Woodcarver's Mallet

Wood is a fairly hard substance and it takes power to push a woodcarving chisel through it. Since early history, man has used wooden mallets such as these to aid in carving wood and other materials. The heads on these are made of dogwood.

It takes me back to when my son was six and we had to cut down some dogwoods in the yard to make room for a garden. We carefully cut the wood into lengths, sealed the ends with wax and made a date to finish turning them when he was old enough to use the lathe. That was over thirty years ago. Some of that wood is still waiting for him to finish. It has been moved across the country four times and I think it it is properly seasoned now.

Dogwood is not a commercial species but a protected flowering small tree whose white blossoms contrast with the pink red bud trees of Virginia in springtime. The wood has the greatest density of any non-tropical hardwood in North America. I have had one such mallet in continuous use for nearly thirty years and it still gives wonderful service.

There is a size and shape for every hand. I have learned not to judge but just put my products out there. Each is different, the size being dictated by the size of the stock with which I work. Each one always finds a home.