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Posted: 10/3/2012 11:44:26 AM EDT
I am going to start cutting and splitting wood for next season. I will be splitting up trees that were felled a while back but never cut up. I am only looking at buying one of these at this time. Which one would you go with?
Splitting maul http://www.amazon.com/Truper-30958-8-Pound-Splitting-Fiberglass/dp/B000KL2VGU/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1349293294&sr=8-4&keywords=splitting+maul 
Or Splitting Axe? http://www.amazon.com/Fiskars-7884-36-Inch-Super-Splitting/dp/B004M3BAQE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1349293294&sr=8-1&keywords=splitting+maul 
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Posted: 10/3/2012 11:51:41 AM EDT
[#1]
Maul.
A splitting axe is a jack od all trades. It doesnt do either as a dedicated platform..... I have all 3 and the splitting axe never gets touched |
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Posted: 10/3/2012 12:19:13 PM EDT
[#2]
Maul. End of story, unless you want to go electric or hydraulic.
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Posted: 10/3/2012 1:46:32 PM EDT
[#3]
Maul. I had an axe for cutting and got wedges for splitting... the wedges got stuck in the log and had to be rescued... a maul solved all of that.
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Posted: 10/3/2012 3:05:12 PM EDT
[#4]
Have had a 12 and 16 # Monster Maul since the '70s.
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Posted: 10/3/2012 3:42:17 PM EDT
[#5]
Maul, and stay away from the polymer handled ones (Fiskers would be fine though). The Home Depot/Lowes special with the poly handle is good for about 1/3 cord, then the epoxy gives out.
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Posted: 10/3/2012 8:04:35 PM EDT
[#6]
I have the Fiskars 28" splitting axe (predecessor to the X25) and I'm very pleased with it. The newer X series doesn't seem to be quite as good from what I've seen. They changed the head geometry a little and some people have reported they don't split quite as nice as the older ones. They are still pretty nice though. I can split for hours and not get tired. As long as your expectations are realistic it's a great tool. I fatigue much, much less with the Fiskars than with a maul. It works especially well on easier splitting woods; it will make quick work of it. For tough splitting wood, you're going to work hard for it no matter what tool you use (unless its a log-splitter)...
BTW: If I could choose my ideal splitting tool, I would take a 32" handled (between the X25 & X27) axe with the old style Fiskars handle, old head profile "scaled" up a bit to get it around 5 pounds to add just a bit more weight to it. The 28" handle is just a bit short, and the 36" is a bit long, not to mention the new style handle hurts my hands... I really do think the Fiskars head profile is very efficient for splitting... |
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Posted: 10/3/2012 8:16:34 PM EDT
[#7]
Quoted:
Maul, and stay away from the polymer handled ones (Fiskers would be fine though). The Home Depot/Lowes special with the poly handle is good for about 1/3 cord, then the epoxy gives out. |
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Posted: 10/3/2012 9:19:10 PM EDT
[#8]
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Posted: 10/3/2012 10:30:45 PM EDT
[#9]
Splitting maul and wedge if you don't want to invest a lot.
+1 on wood handle, mauls are supposed to be tough enough to lever out if they get stuck. I recently had a free fiberglass handled maul take a dump on me. Punched the epoxy out, stuffed a $10 Lowes hickory maul handle in and went to town. IMHO the wood handle even split better. I just got done splitting and stacking about 3 cords, from a few felled trees. The biggest rounds were over 36" (and green)! I'd quarter them with the wedge (old maul head) then split the smaller pieces with one of the Lowe's Fiskars axe rips off's as well to try out. The axe BLEW through already split wood, and being lighter was a lot easier on the back. |
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Posted: 10/3/2012 11:33:23 PM EDT
[#10]
Log splitter.
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Posted: 10/4/2012 1:51:50 AM EDT
[#11]
Monster maul + wedges.
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Posted: 10/4/2012 2:30:39 AM EDT
[#12]
Maul and a couple wedges for the knots.
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Posted: 10/4/2012 6:00:31 AM EDT
[#13]
So wooden handled maul.... what weight for the head? I have seen 8lb and 12lb locally. When the money comes around I think I will pick up the Fiskars splitting axe just to have it around, but as of right now, I can't swing both (no pun intended).
I do have access to a gas log splitter but don't own it. So I figure I will split my own wood when there are small batches but when I get large amounts I will use the splitter. I think of this as my "winter workout". |
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Posted: 10/4/2012 6:28:29 AM EDT
[#14]
Quoted:
Log splitter. From your lips to God's ears 
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Posted: 10/4/2012 6:44:21 AM EDT
[#15]
Quoted: So wooden handled maul.... what weight for the head? I have seen 8lb and 12lb locally. When the money comes around I think I will pick up the Fiskars splitting axe just to have it around, but as of right now, I can't swing both (no pun intended). I do have access to a gas log splitter but don't own it. So I figure I will split my own wood when there are small batches but when I get large amounts I will use the splitter. I think of this as my "winter workout". I got through all my stuff just fine with a 8 lbs. With a wedge you don't have to kill it, I found just slow repeated half-swings would drive it and split the rounds just as fast as swinging for the rafters. |
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Posted: 10/4/2012 8:16:31 AM EDT
[#16]
Maul...wood handle...8lb
12 lb is TOO much of a work our for me! |
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Posted: 10/4/2012 10:14:07 AM EDT
[#17]
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Posted: 10/4/2012 10:56:11 AM EDT
[#18]
I believe this guy may be one of you all.... watch the hands!
