splitting by hand
The stuff I split is not susceptible to hand splitting for the most part. It's twisty almond, huge valley oak and orchard walnut. I also find that the shock of using an axe or a maul leaves my hands and wrists so sore that it's just not worth the pain. Much more efficient to burn fuel rather than glucose. When I was younger and when I had teenage boys who could swing a maul we would split the small stuff by hand with a six or eight pounder, but you had to split it green. Once it dries, even a little, it takes so much time that you're much better off with the hydraulics. We'd drop the tree and dice it up, then go down the line with a maul. Anything that doesn't split easily, you leave it. Load the split stuff and small stuff and come back with the splitter for the rejects and the bigger stuff. Much more efficient, as far as the number of times you have to handle the wood.