The Common Gavel
The stonemason's hammer for breaking off rough corners, taught as divesting the heart of the vices and superfluities of life.
What it means
An Entered Apprentice working tool. The operative mason used it to knock the corners off rough stone. The lesson is that the Mason is the stone: the gavel stands for the work of removing what does not belong in a life fitted for the builder's use.
It is a different object, with a different job, from the gavel the Worshipful Master uses to govern the Lodge. That one is an instrument of authority; this one is an instrument of self-correction. Presentation gavels sold as gifts are usually the presiding kind.
In context: The Working Tools of Freemasonry, Explained
Related Lodge offices: Worshipful Master
Frequently asked questions
What does the Common Gavel mean in Freemasonry?
The stonemason's hammer for breaking off rough corners, taught as divesting the heart of the vices and superfluities of life.
Who can wear the Common Gavel?
This is a lesson rather than a badge. It turns up on Lodge charts, prints and gifts, and owning or displaying one says nothing about rank. On a lapel most people will read it as Masonic.
Sources
Drawn from the published monitors and from what the bodies concerned publish about themselves. Nothing here comes from, or goes beyond, any obligated material.
- Thomas Smith Webb, The Freemason's Monitor; or, Illustrations of Masonry (1797)
- William Preston, Illustrations of Masonry (1772)