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37gH9SObKVA[/youtube] |
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Posted: 10/4/2012 11:24:13 AM EDT
[#19]
Quoted: Maul, and stay away from the polymer handled ones (Fiskers would be fine though). The Home Depot/Lowes special with the poly handle is good for about 1/3 cord, then the epoxy gives out. They also flex too much. Nothing like hickory............ |
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Posted: 10/4/2012 11:25:39 AM EDT
[#20]
That's nice. I like the shield under the head. I won't look into what one of those costs...... 
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Posted: 10/4/2012 3:36:36 PM EDT
[#21]
Quoted:
Quoted:
Maul, and stay away from the polymer handled ones (Fiskers would be fine though). The Home Depot/Lowes special with the poly handle is good for about 1/3 cord, then the epoxy gives out. They also flex too much. Nothing like hickory............ Flex can often be a good thing, especially for "misses" and other incidents that tend to happen when using a wood splitting device. I know the Fiskars carry a lifetime warranty. I also have seen videos of them being driven over by trucks and the handle isn't effected... |
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Posted: 10/5/2012 4:07:24 PM EDT
[#22]
Truper Maul.
I have had one of these for 6 years and it's never let me down. 2 of my neighbors kept borrowing it and wound up buying their own. My next door neighbor picked his up on craigslist for $10. I knock the dings out once a year and she keeps on spliting'! 
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200325119_200325119 M590man |
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Posted: 10/7/2012 9:01:14 PM EDT
[#23]
Get one with the new splitter head design. Can't remember the brand of ours but the head looks like this:
Super Splitter I used a traditional splitting maul "wedge" head for years. Tried one like the one at the link above and will never go back. If it won't split the wood, use a wedge and sledge hammer to finish it off. Though we've used it with several kinds of hardwoods with no problem. Although a couple years ago my dad got a hydraulic splitter so now we mainly use it if we want to split more wood faster, lol. We got ours at Plow and Hearth, I can't find it on their website at the moment. |
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Posted: 10/9/2012 5:08:24 AM EDT
[#24]
I use a maul. I don't use a wedge to split.
I have broken too many maul handles by over swinging and hitting the wedge with the handle. TRG |
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Posted: 10/9/2012 8:16:45 AM EDT
[#25]
Quoted: Learn how to swing a hammer and that doesn't happen.* I use a maul. I don't use a wedge to split. I have broken too many maul handles by over swinging and hitting the wedge with the handle. TRG  Also, move to a place with big trees and see how fast a maul gets stuck.  |
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Posted: 10/9/2012 4:33:39 PM EDT
[#26]
Quoted:
Quoted:
Learn how to swing a hammer and that doesn't happen.* I use a maul. I don't use a wedge to split. I have broken too many maul handles by over swinging and hitting the wedge with the handle. TRG
Also, move to a place with big trees and see how fast a maul gets stuck.
I am gonna go out on a limb, and say you are a real cutup.
TRG |
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Posted: 10/9/2012 6:40:54 PM EDT
[#27]
Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Learn how to swing a hammer and that doesn't happen.* I use a maul. I don't use a wedge to split. I have broken too many maul handles by over swinging and hitting the wedge with the handle. TRG Also, move to a place with big trees and see how fast a maul gets stuck. I am gonna go out on a limb, and say you are a real cutup. TRG Actually it was all learning by experience busting handles. |
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Posted: 10/10/2012 6:53:32 AM EDT
[#28]
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Learn how to swing a hammer and that doesn't happen.* I use a maul. I don't use a wedge to split. I have broken too many maul handles by over swinging and hitting the wedge with the handle. TRG
Also, move to a place with big trees and see how fast a maul gets stuck.
I am gonna go out on a limb, and say you are a real cutup.
TRG Actually it was all learning by experience busting handles.
True story... a decade ago I was using a maul and wedges to split wood. I had been doing it for about five years. I had finally gotten good enough that I stopped breaking mauls. I was splitting wood in the backyard and my MIL saw me splitting wood like a champ. "That looks fun, can I try it?" First swing, she overshot and busted my maul handle. 
TRG |
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Posted: 10/10/2012 8:14:34 AM EDT
[#29]
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Learn how to swing a hammer and that doesn't happen.* I use a maul. I don't use a wedge to split. I have broken too many maul handles by over swinging and hitting the wedge with the handle. TRG
Also, move to a place with big trees and see how fast a maul gets stuck.
I am gonna go out on a limb, and say you are a real cutup.
TRG Actually it was all learning by experience busting handles.
True story... a decade ago I was using a maul and wedges to split wood. I had been doing it for about five years. I had finally gotten good enough that I stopped breaking mauls. I was splitting wood in the backyard and my MIL saw me splitting wood like a champ. "That looks fun, can I try it?" First swing, she overshot and busted my maul handle.
