Splitting/Chopping Tool Review Thread

[SteveSS]

Okay, I'm still waiting sir. The smash maul or whatever it's called is on sale at Bailey's so lets speed this test up! lol

I still really like the X27 but it doesn't do a great job on the white oak pieces I've been trying to split. May need something with a bit more heft to get through them.

I like it a lot. Just took it out back and split six 20" dia rounds that are 18" long.....Black Walnut. For some reason, I thought it was white oak when I cut it. Now that I've split some of it, it's definitely Walnut. The largest round that I split took 5 whacks to get it halved and then one whack a piece to get it down to six chunks per round. I don't remember now which weight I bought, but it was the lighter of the two. Pretty sure that I wouldn't want to swing it all day, but it seems to do a real nice job. I only swung it, didn't use any other implements to hammer on it. I feel like it was $50.00 (on sale) well spent....+ $9.00 shipping. I'd recommend it.

 

[SteveSS]

Wilton Bash Maul

As promised, here are the pics of the Wilton as it was delivered, fresh out of the box.

These three pics, you can see that the grind is very even on both sides of the blade, but they don't come anywhere close to meeting up in the middle. There's really no edge to speak of at all right out of the box. A file will be required for sure.
View attachment 405561 View attachment 405563 View attachment 405566

The next three pics show the overall quality of the tool. It's very well put together and seems like a high quality unit. I'm impressed. I don't have any type of scale in the house, but it sure does feel heavier than 6 lbs. to me. I guess it's because of the 6 steel rods running the length of the handle.View attachment 405570 View attachment 405572 View attachment 405573

I feel like $49.99 on sale was a fair price for this tool, plus $9.xx shipping of course.

For reference of others, the post above refers to this maul. The Wilton Bash.

 

[svk]

I may have to try it. Was hoping I could get away with a very minimalist approach to firewood scrounging but my gear is slowly adding up.

Sarcasm was intended in my post

You think the Fiskars has a steep angle? Doesn't seem as steep as other mauls I've seen. I've used it as a chopping axe (a duty in which it sucks) to free my bar a few times.

Yes the wedge shaped head (Wilton head is in this group too) seems to work better IMO versus slowly tapering heads common in big box mauls.

 

[Ambull01]

I like it a lot. Just took it out back and split six 20" dia rounds that are 18" long.....Black Walnut. For some reason, I thought it was white oak when I cut it. Now that I've split some of it, it's definitely Walnut. The largest round that I split took 5 whacks to get it halved and then one whack a piece to get it down to six chunks per round. I don't remember now which weight I bought, but it was the lighter of the two. Pretty sure that I wouldn't want to swing it all day, but it seems to do a real nice job. I only swung it, didn't use any other implements to hammer on it. I feel like it was $50.00 (on sale) well spent....+ $9.00 shipping. I'd recommend it.

You wouldn't happen to own a Fisars X27 too would you?

 

[SteveSS]

Yessir, I do.

 

[Ambull01]

Yessir, I do.

Okay, which one are you packing onto your four wheeler to scrounge. The X27 or the Hulk Smash maul? You know for a fact you'll be going up against large oak rounds.

 

[johnny5ny]

http://m.instructables.com/id/Cross-Bladed-Axe/?ALLSTEPS

IMO if you had a guy who could really weld there would be no need to grind and polish after fitting the wings.

Cuttin wheel? To cut an axe head in half?!
No thanks.
I'd pay a machine shop a few bucks if I didn't have a band saw.

 

[SteveSS]

Okay, which one are you packing onto your four wheeler to scrounge. The X27 or the Hulk Smash maul? You know for a fact you'll be going up against large oak rounds.

I thought you were going to ask me to go out and do a side by side comparison, so I grabbed the X27 and took another walk. They both get the job done, and if I could swing the X27 like benp, I wouldn't even own another splitting tool. But the Bash worked better on the bigger rounds with me as the operator. I feel like they both serve different purposes as members of my wood cutting arsenal. I'm happy having them both.

Pics of the carnage:


I left these 5 rounds behind because the fiskars wasn't getting it done for me. The Bash was back at the house.


I gave this one hell, but it just wouldn't give up the ghost. I was splitting across the natural split line in the wood too.


I only intended to go out and dink around with a couple rounds, but once I was out there I figured I may as well finish it up. I didn't take any gloves with me and ended up with this.


Now I have this to make it feel all better.

 

[Philbert]

I feel like they both serve different purposes as members of my wood cutting arsenal. I'm happy having them both.

I have more than one screwdriver, and more than one pair of shoes.

Just sayin' . . .

Philbert

 

[zogger]

I thought you were going to ask me to go out and do a side by side comparison, so I grabbed the X27 and took another walk. They both get the job done, and if I could swing the X27 like benp, I wouldn't even own another splitting tool. But the Bash worked better on the bigger rounds with me as the operator. I feel like they both serve different purposes as members of my wood cutting arsenal. I'm happy having them both.

