Tooling Mallet vs Maul for Leathercraft Floral Tooling
One of the most common questions I get from leatherworkers getting into floral carving is:
“Should I use a tooling mallet or a tooling maul?”
If you spend much time watching tooling videos or attending leather shows, you’ll notice that a lot of floral carvers today use mauls. But that does not necessarily mean a mallet is wrong. Both tools work well, and both have been used for years by very skilled craftsmen.
A lot of this really comes down to personal preference, tooling style, and ergonomics.
In this video, I wanted to break down some of the practical differences between mallets and mauls from a real shop perspective and explain why certain styles may work better depending on the type of tooling you are doing.