Hayden Mallet | Nylon or Steel Faces, 18.8 cm, 9 oz

What a Hayden mallet with nylon faces is for

The Hayden mallet answers a problem every rhinoplasty list has. Hit a steel osteotome with a steel mallet and three things happen that nobody wants. The room hears it. The mallet bounces back at the hand holding it, which costs a fraction of control on the next tap. And both faces mark each other, so an osteotome head that started flat ends up peened.

A nylon face fixes all three at once. Google’s own words for it are hard to improve on: the nylon face dampens sound, absorbs rebound, and delivers a softer impact to prevent metal on metal degradation and bone shattering. That last phrase is the clinical one, and it is why some surgeons will not use a steel mallet on a thin nasal bone at all.

The Hayden mallet comes three ways because surgeons disagree about it. Nylon on both sides is the gentle option. One nylon face is the common compromise. One nylon and one steel gives you both tools in one instrument, and it is the version that ends up on most trays, because the steel side is still there for the blow that needs it.

The Hayden mallet is 18.8 cm and 9 oz, which is around 255 grams, and both figures are ours: they are in the product name and they come from our own record. That puts it in the middle of Google’s quoted range of 125 to 400 grams for a surgical mallet, and lighter than the solid steel 3/4 lb mallet in this family. Part of that is the nylon, which weighs less than the steel it replaces.

One thing the search data says about the name: HAYDEN IS A COMMON FIRST NAME, and a hayden mallet is not the only thing a Hayden is. Of 168 keyword ideas on the seed, most are people called Hayden Mallory, Hayden Mallard and Hayden Mallon. The instrument is findable as a “hayden mallet” and our own Search Console has us at position 5.0 for “hayden mallets”, which is page one, but the surname on its own belongs to somebody else entirely.

Key design features

The nylon face, and the three things it does

Dampens the ring, absorbs the rebound, and stops metal marking metal. Those are three separate benefits and the second is the one surgeons feel: a mallet that does not bounce back is a mallet whose next tap starts from where you left it.

Three face combinations

Nylon both sides for the gentlest work. One nylon face for most. One nylon and one steel so the same instrument covers both, which is the version most trays end up carrying because the steel side is still there when a thicker bone needs it.

18.8 cm and 9 oz, both ours

Around 255 grams, which is the middle of the range for a surgical mallet. Lighter than our solid steel 3/4 lb mallet, partly by design and partly because nylon weighs less than the steel it replaces. Both figures come from our own record, which is more than we can say for most instruments in this category.

The faces are replaceable in principle, and we do not publish spares

Said plainly: nylon wears and the rival listings in this class talk about replaceable end caps. Our record does not list a spare face as a stock item, so we are not going to imply you can buy one. Ask us before ordering if that matters to you, and it is on our list.

Which face combination to order

One decision, three answers, and the middle one is the common order.

Where it is used

The same jobs as any surgical mallet, with the damping mattering most where the bone is thin.

What it holds back, and what it must not do

Nylon is a feature with a wear life and the right hand column is about that.

How it compares with the rest of the family

Three mallets, and the face is the only thing that separates them.

Materials and finish

Every Hayden mallet we make is cut from high quality medical grade stainless steel. The steel itself is made to a German specification. We do not publish a grade number. The number on a certificate tells a surgeon nothing about whether a nylon face is still flat and whole after a few thousand blows, because a cratered face delivers an uneven blow and a split one delivers half of it, and the answer to that is in the making rather than in the alloy.

The nylon is seated into a steel head rather than bonded onto a flat end, so the steel takes the shear and the nylon takes the impact. A face that is simply glued on eventually lets go at the edge and then peels, which is worse than wearing out.

The handle is plain stainless steel, finished smooth rather than polished to a shine, because a mirror finish on a wet handle is slippery. There is no sharp external edge anywhere on the instrument and the rim of each face is radiused.

Caring for it

Wash it as one piece, warm water and a soft brush. Pay attention to the line where the nylon meets the steel: that seam is the only place on this instrument where anything can collect, and it is also where a face in trouble shows it first.

Autoclave with the tray. Nylon tolerates a normal cycle; if your unit runs something unusual, ask us first, because we do not publish a temperature limit. Look at both faces under good light every so often and retire a face that has cratered, split or gone glassy.

Ordering and wholesale

Every Hayden mallet is made by Adas Instruments in our own workshop and sold direct, which is why the price sits where it does against the catalog houses. Order one for a single tray, or in quantity for a hospital list or a distributor line. We do OEM work under your own brand and your own item numbers. Send us a sample and we will hold a run to your pattern rather than ours. Stock items ship from our own workshop. Backorder items take 10 to 12 working days to make. Every instrument carries a three year replacement warranty against manufacturing defects. Production is controlled under an ISO 13485 quality management system.

Frequently asked questions

What is a Hayden mallet used for?

Driving an osteotome, chisel or rasp during rhinoplasty, and tapping a block cartilage crusher. The nylon face is the reason to choose it: it dampens the sound, absorbs the rebound and stops metal marking metal.

Why a nylon face instead of steel?

Three reasons, and Google puts them well: it dampens sound, absorbs rebound and delivers a softer impact that prevents metal on metal degradation. On thin or previously operated nasal bone the softer impact is the clinical argument, not just a comfort one.

What face combinations can I order?

Three: nylon on both sides, one nylon face, or one nylon and one steel. The last one is the version most trays carry, because the steel side is still available for the blow that needs it.

How heavy is it?

9 oz, which is around 255 grams, on an 18.8 cm handle. Both figures are from our own record. That makes it lighter than our solid steel 3/4 lb mallet, which is partly deliberate and partly because nylon weighs less than the steel it replaces.

Can I buy replacement nylon faces?

Our record does not list a spare face as a stock item, so we will not imply you can order one off the shelf. Ask us before you buy if replaceability matters to you. It is on our list to sort out.

Related products and categories

For mass rather than damping, the solid stainless steel nasal mallet at 3/4 lb. For the Cottle pattern by name, the Cottle nasal mallet. The only pair of scissors in this family is the Gorney turbinate scissors.

The rest of this family sits under nasal cutting, crusher and septum forceps, and the osteotomes and chisels this mallet is made to drive are under osteotomes, chisels and gouges.