Soft faced hammers vs dead blow hammers

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morpheus83uk

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Hello,

I have been having a look around for a hammer which wont mark my work when making joints such as mortise and tenon however I keep coming finding soft face hammers and dead blow hammers being referred to as the same thing? Are they the same or are they different? I think the dead blow is heavier and more like a mallet and the soft faced hammers are for tapping joints together?

Am I correct or are they both for the same thing or just completely wrong?

Thanks

James
 
They are different, but can sometimes be used for the same jobs.
A dead blow hammer has lead shot loose inside it. This stops the hammer from rebounding when it hits something.

A soft faced hammer is solid but will deform a bit on impact.
 
I saw something quite nifty the other day. It was a normal claw hammer with a rubber foot/grommet like you'd find on the bottom of a walking stick.

Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk
 
I tend to agree though - I have a Thor copper/rawhide mallet and a rubber one. They have their uses but both will leave marks on wood (masking tape on the rubber mallet would probably help - will try it next time).

I find I get better control though with a claw hammer and a hardwood block.
 
MikeG.":ena17a6s said:
Rubber mallet for me. Just a pound or two (money, not weight).
Same here, but they are not all the same. I lost (temporarily misplaced) mine recently so I bought another. Basically the same thing but the head is white instead of black rubber. It turns out the new one is noticeably softer then the older model. I dislike the new one as it feels too soft to me. Perhaps that I am just used to the firmer one. Anyway I am glad that my previous mallet turned up and I doubt I will ever use the newer model again.
 
+1 for Thor from Axminster. Richard Maguire extolled their virtues and I had just broken my wooden mallet so bought one. Nylon face for chisels and rubber for assembly.
 
Just4Fun":j1oebat4 said:
MikeG.":j1oebat4 said:
Rubber mallet for me. Just a pound or two (money, not weight).
Same here, but they are not all the same. I lost (temporarily misplaced) mine recently so I bought another. Basically the same thing but the head is white instead of black rubber. It turns out the new one is noticeably softer then the older model. I dislike the new one as it feels too soft to me. Perhaps that I am just used to the firmer one. Anyway I am glad that my previous mallet turned up and I doubt I will ever use the newer model again.

I use the white version, because that's what I have. Save yours for paving/ path laying.
 
That would work":23nq9sde said:
The BEST way to knock joinery together is a 20oz hammer and a block of wood. The time honoured way.

Agreed, but sometimes you need a third hand when doing this, so sometimes it is just more convenient to be able to hit the work directly. Hence the rubber mallet.
 
I have a small rawhide mallet that I use for adjusting planes.
A couple of black rubber mallets a Thor lots of wooden ones a few milk bottle ones, so what ever comes to hand gets used.

Pete

Pete
 
All of my deadblow hammers are soft face, but not all of my soft face hammers are deadblow.
 
I use a white faced rubber mallet which works quite well, but the ultimate 'knocker-inner' is my 2kg lump hammer, one of the favourite tools of the late Alan Peters - Rob
 
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