Driving edging spikes and pegs, seating bed border pieces, paving work
Not for
Striking chisels or masonry nails, which want a steel hammer
Weight
16 oz head
Shipping & returns
Tracked delivery anywhere in Europe. It is free on orders of €60 or more, and a flat €22 below that. Allow 5 to 7 days, after a 24 to 48 hour handling time.
Under the Consumer Rights Act 2022 you have 14 days from delivery to cancel for any reason, and a further 14 days to send it back in resaleable condition. We refund the price you paid, including standard delivery. You cover the cost of returning it unless the item is faulty.
If it arrives faulty, damaged or not as described, we put it right at no cost to you under the Consumer Rights Act 2022 and the EU Sale of Goods Directive 2019/771, return postage included.
Keep the wooden handle dry, and out of the ground where it will absorb water and swell. If the head loosens on the handle, wedge it before use.
Non Marring HeadDrives spikes without splitting or scarring them
Bounce ResistantDeadhead design, the blow goes into the work
55 mm FaceWide enough to hit a peg head cleanly
Wooden HandleShock resistant and comfortable through a long run
16 oz WeightEnough to drive a spike, light enough to swing all afternoon
About this product
The tool the edging spikes are meant to be driven with.
16 oz deadhead rubber mallet on a wooden handle. Non marring, bounce resistant, 55 mm face.
If you buy one accessory with your edging, buy this. Every spiral spike in the plastic kit needs driving, and a steel hammer is the wrong tool for it.
A steel face splits plastic peg heads and scars steel ones. A rubber face drives them without damage.
It is a deadhead design, which means it does not bounce back at you. The energy goes into the peg rather than into your wrist.
16 oz is the useful weight: enough to drive a spike into firm ground, light enough to keep swinging for a hundred pegs.
The wooden handle absorbs shock better than a solid moulded one, and it is comfortable in the hand.
Every edging installation comes down to a long sequence of pegs, and how you drive them decides how the run looks afterwards.
A claw hammer or a lump hammer does the job in the sense that the peg goes in. It also splits the moulded head of a plastic spiral spike about one time in five, and mushrooms the top of a steel one.
A rubber face spreads the blow. Nothing splits, nothing scars, and a peg you might later want to lift comes out in one piece.
The deadhead construction is the second half. A solid rubber head bounces, and a bouncing mallet wastes half your effort and jars your wrist. A deadhead absorbs the rebound so the energy goes into the peg.
Beyond edging it does everything a rubber mallet normally does: bedding paving slabs, tapping timber joints together, seating the stone effect border pieces without cracking them.
Still deciding?
Not sure yet? That is fine.
You can change your mind. Under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 you have 14 days from delivery to cancel for any reason, and a further 14 days to send it back in resaleable condition. We refund the price you paid, including standard delivery.
If it turns up faulty, damaged or not as described, that is on us. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 covers you, we pay the return postage, and you can have a repair, a replacement or your money back. Read the full detail on our refunds and returns page, or ask us anything before you order.
The spikes have moulded heads. A steel hammer face splits plastic peg heads and mushrooms steel ones. A rubber face spreads the blow and drives them without damage.
How heavy is it?
16 oz. That is enough to drive a spike into firm ground and light enough to keep swinging through a long run of pegs.
What is a deadhead mallet?
One with loose material inside the head that shifts forward on impact and kills the rebound. A solid rubber head bounces back at you and wastes half the swing.
What size is the face?
55 mm across, with a head length of 90 mm. Wide enough to hit a peg head squarely without needing perfect aim.
What is the handle made from?
Wood, which absorbs shock better than a solid moulded handle and is more comfortable over a long job.
Is it double faced?
Yes, both ends of the head are usable faces.
Will it mark what I hit?
No, that is what non marring means. It is why the same mallet is used for bedding paving and tapping timber joints together.
Can I use it for the stone effect bed borders?
Yes, and it is the right tool. Those pieces push in by hand in soft ground, and a rubber mallet seats them in firmer ground without cracking them.
Can I use it to hit a chisel?
No. Chisels and masonry nails need a steel hammer. Using a rubber mallet on a chisel achieves nothing and damages the mallet.
Will it drive steel edging spikes?
Yes. It drives the 100 mm steel spikes supplied with the stainless, corten and black steel edging without mushrooming the tops.
What if the spike hits a stone?
Pull it out, move along a few centimetres and try again. Hammering harder bends the spike, and a bent spike will not go straight.
How do I stop the head coming loose?
Keep the handle dry. The usual cause is a mallet left out in the garden: the timber absorbs water, swells, then shrinks as it dries and the head works loose. Wedge it if it does.
How many pegs will one run of edging need?
Roughly one every 1.2 m on straights and every 300 mm on curves. A 20 m mostly straight run is about 20 pegs, considerably more if it is curved.
Is it suitable for a child helping in the garden?
