed up the process. My fiance uses dish
soap to soften leather on new shoes, but I’m hesitant to try this on
a tool unless I know it won’t do any harm.

Anyone?
Thank you!

I use a fine wood rasp, which is a very coarsely toothed file. It
not only removes the varnish coating, but also evens out any
irregularities in the wrap of the rawhide. Hope that this helps you.

Jim Small
Small Wonders