Rapping Iron

The rapping iron is a hand tool used in willow basketry to compact and tidy the weave as a basket takes shape. It has a small hammer-like head, commonly around ten and a quarter inches long, two inches wide and three eighths of an inch thick, and typically weighs between about one and two pounds. The basket maker strikes the rows of weaving with the iron's head to beat them down tight and level. Many rapping irons carry a hole or ring at the butt end, used both to help straighten willow rods as they are worked and to give the maker's fingers a steady grip for accurate strikes. The tool is made in different forms, some combining a hardwood body with a steel striking face or backbone for weight and durability while protecting the bark of the rods, others forged entirely from steel.