And the official first bonker

[Brett Baldwin]

This will do double duty as a carving mallet as well. The wood is Movingui which I got for $2/bdft as a clearance item. The density seems to be good for a mallet but time will tell that story. I glued up two 4/4 sections and ripped it to a 2"x2" blank. It is 2" (max.)diameter and 9" long and just for some extra character, I tried the wire burning technique in the valleys of the beading. It is so nice to be able to finally make a handle that fits my hand the way I like.
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[Ken Fitzgerald]

Nicely done Brett!

[Frank Fusco]

Nice looking bonker/mallet. I don't know anything about that wood but it has a maple-look to it.

[Brett Baldwin]

Thanks guys. I decided to look up the wood since it turned out so nice. Here is an excerpt I found.
"Movingui or ayan, as it is sometimes called, is a hardwood from tropical West Africa. Its range extends from the Ivory Coast to Nigeria, Gabon and Zaire.
The wood from this tree has many utilitarian uses in the countries where it grows because of its strength, resilience and moderate durability. Movingui generally resists termites. Its uses include road and railway construction, interior joinery, flooring, parquet, doors, window frames and sills. It is a popular choice for residential as well as gym floors because it stands up well to heavy use.

It has the density of hard maple but is much more open grained, about like walnut and that yellow color is almost a match for Satinwood.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Brett that is a nice looking bonker/mallet. I really like the wood. Nice job.

[Keith Burns]

Brett, nice bonker/mallet:) :) To nice to use for sure:)