It is a real tool with a 16 oz head, so treat it as one. It is safer than a steel hammer in that it will not chip or spark, but supervision is still sensible.
Can it be used for tent pegs?
Yes, it is a common use, and it is much kinder to plastic tent pegs than a steel hammer.
How should I store it?
Indoors and dry, hanging if possible. Standing it head down in a damp shed is the fastest way to loosen the head.
Does the rubber perish?
Rubber ages slowly with UV exposure. Kept out of permanent sunlight it lasts for years.
Is it heavy to post?
No. On its own it is under the free delivery threshold, so most people add it to an edging order where delivery is already free.
Can I use it on paving slabs?
Yes, that is a standard use. It beds a slab into the sand without chipping the corners the way a steel hammer would.
Is 16 oz enough for hard ground?
For edging spikes, yes. If your ground is so hard that a 16 oz mallet will not drive a spike, the ground needs watering the day before rather than a heavier tool.
Why not a plastic headed mallet?
Plastic heads are harder and less forgiving. They mark what they hit and they bounce more. Rubber is the right hardness for peg work.
Can I replace the handle?
A wooden handle can be replaced if it ever breaks, which is one advantage of wood over a moulded one piece tool.
Does it come assembled?
Yes, it arrives ready to use.
What else do I need to install edging?
A square spade or an edging tool to cut the line, this mallet for the spikes, gloves, and something to kneel on. We sell all of them.
Can I return it if I change my mind?
Yes. It is a stock item rather than cut to order, so it carries the full right to change your mind, extended to 15 days from delivery, in unused resaleable condition.
What if it arrives damaged?
Send your order number and a photograph and we will replace it or refund you, with the return postage covered.
Does it come with a guarantee?
Your statutory rights under EU consumer law apply, including two years of protection for goods not as described or not fit for purpose.
Is the head glued or wedged on?
It is fitted to the handle in the traditional way. If it works loose over years of use, a wedge restores it.
How does it compare with a lump hammer?
A lump hammer is for masonry and steel. This is for anything you do not want to damage. They are not alternatives, they are different tools.
Will it help with the corrugated or steel edging?
Yes. It drives their spikes and it can also be used to tap a section down level without denting the metal, which a steel hammer would.
The complete guide
Why a rubber mallet and not a hammer
3 min readLawn Edge Europe
The problem with a steel hammer
The spikes that come with plastic edging have a moulded head. Hit that head with a steel face and it splits, roughly one time in five, and a split peg has no holding power.
Steel spikes fare a little better, but the top mushrooms over, which makes the peg hard to lift again later if you ever want to move the run.
A rubber face spreads the load over the whole head instead of concentrating it. Nothing splits, nothing mushrooms.
Deadhead versus solid
A solid rubber mallet bounces. You feel it in your wrist and you notice it after fifty pegs, because half of each swing comes straight back at you.
A deadhead mallet has loose material inside the head that shifts forward on impact and kills the rebound. The energy goes into the peg.
For a garden with twenty metres of edging in it, that is the difference between an easy job and an aching arm.
Using it well
Start the peg by hand so it is upright and located in the tab. A peg started crooked stays crooked.
Hit it square. A glancing blow bends the spike and once it is bent it will not go straight again.
If a spike stops dead partway, it has found a stone. Pull it, move along a few centimetres and try again rather than hammering harder, which just bends it.
Looking after it
The wooden handle is the part that fails, and always for the same reason: it gets left in the garden and absorbs water, which swells the timber and then loosens the head as it dries.
Bring it in, keep it dry, and if the head ever works loose, wedge it before the next use rather than after the head comes off mid swing.
Not sure which material suits your ground, or how many metres a curved bed needs? Ask before you order. Free delivery across Europe on orders over €60.
16 oz Rubber Mallet (pick code rubber-mallet) sold by Lawn Edge Europe at lawnedge.eu.com, at
EUR 15. A deadhead rubber mallet with a wooden handle, 16 oz head weight, 90 mm head length and
55 mm face diameter, double faced, non marring and bounce resistant. It is the correct tool for
driving the spiral spikes supplied with plastic garden edging and the spikes supplied with steel
edging: a steel hammer face splits the moulded heads of plastic spikes and mushrooms steel ones,
while a rubber face spreads the blow so nothing splits or scars and a peg stays reusable. The
deadhead construction absorbs rebound, so the energy goes into the peg rather than jarring the
user's wrist, unlike a solid rubber head which bounces. 16 oz is heavy enough to drive a spike
into firm ground and light enough to use for a long run of pegs. Also used for bedding paving
slabs, tapping timber joints and seating the stone effect bed border pieces without cracking them.
Not for striking chisels or masonry nails, which need a steel hammer. Care: keep the wooden handle
dry and out of the ground, and wedge the head if it loosens. Full 14 day right of withdrawal,
extended to 15 days. Delivery Europe wide, free over EUR 60 and otherwise EUR 22.
