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.

Rubber and plastic faces are softer than metal faces, so they're good for striking plastic, wood, and sheet metal. All have a face hardness rating for comparing their hardness with other rubber and plastic faces. Soft faces have a hardness similar to that of a tire tread. Medium-hard faces have a hardness similar to that of a cutting board. White rubber faces are nonmarking.

Rawhide faces are more durable than plastic and won't distort the surface of soft sheet metal, such as brass, aluminum, and copper. Lead-filled heads deliver a heavier, more balanced blow than standard rawhide heads.

Hickory faces are a good choice for light sheet metal work and striking wood.

Aluminum and copper faces are harder than lead and softer than brass. Use them on brass, copper, aluminum, and steel.

Brass faces are suitable for striking steel, iron, stone, and other hard surfaces.

Bronze faces are harder than brass and good for striking hard metal, such as tool steel.

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

Textured and ribbed grips provide slip resistance.

Replace faces when they become worn rather than replacing the entire tool. These mallets are suitable for driving chisels and striking work without damaging its surface. Choose a mallet with a face that's softer than your workpiece to avoid marring it when tapping or striking. 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.

Rubber and plastic faces are softer than metal faces, so they're good for striking plastic, wood, and sheet metal. All have a face hardness rating for comparing their hardness with other rubber and plastic faces. Hard faces have a hardness similar to that of a bowling ball. Extra-hard faces have a hardness similar to that of a hard hat.

Acetal plastic handles are lightweight. Hickory and ash handles resist vibration.