TRG So are you saying you let you MIL play with your wood?
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Posted: 10/10/2012 8:24:32 AM EDT
[#30]
Quoted:
Quoted:
I was splitting wood in the backyard and my MIL saw me splitting wood like a champ. "That looks fun, can I try it?" First swing, she overshot and busted my maul handle.
TRG So are you saying you let you MIL play with your wood?
I offered, but she split. TRG |
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Posted: 10/10/2012 2:59:10 PM EDT
[#31]
Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Learn how to swing a hammer and that doesn't happen.* I use a maul. I don't use a wedge to split. I have broken too many maul handles by over swinging and hitting the wedge with the handle. TRG Also, move to a place with big trees and see how fast a maul gets stuck. I am gonna go out on a limb, and say you are a real cutup. TRG Actually it was all learning by experience busting handles. True story... a decade ago I was using a maul and wedges to split wood. I had been doing it for about five years. I had finally gotten good enough that I stopped breaking mauls. I was splitting wood in the backyard and my MIL saw me splitting wood like a champ. "That looks fun, can I try it?" First swing, she overshot and busted my maul handle. TRG ROFL! I was trying to split, haul and stack all the wood from this year, which was a grind so various friends and family came over to help. So, my buddy and Father are sitting watching me and first swing nail the sledge handle on the wedge. I had probably split a cord and a half at this point without a miss! My buddy and Dad at the same time "Learn to swing a damn hammer..." |
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Posted: 10/10/2012 5:35:16 PM EDT
[#32]
so, are dad and I they only two people that spit wood with a regular axe?
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Posted: 10/10/2012 9:07:10 PM EDT
[#33]
Quoted: so, are dad and I they only two people that spit wood with a regular axe? How many 38" diameter, 16" long Douglass Fir tree rounds do you have in your yard? |
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Posted: 10/11/2012 3:50:30 AM EDT
[#34]
Quoted:
Quoted:
so, are dad and I they only two people that spit wood with a regular axe? How many 38" diameter, 16" long Douglass Fir tree rounds do you have in your yard?
i don't believe those trees grow much in Louisiana. however, i have seen dad turn logs that size into firewood as fast as he could swing the ax and work his way around the log. I am not quite that good, yet. |
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Posted: 10/11/2012 5:38:47 AM EDT
[#35]
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
so, are dad and I they only two people that spit wood with a regular axe? How many 38" diameter, 16" long Douglass Fir tree rounds do you have in your yard?
i don't believe those trees grow much in Louisiana. however, i have seen dad turn logs that size into firewood as fast as he could swing the ax and work his way around the log. I am not quite that good, yet. Depends on the type of tree. I have 100' tall sweet gums and 36" diameter oak on my property. In the right conditions, I can split the sweet gums as fast as I can set the round on end. The oaks on the other hand, I might not be able to split at all in the same diameter and length. The grain, the type of wood, moisture and skill all make it a variable in how well I can split a log. Using an axe will work, but, I am more likely to 'stick' an axe than I am a maul. The axe has less mass and swings faster. That sometimes allows it to wedge itself deep in to wood without enough angle to push the wood apart. This happen on wood that is unexpectedly wet/rotten/soft. The majority of what I split is 24-28" in diameter and 18-24" in length sweet gum. A single swing with a maul will typically split it in half. TRG |
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Posted: 10/11/2012 12:00:03 PM EDT
[#36]
Green doug fir like I had will stick everything you swing in it.
If you manage to get anything to split off it will be the outside sapwood. Then you can start working heartwood and eventually end up burned up from swinging like a madman, and a bunch of F'ed up looking wood.OR you can drive a wedge near the center, tap it in with a maul or sledge and give it 5-6 slow half hits, and watch as it pops clean in half. I quartered everything like that, then split with a maul. To put in perspective how tough the wood is, it's what was used for building Ships masts, aircraft, and buildings for heavy loads. |
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Posted: 10/11/2012 5:05:45 PM EDT
[#37]
Nice. Where do people actually order from? The link seems to only have information about them but not an actual vendor. IM sent. |
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Posted: 10/12/2012 1:14:36 PM EDT
[#38]
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Posted: 10/14/2012 9:51:01 AM EDT
[#39]
All of the above (Spliting axe, maul, splitter, wedges). My last renters took my maul, so I want to get a monster maul at some point.
I use my splitter mostly, however I did just get that Fiskar's Super spliting axe, and it worked very good on some ash chunks I had laying around. |
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Posted: 10/18/2012 10:51:42 AM EDT
[#40]
I went and looked at some different options at the store. The splitting mauls have *very* short handles. It didn't seem like it would be comfortable to swing.
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Posted: 10/18/2012 10:53:57 AM EDT
[#41]
I have the Fiskars big splitting axe and it works great... if splitting small stuff (I only use wood for my smoker). I can't
imagine trying to split any decent size oak rounds with it though.
I WOULD use it in combination with a sledgehammer and wedges and be GTG without the need for a maul. Luckily.... I have natural gas so I don't need to kill myself over firewood! 
-ZA |
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