Rube got me thinking this morning about what hammers/mallets I prefer for different aspects of leather working. It's a fact that NO ONE uses the same ones. Charlie in the saddle shop where I worked used a 4 oz ball peen hammer for everything. Period. He even stamped border designs in saddles with it. He might have had some other mallet squirreled away for tooling but I never saw it. Even mallets vary drastically from person to person. Some like a round maul while others like a straight mallet or some other hammer. Barry King even offers a straight mallet with an angled face.
For floral carving and stamping border designs, I prefer a 4 oz UHMW mallet I made. For basket weaves and repeat patterns that take a little more oomph, I use an inexpensive 8 oz mallet I like. I used to like rawhide mallets but in recent years have found my preference is synthetic.
For heavier work such as punching holes or setting grommets, I like a Barry King 28 oz mallet.
To set copper rivets, I have a 2 oz ball peen hammer. For the rare time I might install a tack, I have a tack hammer that was my father's. For setting glue or other times I have to use a hammer on the leather itself, there is my grandfather's cobbler's hammer. For setting snaps and other light work, there's another 4 oz mallet I made with a longer handle than the one I use for tooling.
So, that's what I use. What do you like? Lets hear about yours.