I saw rawhide hammer that was very well used and was almost ragged
and worn like leather. Apparently what you should sand the off the
faces and soak it in water to expand the ends and then as it gets
used the faces soften up and are gentler on the metal.
I saw rawhide hammer that was very well used and was almost ragged
and worn like leather. Apparently what you should sand the off the
faces and soak it in water to expand the ends and then as it gets
used the faces soften up and are gentler on the metal.
I always put a new rawhide mallet in a vise, and then use a coarse
file or rasp on the surface to remove the glue surface. I’ve never
wetted the leather–interesting idea…
You might be interested in paper mallets, which Charles Lewton-Brain
has helped re-introduce to the contemporary market. I think Allcraft
has them.
I’ve always preferred hard rubber or plastic on annealed metal since
they won’t leave marks. Always use hammers that won’t require extra
work during the finishing process.
I saw rawhide hammer that was very well used and was almost ragged
and worn like leather. Apparently what you should sand the off the
faces and soak it in water to expand the ends and then as it gets
used the faces soften up and are gentler on the metal.
I’m lucky to have a wet belt sander. When I was teaching, I had
students that over did it with leather hammers and I would sand them
down. The water (from the sander) always made the surface feel a
little gummy, but it was very shallow and hardened right back. Many
newbies are heavy handed at first. It fun to see how people get to
understand how to use and care for the tools. Especially if they are
buying their own!