Best methods for splitting firewood

[Big_Eddy]

I try to do about 1/3 of a cord per day. An hour in the morning before other work, and an hour or two when I get home. (more of less until it gets dark)
Definitely not trying to hand split all day. Screw that

3 hours for 1/3 cord? You definitely need to be more efficient. A fiskars splitting axe should easily cut that down to well under an hour per face cord.

2 Fiskars in action

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

i like splitting wood with my splitter. always a fun day, making stix, and the side-by of chips fed fire going, too. horizontal. would like a tilt. i like hand splitting, too. but my oak too hard! i got a handful of various axes. i like my camp axes best. i gather primary kindling off my lawn! ( dozen big pine trees) make my augmenting kindling out of 10" split by hand cedar fence slats saw cut a doz at a time, 10" . and to be honest, for my needs... prefer ez scrounge firewood off the curb ez to get, cut, no split and fireplace ready. today down the street they dropped a big pecan. many limbs fireplace stix sized... and neighbor up the street put out on curb today 1/2 3/4 cord of chunks. nice fireplace to split size... need to ask him type wood. actually... it rains firewood here in my neighborhood.

i guess you could say i am a bit of a firewood collector....

 

[lohan808]

I am using a 8lb cheapo maul. I do like my Stihl/ Ochsenkopf 4.5 splitting maul. Great profile and splits oak like a laser.

 

[Mike Van]

You'se guys have me thinking I'll get Allison a Fiskars for a Christmas present!
View attachment 1131442
But she swings that 8 pounder well.

A chopping block is needed here, gets the wood up higher to cut down on the aching back i see in your pic. Also,, the soft ground absorbs much of the blow, the block would cure that too.

 

[Jere39]

Not sure I'd sign up for 30 cords by hand, but I split 12-16 every year during the November-March firewood season. I split mostly straight grained Red Oak that just naturally halves at the sight of a Fiskars x27. Now that I am on the down hill side of 70, I sometimes apply an old craftsman maul on the ones I can no longer lift. This set, plus my French Brittany are my firewood team:

 

[spuldup]

@Jere39 You are an inspiration to so many of us across many forums!

 

[Breckinridge Elkins]

Any difference between the X25 and X27 besides handle length?

 

[sean donato]

Fiskers iso core maul for the harder stuff, x27 for rhe easier stuff, then the splitter with hydraulic lift for when I'm lazy/ can't split with the maul or x27. Well truthfully I mostly split with the splitter, it's just all around easier on my body.