While I did not have a piece of wood or a mallet handy, I kept it simple; a small hammer and a few magazines had to suffice. This is the only time I will use this method, since a hammer is probably not so great for the handle of the pinking tool.
I must say I did pretty well for a first try.
I used the end of a vintage rayon taffeta ribbon since it was handy, and has a similar thickness and fiber texture to silk taffeta.
You can tell where I started at the far left, and my 'pinks' became progressively cleaner toward the last one. Slow and steady does the trick. I discovered that if I space my hits about a second apart, putting just enough force as the weight of my own arm into it, the tool bites deeper and more evenly. There were a few little strings that I had to trim away, but it was such a miniscule amount. Also, this was using magazines as a base. They were likely too soft, and while wood will still have enough give, it will offer a more rigid base for cleaner edges.
This was just one layer of material, and it took about 5 hits on the tool to get one scallop design.
Overall though, I'm pretty pleased and looking forward to making many pinked items!