Leathercraft Tool

 

Great  explanation of the difference between the two Bob!  Thanks for being objective too!  I have never used a stamping stick, but I often wondered if they had enough "weight" to them.  Obviously they must have worked well due to their popularity. 

Olive

On Sep 6, 2009, at 12:51 AM, Bob Park wrote:

Greg,

 

I think I understand exactly what you are saying with regard to using a maul which has a narrow round surface as opposed to the broader flat surface of a stamping stick which I personally like. However I think this is one of those situations where there is really not an issue in the practical sense in spite of the differences between the two.

 

I utilize a maul with the exact same wrist motion that I use with a stamping stick and have no problems hitting my tools. Occasionally I will mis-strike, of course, but no more often than I did with the stamping stick when I inadvertanly changed the angle of my wrist or allowed the stick to twist slightly in my grip. My experience with the stamping stick was that a mis-strike resulted in the loss of the tool a little more frequently than with a maul. I think this is because the round surface of the maul results in less contact during the deflection...it slides off the end of the tool more easily as oppossed to the flat surface of the stamping stick striking the tool at an angle and maintaining contact longer causing greater deflection. The bottom line however is that striking a tool squarely and consistantly just isn't difficult with either of them. It's a matter practice and personal preference. 

 

There are pros and cons to using both the striking stick and the maul that are unique to each tool. I personally love the feel of a double ended weighted striking stick because of the balance in the hand. However I find with the striking stick I have to use a little more force to strike the tool. The maul on the other hand is usually head heavy and take less force to strike with, however more effort is required to raise the maul when rocking the wrist than a well balanced striking stick requires. I also feel a faster smoother rythum is achieved using a striking stick as oppossed to a maul. On the other hand, there is more striking surface on a maul and it will last longer before havng to be refaced. Additionally most striking sticks were home made and covered with rawhide which flakes all over the tooling and becomes a nuisance to deal with. The newer materials used in maulsthese days last longer and are cleaner.

 

I think your point about a maul being a little easier to manufacture than a striking stick is right on point and probably one of the reasons we don't see anyone using them anymore. Another reason is that a maul can also be utilized in a hammer type motion to achieve a much greater amount of striking power than can be achieved with the striking stick. The same maul used for tooling is easier to use for hole or end punches than a striking stick is.....so a maul is a little more versatile an d entry level enthusiasts get by with purchasing one tool rather than two.  I think many pro toolers might return to the striking stick if they were readily available in different weights and lengths and were manufactured of newer materials. I personally liked shorter weighted striking sticks better than the longer lighter sticks, but they were more difficult to make and inconsistant from one to the other.

 

Regardless of whether one prefers a stamping stick or maul, a variety of sizes and weights are a necessity for the avid or pro tooler which means that a significant investment is required and I think that for now availablity and cost are going to continue to be the determing factor in which tool is selected for use.

 

Anyway that's my take on the differences between the two....

 

Bobby

 

 

----- Original Message -----

From: GB

To: flasah@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Saturday, September 05, 2009 4:07 AM

Subject: Re: [flasah] Mauls a BAD DESIGN for stamping

Mauls are a bad design in terms of having control over hitting your stamping tools.  They have an incredibly narrow sweet spot. A design aspect for which there is no corresponding offset in advantage EXCEPT that it can be made on a lathe.  A sweet spot is the area on a striking instrument where a slight misapplication of the hit does not affect the outcome enough to matter.  The last two persons who took beautiful wood and their wood lathe changed the design ( made the striking surface on a tangent from the longitudinal axis ) of the mauls to make them even worse than the ones in the Tandy catalog for use on leather stamping tools. They have made mauls which require the entire arm from the shoulder down to move in order to produce a strike 90 degrees from the long axis of the stamping tool...( and that is in addition to the long and NARROW sweet spot.  This is the type of head design used by wood workers ( except many are smart enough to use a square head ) and stone masons... where harder blows and the use of the entire arm is appropriate AND needed.  This is not what you want in a stamping stick...  I have been gathering examples and composing a larger answer to this situation for a while now... since that first maul a couple of months ago... it was beautiful wood and craftsmanship... but just not what a leatherworker needs for stamping leather.  This same discussion has a larger sports example... the difference between Baseball and Cricket.... the first is EXCITING because you are using a round ball and a round bat...  th e second uses a round ball and a flat bat...  But you DO NOT WANT exciting when you are striking your stamping tools... you want control and ease of use with regards to the ergonomics .... this means that you should only have to use your wrist ....not your entire arm as with this maul design to get a square hit... and not even your entire forearm as  with the traditional mallet...  Most of you know I do not complain about things which I can not offer a better answer for... and this is another example of that..but I am sorry I did not speak up when this first came up...and I have sent emails to some who I know got these designs apologizing for not addressing it as soon as I should have.  My father used the same stamping stick for about 50 years.... until it just fell apart and I made him a new one.. also out of Oak... he had made the first one from some tool handle... with lead weight in the end.... I wrote about it about 1991 in the Leather Craftsman Journal with the two Cardinals on the front.... I don't know which issue....      It is ALL about sweet spot and being kind to your body.  You may make millions of taps on your stamping tools over a lifetime and anything you can to do ease the strain of the repetitive motion should be considered before the damage is done...    Or the other side is having regular 'exciting' stamping experiences but with mishits showing up on your work....  Golf club designers spend millions of dollars trying to widen the sweet spot on their clubs.. How do they do that ?  By placing weights as close to the backside of the striking head AND spread out as far as possible on the club.  This is the same principle incorporated in my father's stamping stick design... and I will gather up the pictures of these various things and post them.  One interesting fact that some of you may have picked up on... is the answer Polar Bear gave to someone in sorta discussing his mauls... he said something like ' an acquired taste'..... so I know he also knows there was a basic problem extant.    Everyone who has a chance to try a maul of any design free should do that.. just as with the Rubyat blades... which I will address  as soon as I get  the time and the irrational bashing has slowed down.      But this weekend I am pruning pine trees.  Gregory B. Moody Daddysrulesleathercraft at Yahoo Groups DRules999 on youtube soon...  --- On Fri, 9/4/09, jacksons002 <jacksons002@hawaii.rr.com> wrote: From: jacksons002 <jacksons002@hawaii.rr.com> Subject: [flasah] Al Stohlman Mauls as carried by Tandy To: flasah@yahoogroups.com Date: Friday, September 4, 2009, 9:02 PM   Hi All . . . There has been much written about MAULS. I don't remember reading whether or not the Al Stohlman mauls were recommended by any of our members. What say you? Stan