Drive chisels and strike work without damaging its surface. To avoid marring, choose a mallet with faces that are softer than your workpiece. Lighter weight mallets are good for tapping work into place and driving a chisel to make small cuts. Use heavier weight mallets when assembling joints, dislodging stuck parts, and making aggressive cuts with a chisel. Longer mallets allow for more powerful swings.

Lead faces are the softest metal faces we offer. They're for use on plastic and soft, nonferrous metal, such as copper and aluminum.

Steel and aluminum handles are stronger than hickory handles but have less vibration resistance.