Favorite "Go TO" non-powered tool for splitting wood

[maul ratt]

I was wondering what everyone else likes to use when you are splitting firewood? When I was a younger guy, my dad and I spent countless weekends where he ran the Stihl saw and I swung the double bit axe and split the wood. Since then, I have tried every other tool...maul, wedge, wood grenade, etc and I completely forgot about the double bit axe.
Well, I recently found the double-bit in the back of the barn and was once reunited with my old friend once again. It sliced and diced much faster than my newer tools, much to my amazement. I love the speed it generates as it goes through the oak like butter.
If I have to tackle a big round, I now break it down with the Estwing Wedge and finish with the double bit. It's hard to beat the old classic double bit axe. How about your favorites?

 

[StihltheOne]

I prefer "another person" method if I can,t use a powered tool!

 

[Wood Doctor]

Hand Splitting Logs

I use a 2-prong approach. For large logs over 10" dia, I use a 10-lb sledge hammer and two or three 8-lb wedges as needed. When the residual gets down to 6" dia. or so, I pull out an 8-lb splitting maul to finish off what's left.

On occasion, with easy-splitting wood, like soft maple or red oak, I can use the maul by itself to split it all. My maul has an old hickory handle. To extend its life, I wrapped it with braided nylon mason line about 100 times up near the head. So far, that's lasted 25 years.

I like the exercise and challenge of hand splitting, but around here, lot's of firewood is very diffficult to split. Elm, locust, mulberry, hackberry amd pear wood are tough as nails. Even cottonwood is a stringy gorilla.

When pear wood is really dry, it splits under the log splitter like a cherry bomb explosion.

 

[mayor]

Go too Lowes or home depot and get yourself one of the newer type mauls....I'm thinking they are either 4 or 6 lb., they are wedge shaped but sharper points than a regular maul...they almost look like a single bit axe...but they have turnouts moulded into the heads about 1-1/2" or so back......they split very easy....are much easier too use than a 6lb. maul......the only drawback is when the wood splits.....it throws it out too the sides...so make sure nobody is standing off too the sides of where your splitting!. I'm splitting 20" rounds in one swing.....but it IS black oak which splits easy. I just came in from splitting up about 20 pieces in the 12-16" range of cherry.....splits that nice also.
Its my favorite handtool for splitting.

 

[Festus Haggen]

I bought one of the ones from Lowes with the red handle, what a piece of crap. Times two, since the blade actually broke on the first, took it back for another, the "lifetime" head is coming off, the epoxy or whatever is cracking and the head moves on the handle. Not worth my time and effort to go get another. Went to the local hardware store and got an 8 lb. blunt-tipped plain ol' wood-handle maul for 14 bucks. Works great, no problems, only been 2 rounds that I couldn't split.

I used to have a "Chopper One" splitter with the spring-loaded cams, that really did work, don't know what happened to it, and they're like 80 bucks now.

Stick with simple, a maul should not be sharp in any way. You are trying to push the wood apart, not force a bit into the wood. And as they say about saws, "no replacement for displacement". An 8-lb maul if you are anything approaching normal size and health, maybe a 6 if you have bad shoulders or something. Swing with a full circular motion, pick a tiny spot and aim for that. Don't make any "half-swings", take a breather, put a good effort into each stroke. Aim for the bottom of the round, try to drive the maul to the bottom each time.

Sharp blades like axes will work until you hit some real snarly logs, you then either get a real maul or a splitter. Wedges are just too much of a pain to screw around with, I set those rounds aside until I have a bunch, then get them with my hydraulic splitter. Search around, there are hundreds of tips and pointers that will make splitting tolerable, if not really enjoyable.

 

[Haywire Haywood]

I also had one of those Lowes 4lb mauls with the cast in wings. I broke it in about 2 hours. Went back to my regular 6lb maul. See quote in Sig.

Ian

 

[Abbershay]

you have to check this out....!

http://www.chopperaxe.com/whatis.htm

 

[johnzski]

Been using a monster maul for about 25 years now. You know the 13 lb triangle shaped head all steel splitting machine? Had to weld the handle back on and sharpen a few times but won't use anything else

 

[Nailsbeats]

I have been using the Fiskars maul that sells at Sears for quite a few years now. They are the lightest and best functioning maul I have used. We broke a handle once and e-mailed Fiskars and they sent a replacement maul with no proof at all, now that's customer service backing that lifetime warranty. I just showed a guy the other day and he was amazed at what such a small/light piece of equipment like that could do. I haven't met one person yet that isn't instantly in love with the performance. They come in two weights and I believe are 30 or 40 dollars.

 

[Festus Haggen]

you have to check this out....!

http://www.chopperaxe.com/whatis.htm

That's the one I used to have, wish I still had it...

 

[country boy]

My favorite would have to be the fiskars also. I would like to see em make one with a lil bit longer handle though.

 

[Lurch2]

Monster maul is the only thing I've found that I can't destroy in a day or 2. Never really seems to stick either, splits or bounces out.

 

[wildbio]

I use the Helko Tomahawk heavy splitting axe (5 pound) for bigger stuff and their Scandinavian splitting axe (3.5 pound) for the medium stuff.

 

[computeruser]

I've bought or tried pretty much every hand-powered splitting tool out there. The one I consistently return to when I need to get stuff split is the big mega maul from Iron&Oak. Logs, oversized splits, medium-sized kindling, whatever. I never used my other mauls or sledge/wedge anymore after I bought this thing; only the addition of a Timberwolf splitter put the Iron&Oak maul on back-up duty.

 

[Sprig]

Big> Old steel wedge and 6-8lb sledge with a nice long tough handle, then 'it off to da maul!' Small> me customized maul (modded pick handle, much tougher imho than a regular one)

(and as far as I'm concerned these are powered tools too.........by me man!)






Serge

 

[ropensaddle]

I made a splitter out of a bumper jack that worked ok but
the maul of old usa made is my favorite hand chopper!
The 8 &10 pound were my favorites!

 

[Freakingstang]

I use a 16lb mega maul. It isn't one of those piece of craps they sell these days with the 2 foot handle. I had one of those (12 or 13lb) and didn't really like the handle length. I scrounged yard sales, garage sales and auctions until I found an old one like grandpa used to have. Paid 3 bucks for it at an auction and wouldn't sell it for 100 bucks! I has a 39" handle, and a huge 16lb weight on the end of it....

I have a 4 lb fiskars look alike I use on the smaller stuff, but anything bigger than 6" ususally gets the mega maul on it.

I used a 6 and 8lber for years, but got so wore out swinging and swingin, unstick, swing, etc. The mega maul either smashes it, or bounces on a rare occasion.

besides. the big boy is a good workout.

 

[JackD_ME]

http://www.fiskars.com/webapp/wcs/s...01&langId=-1&catalogId=10101&categoryId=10277http://www.fiskars.com/webapp/wcs/s...01&langId=-1&catalogId=10101&categoryId=10277
These Fiskars pro & super splitters (and axes too) are the best easiest tools to use when my hydraulic splitter won't start or runs out of gas or something just breaks!
I have the 4 lb and it just doesn't wear me out like other mauls have.

 

[Butch(OH)]

I prefer "another person" method if I can,t use a powered tool!

Me too, it's the splitter or watch the youngest boy swing a maul.