Worst Wood to Split by Hand?

[Agrarian]

Alright, taking a survey. What is the worst wood to split by hand (maul, fiskars, sledge, etc)? And to make it comparable, let's not talk about crotches, knots base chunks, etc. I'm talking about a chunk taken from a straight section of the tree with no branches.

For me its a toss-up between wild cherry and shagbark maple. The grain goes every which way. I would have said elm but that has all but disappeared from around here since the early '70's. But I do remember my dad busting his ass trying to turn it into something burnable.

 

[smokinj]

elm

 

[Plankton]

In my experience it goes

1. Elm
2. Shagbark hickory
3. Beech

 

[Swamp Yankee]

elm

+1

Elm isn't much fun even with a splitter.

Take Care

 

[pops21]

Black gum, black locust or dog wood. Black gum is kinda like trying to split a knot on a big oak round.:censored:

 

[cat-face timber]

For me it is a big piece of Pinyon Pine, does not spilt, more like break.

 

[stint]

Elm is definitely my hardest

Black Cherry is one of the easier for me.
Interesting that your is twisted and difficult

 

[TreePointer]

Elm, of course. I'll also throw in apple and anything twisted.

I once ran into some twisted Austrian pine that the Fiskars SSA didn't like.

 

[H-Ranch]

Hickory has been my worst. But since it's at the top for heating value and the father-in-law has given me 6 huge trailer loads of logs I get it done with the splitter. Even then quite often it has to be run the full length of the ram because it is so stringy.

 

[ihookem]

I knew an old man that put a wedge all the way through an elm log and it still didn't split.

 

[Nosmo]

Before I learned better I used to split Elm by going around the edge with a heavy 14 lb. wedge/mall. After I learned better Elm goes through my splitter and then in the stack. Never gonna split it by hand anymore.

Sweetgum is no sissy stuff to split either. I've never tried splitting it after it has seasoned .

Nosmo

 

[ct greenman]

Shagbark hickory and elm :bang:

 

[bsearcey]

Black gum and sweet gum. Haven't had the pleasure of splitting elm...yet.

 

[peterc38]

For me its a toss-up between wild cherry and shagbark maple.

What the heck is shagbark maple? I never have heard of or seen that.

You sure it isn't shagbark hickory?

 

[banshee67]

CHERRY!!! out of the woods i have split by hand
even an almost straight piece of cherry is a #####, the wood is never straight even when its straight if that makes sense,
the fastest and easiest way to do it by hand is noodle it about 1/2 -3/4 way through, depending on how big the round is, or type or wood or whatever. stand it up,then its pretty much 1 piece per swing, cant beat it

 

[Goon 88]

Alright, taking a survey. What is the worst wood to split by hand (maul, fiskars, sledge, etc)? And to make it comparable, let's not talk about crotches, knots base chunks, etc. I'm talking about a chunk taken from a straight section of the tree with no branches.

For me its a toss-up between wild cherry and shagbark maple. The grain goes every which way. I would have said elm but that has all but disappeared from around here since the early '70's. But I do remember my dad busting his ass trying to turn it into something burnable.

Morningwood!!!!

 

[rmount]

Elm definitely, I've buried a couple of wedges into a round and had to use a third to free them.

 

[amateur cutter]

Elm definitely, I've buried a couple of wedges into a round and had to use a third to free them.

Yep, Elm sucks big time, cherry around here isn't terrible, except for the occasional tree. A C

 

[Wood Doctor]

Elm has sold more hydraulic logsplitters than any other tree species on planet Earth.

When dry, red elm splits surprisingly well, but red elm is scarce. That's about it. Some fruitwood species can be tough as nails. Pear and Apple come to mind. Knotty pine is surprisingly tough.

 

[flushcut]

elm

I think the first post says it all!