Knocking wood
The knocking wood is a tool that is used in the joinery and carpentry trade together with the chisel .
Since the handles of chisels are mostly made of wood, they would be destroyed too quickly if a metal tool were used as a striking tool . Usually hardwood ( beech or maple ) is used for the head and possibly ash for the stem because of its elasticity . In contrast to a wooden hammer , the striking surfaces (tracks) of the beater are not completely parallel to the handle, but in an axis with the wrist, because the movement does not come from the whole arm or elbow, as with a hammer, but from the wrist.
The knocking stick usually has a square head. A comparable tool with a round head is the Knüpfel or Klüpfel . The term mallet is also occasionally used. Knocking sticks and joiner's clubs are described in DIN 7461.
