I've used my mallet to act as a make-weight over a plate over something I want to keep flat in a skillet.

I've also used it to hammer a knife thru a something really tough, like a head of cabbage, when I don't want any fingers NEAR the blade.

Mine isn't round tho - it's shaped like a hammer and has a tenderizer on one end of the head, flat on the other.

I figure I'll try to grab it if I'm ever cornered by an assailant in that part of the kitchen - it lives in a counter caddy. Do I need a permit? It sure ain't concealed. "Blunt, heavy object," as the police reports go.