OK, now that I'm done antagonizing the engineers (in all seriousness... I'm not always sure why I do that).
Picking the weight of your splitting ax/maul is a lot like picking the weight of a baseball bat. It's a balance... a balance of weight (momentum), speed (kinetic energy), and accuracy. The likely reason Maris hit the ball farther with the heavier bat was due to impulse time (assuming bat speed was approximately the same)... the heavier bat, with it's greater momentum, stayed in contact with the ball longer, thereby transferring more of its momentum
and energy to the ball. The likely reason Maris preferred the lighter bat was due to accuracy... he hit the ball into play more often with the lighter bat.
So (my opinion), as far as weight goes, a person should pick the heaviest ax/maul he can swing, without adversely giving up speed, but not so heavy that accuracy suffers. Just like a bat, a human can only swing an ax/maul so fast... at some point there is diminishing return, lighter won't be faster.
But there's more to it than weight, speed and accuracy... and that's the argument both
Chris-PA and
Marshy were making with me, it gets real complicated after that (and billiard balls ain't a comparison). The shape and angle(s) of the tool determine how/where/when the "force" is applied, how efficiently the "energy" is used. Even the length, width and height of the tool has to be considered... and the calculations (as though anyone cares) get long and complicated. And then there's the handle... shape, length, material, and whatnot. Your physical build and body strength come into play. I danced around all of that in the argument... on purpose... 'cause I'm an azz when I wanna' be
Hopefully they won't stay mad, or irritated, too long.
I like an 8# maul because I swing it well,
Chris-PA likes a 6# maul because he swings it faster than an 8#,
Marshy likes a 4½# Fiskars because... well I I'm not sure about that one
Anyway, we can argue about what's best all day long; but the truth is... you'll never know what works best for you until you try different weights and head shapes, in the type wood you split. Just because there's a bunch of Fiskars fans don't make it best for you... it might be... it might not be. Likely you'll find that the "best" thing is to have two, or three different tools... depending on what you're splitting (in truth, most of the guys do).
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