Pics of the carnage:
View attachment 420421 View attachment 420424 View attachment 420425

I left these 5 rounds behind because the fiskars wasn't getting it done for me. The Bash was back at the house.
View attachment 420426

I gave this one hell, but it just wouldn't give up the ghost. I was splitting across the natural split line in the wood too.
View attachment 420427

I only intended to go out and dink around with a couple rounds, but once I was out there I figured I may as well finish it up. I didn't take any gloves with me and ended up with this.
View attachment 420428

Now I have this to make it feel all better.
View attachment 420429

Arrghh..I'm about a 1/10th BenP Hur on whackorama grunt, so I slab off the outsides and work my way in most of the time, with the fiskars. Something like those non split ones, after the third hit, right to the outside, thin slabs, then splits.

I have to use human gearing to get stuff done most times.

 

[Ambull01]

I thought you were going to ask me to go out and do a side by side comparison, so I grabbed the X27 and took another walk. They both get the job done, and if I could swing the X27 like benp, I wouldn't even own another splitting tool. But the Bash worked better on the bigger rounds with me as the operator. I feel like they both serve different purposes as members of my wood cutting arsenal. I'm happy having them both.

Pics of the carnage:
View attachment 420421 View attachment 420424 View attachment 420425

I left these 5 rounds behind because the fiskars wasn't getting it done for me. The Bash was back at the house.
View attachment 420426

I gave this one hell, but it just wouldn't give up the ghost. I was splitting across the natural split line in the wood too.
View attachment 420427

I only intended to go out and dink around with a couple rounds, but once I was out there I figured I may as well finish it up. I didn't take any gloves with me and ended up with this.
View attachment 420428

Now I have this to make it feel all better.
View attachment 420429

Nice, thanks. I want my wood cutting arsenal as small as possible. Normally I use zogger's method with the Fiskars but when I'm just trying to load the bucked rounds I just try to get them to a manageable size/weight as fast as possible. I've been finding myself having to lift the whole whole bucked up piece into my wheelbarrow to save time. Of course there's always noodling pieces but I kinda like my quiet in the woods time.

 

[Marshy]

I thought you were going to ask me to go out and do a side by side comparison, so I grabbed the X27 and took another walk. They both get the job done, and if I could swing the X27 like benp, I wouldn't even own another splitting tool. But the Bash worked better on the bigger rounds with me as the operator. I feel like they both serve different purposes as members of my wood cutting arsenal. I'm happy having them both.

Pics of the carnage:
View attachment 420421 View attachment 420424 View attachment 420425

I left these 5 rounds behind because the fiskars wasn't getting it done for me. The Bash was back at the house.
View attachment 420426

I gave this one hell, but it just wouldn't give up the ghost. I was splitting across the natural split line in the wood too.
View attachment 420427

I only intended to go out and dink around with a couple rounds, but once I was out there I figured I may as well finish it up. I didn't take any gloves with me and ended up with this.
View attachment 420428

Now I have this to make it feel all better.
View attachment 420429

Try splitting to the side of the center, aim for 1/3rd. If you can get 1/3rd to split off you can usually split the rest in half.

 

[svk]

Anybody get any new axes/mauls lately?

I'm eyeing up something new but not sure what yet.

 

[gunnusmc03]

I found a NOS fiskars super splitting axe. The original with the 28" handle and old style head. I like it more than my x27

 

[Ronaldo]

I found a NOS fiskars super splitting axe. The original with the 28" handle and old style head. I like it more than my x27

Where did you find that?

 

[El Quachito]

Got an old Craftsman #6 maul with an axe eye head. I put the old handle back on with a new wedge. I may keep it in my truck or put it into regular service and stick another one in the truck. By the way, I have to give a plug for househandle.com, as I was using one of their wood and two steel wedges they sell. Nice quality and a better deal than my local hardware stores.

 

[thefeckerwest]

Anybody get any new axes/mauls lately?

I'm eyeing up something new but not sure what yet.

Have a look at the Muller Maul from Austria. It is a high quality item. It is not cheap, but you usually get what you pay for.
This their catalogue: http://www.mueller-hammerwerk.at/en/catalogue-2013.html
It can be confusing to read at first but you should work it out. The mauls go from 2KG (4.4lbs) to 5KG (11lbs). I have the 11 pounder. It is superior to anything that I have ever used.

 

[gunnusmc03]

Where did you find that?

I trolled eBay for about a year and one finally came up.

 

[Philbert]

I trolled eBay for about a year and one finally came up.

Good things come to those who wait.

Philbert

 

[steven stern]

8Lb truper maul for everything cause im poor lol.