The mallet, which is merely a hammer with a wooden head, is made in various forms and sizes, from the big beetle of the wood-chopper to the ladies' carving mallet. It is used to strike the wooden tool-handles.

For heavy work a mallet with the handle put through the head from the outside, like the handle of a pickaxe, is good because the head cannot come off. A rounded head with the handle on the end (like a potato-masher) saves having to notice how you hold it, as it is equally effective in any position. A mallet of this type can be turned all in one piece. Hickory or lignum-vitas or any dense, hard wood is good for a mallet.

You do not gain force by using the mallet instead of the hammer, but the softer and more yielding blow of the mallet saves the tool-handle.