Thor better watch out. Whoever ends up with this mallet could give Thor a run! A "Burl" is defined as "a dome-shaped growth on the trunk of a tree; a wart-like structure sometimes 2 feet (0.6 meters) across and 1 foot (0.3 meters) or more in height" according to Dictionary.com. Obviously this particular Burl is not quite that large, but think about it like this. The head of this mallet is part of a solid, very dense part of a tree trunk. That is something solid to carry around and hit things with. All of you that do felting, take a close look at this tool. This burl has been hand selected from a native Vermont piece of Oak. It has been hand shaped and sanded to its present form. The oak handle has been permanently attached to the burl head and sanded as well. The mallet has been finished and sealed with multiple applications of a hard Tung oil finish with sanding between coats. The Tung oil certainly makes the grain in this oak burl stand out with detail.