Mauls: Not so Bad After All

[Oldtimer]

Plus if I pick up a round and put it on the splitter. I have only had to bend over the one time.. Not several times to stand the round up.. hit it knock it over. Then stand it up again. Then pick up the splits..
I only want to pick up each round one time..

I have been using my new Collins 8lb maul a lot lately, I find it's actually a stress reliever. Quiet, no smell of exhaust...and with a little practice you learn how to tip the halves up at a 45* angle with your boot and whack it..works great as long as you have your aim right. And steel toes help.
I use the maul as a crude "pick" to help tip the wood up..
I split maybe 1/2 a cord today in fact. I split till I get a bit winded, tossing the split wood into my 2 wheeled wheelbarrow till it's full....then go stack it, go get the rest, and stack that. Then I'm ready to split again.
Any rounds that don't pop with 2-3 strikes get tossed in a pile for the splitter. Usually less than 1/4 per cord of rounds.

 

[stihl sawing]

I busted a few rounds of oak with the ole monster maul today, Probably be sore tommorrow.:hmm3grin2orange:

 

[ShaneLogs]

I have been using my new Collins 8lb maul a lot lately, I find it's actually a stress reliever. Quiet, no smell of exhaust...and with a little practice you learn how to tip the halves up at a 45* angle with your boot and whack it..works great as long as you have your aim right. And steel toes help.
I use the maul as a crude "pick" to help tip the wood up..
I split maybe 1/2 a cord today in fact. I split till I get a bit winded, tossing the split wood into my 2 wheeled wheelbarrow till it's full....then go stack it, go get the rest, and stack that. Then I'm ready to split again.
Any rounds that don't pop with 2-3 strikes get tossed in a pile for the splitter. Usually less than 1/4 per cord of rounds.

I am interested in this Collins maul, Any pics of it Oldtimer ? I also use a maul but I decided to man-up and got a 10 pound maul. It keeps you in shape that is for sure!

 

[CTYank]

Got a lesson a month+ back, when hand-forged 6.6 lb Austrian maul arrived.

Way more capable than the 5 & 8 lb mauls I've used for years. Excellent metallurgy, meaning base alloy, hardening & tempering, much better than cheapies. Biggest factor: head shape. Except for small convex area near the edge, the faces are essentially flat back to the middle of the eye- no bumps, lumps or protrusions. (I ground the older mauls to mimic its head-shape, and they are now much more efficient.)

Meanwhile, I've busted up way more than I'd hoped to have by now, at home & in the bush, splitting it all down to relatively small sticks for my little stove. The Muller maul looks like it'll be an heirloom- almost no evidence of the extended usage. Sole US reseller: TraditionalWoodWorker.com.

Apparently Gransfors Bruks & Iltis Oxhead have similar mauls in their product line.

IMHO, most of the mauls available in the US are of mild (soft) steel, forged to mediocre shape. They're cheap, and it shows. (Collins is no longer in CT, rather in Mexico. FWIW)

 

[Oldtimer]

I am interested in this Collins maul, Any pics of it Oldtimer ? I also use a maul but I decided to man-up and got a 10 pound maul. It keeps you in shape that is for sure!

This is it. After about a half cord, it became a natural extension of my arms.

View attachment 235201

 

[trailmaker]

Plus if I pick up a round and put it on the splitter. I have only had to bend over the one time.. Not several times to stand the round up.. hit it knock it over. Then stand it up again. Then pick up the splits..
I only want to pick up each round one time..

I like to carry a tire (a very light one off of a sports car) too the round. I just tip the round on end and split it in the tire so all the splits stay right there. I get tired out trying to muscle whole rounds into position for the hydraulic splitter, plus my back doesn't hold up well doing that kind of motion. With my "tire to the round" method I never have to lift or move anything heavier than a split. I'm not saying my method is better, it's just the one that works for me.

 

[ShaneLogs]

This is it. After about a half cord, it became a natural extension of my arms.

View attachment 235201

I have a composite handle on mine though. I saw a nice one down at ACE Hardware that I think I might get. It is a 6 pound Collin maul. I love the light mauls and I'm not sure why I got stuck with this big heavy one, LOL.

 

[Iron Head]

Yeah, they work well don't they ! A friend had one and I found it worked awesome ! I'll be looking for a maul very soon, I'll likely get a standard maul first and then shop for one of these.

I have one of these and hate it.
For dry splittable wood, it will splits and spits the two pieces too far away.
This maul is useless in green wood.
It is a cripple on unevenly cut rounds.
And you can't pound a sledge on it.
Ever wonder why they don't make them anymore?