Halder Simplex Mallet -- Any User Experience Here?

[dwillis]

I recently purchased a Halder Simplex mallet with the soft blue and hard white faces (Simplex 30) and am pleased with the mallet. I've most recently used it to coax a countertop together using Domino 700 connectors (which was unnecessary after I seated the connectors). It's non marring so I didn't have to use a sacrificial block of wood.

 

[mkasdin]

Which number?

 

[CarlsonCarpentry]

I’ve used both of these extensively. I enjoy them very much. The red one I’m tougher with, the blue is for delicate shop use only.

Took a while to get used to small handle but I like it now. I would like the next larger size up.

The replaceable heads are nice but can be a bit tricky to find the exact one. I’ve found halder Picard online presence can be difficult to track down models/sizes and have yet to see it laid out clearly what exactly you are getting.

 

[mkasdin]

I have the next size up the # 40 and it now takes the place of me hitting wood with a clenched fist or the front of my knuckles. I have better control if I’m just trying to ease a joint together or test fit. I looked at the 30 but it almost felt too light. It will probably be my next mallet purchase for finer woodwork....

 

[rst]

I have Wiha 83295 Split Head Mallet Set, 40mm head, 10 piece, metal case, works for anything I might need to bang on.

 

[ChuckM]

In post #18, I mentioned about the defective brown face. The replacement face came in today (Westhoff incurred a postage twice the price of the face for the USPS shipping!). Excellent after-sales service.

A surprise to me is that the brown face is firm soft, not like the defective brown one which is brittle and hard (medium) like the green face. That's the kind of softness I prefer to the Halder Simplex blue rubber face which is bouncy. I'm now trying to get a grey rubber face (medium) for the Halder Simplex mallet.

 

[ChuckM]

After using the Halder Simplex mallet and the Lixie in several projects (edge jointing, pounding dominoes and case assembly), I came to this conclusion:

The Lixie gives harder blows while the Halder Simplex's smaller handle is good for controlled hits. The blue face on the Halder Simplex is simply too bouncy and must be replaced as soon as the gray (medium) face is obtained.

For pounding and large case assembly, I'll pull out the Lixie, while handling boxes, softwood, etc., I'll see the Halder Simplex used more.

 

[hdv]

That's one of the reasons why I have both the 30 mm and the 40 mm Halder. I do agree with you on the blue face though. For most uses it is too bouncy.

 

[ChuckM]

The grey face arrived. It packs a solid but non-marring punch. The grey and white faces now make a perfect team for most assembly work.

 

[John T.]

[member=63474]grobkuschelig[/member] those Halder inserts aren't interchangeable with the Kukko are they? It looks like at the least they would need a recess cut out to accommodate the sand insert.

It'd be nice to have the dead blow action but I was going to get one or two Halder Simplex hammers since they have more inserts. Specifically the copper and aluminum inserts.

I also can only attest positive feedback to the Simplex line.
I‘m using a 30mm on a lot of the woodworking tasks I do, one side with the blue „non-marring“ rubber. The second with „superplastic“.

Then for laying stone pavement, I used a 60mm a lot.
Great tools.

But If you can get hold of one, I would suggest to also check out Kukko.

They manufacture basically the same form factors, but with the option of a removable dead-blow element. (Shot filling)
I really like dead blows for a lot of work, but the option to just remove the filling makes the mallet the ultimate design, in my opinion.
Please find a couple of pictures below of the internals of the Halder Simplex vs the Kukko.
The Kukko is the one with green mallet casting and plain wood handle.

In my opinion the Kukko is nicer made. Better design with the removable dead-blow element and also cleaner castings and a much nicer paint job.

 

[Holzhacker]

Wanted one for a long time but never quite got to it. I bought the Halder Simplex 30 a while ago finally. I think it was during one of those kctool tool of the day deals. The mallet and 5 different heads for X dollars.
Took me some time to get used to using it and figuring out heads. It's come in handy for wood assembly, reinstalling the plastic panels on the new Mav and motorcycle work.
Buy one, you'll probably like it.

 

[city17]

I got the Halder Simplex 40mm version and really like it, great for larger assembly. Now I'm looking for something for more precision work, with a 20-25mm or so head.

Does anyone here have experience with this PB Swiss model (304.1)?

Was wondering how hard the plastic insert is.

 

[semenza]

I got the Halder Simplex 40mm version and really like it, great for larger assembly. Now I'm looking for something for more precision work, with a 20-25mm or so head.

Does anyone here have experience with this PB Swiss model (304.1)?

Was wondering how hard the plastic insert is.

I have several from that line. Including the smallest. It is indeed light weight and small. Perfect for tapping on something. The plastic is quite hard. Not soft surface at all.

Also ............ I have several brands and types of dead blow hammers. These PB Swiss are the "deadest" of all. They just hit and stop.

Seth

 

[city17]

Thanks Seth, ordered the smallest one. Seems like a great allrounder with the metal and nylon face. Nylon is not soft, but on my Halder mallet I found it to be non-marring on hardwoods at least. Pretty good for light adjustment taps.

 

[semenza]

Thanks Seth, ordered the smallest one. Seems like a great allrounder with the metal and nylon face. Nylon is not soft, but on my Halder mallet I found it to be non-marring on hardwoods at least. Pretty good for light adjustment taps.

  Yes, non-marring, but hard. Though if you hit something with force it can make a dent. I bought one of the mid sized, liked it a lot, and then starting getting other sizes.  I bet you will end up with more than one  [wink]

  The smallest size 304.1 is just over 6 oz.  There are six sizes the largest being 40 oz. The six sizes make a nice range.

Seth

 

[semenza]

There is one size bigger in the 300 line (same hammer with both faces nylon). And you can get flat nylon faces (interchangeable) in all the sizes.

  As well as three sizes with copper faces and three sizes with aluminum faces. Which are replaceable but I think not interchangeable.

  Sorry to highjack the Simplex topic.

Seth