Mauls Only!

[Upidstay]

8#, not sure what brand. Bought it at a tag sale for $5.

 

[Gypo Logger]

I know this threads about mauls only, but I saw a 36" Fiskars in Canadian Tire for 65 dolla. It looks good and felt good but it wasn't in the budget.
Splitting wood is like whipping a towel. Bring the maul up a little bit behind the ear and when you swing and the head of the maul is just a bit above belt height, slide the forehand down to meet the other hand. That's where the power is.
Concentrate on aim and try to hit the same place twice.

 

[Johnny Yooper]

I've been using the same maul since I was a teenager splitting with my dad; he had two mauls and he always used the narrower one so I got the wider one; to this day I don't know what make it is as there's no identification other than some illegible mark stamped into the head; dad still has the narrow one, and I "inherited" the other one. I've been splitting with that for about 39 years now. Never knew how much it weighed until this winter: had it in the house to install a new handle, went with a fiberglass one and was going to epoxy the head onto it and directions said to cure for a day at 75F so I built a fire in the wood stove in the living room and set the assembled maul next to the stove; that same night I had a meat scale on the counter as the kids and I were wrapping venison and I weigh and mark the packages before going into the freezer to make it quick and easy math when I pull them out to make bacon and sausage.....well.....I just happened to have the maul head in the kitchen prepping for the new handle and just for grins I placed it on the scale......it read 6.0 lbs. This is the fourth handle that I know of....I broke the original wood handle when I was about 16 and when my dad saw that he said it's time to make some handles so next time we went out to deer camp we cut a couple of ironwood trees, selected the best four feet from each and let those bolts dry for quite some time and then formed a couple of handles using a draw knife. That handle lasted me through college, but some years later while back home one weekend helping dad with some splitting, I was waaaay out of practice and the old aim wasn't as good as it used to be and I busted that ironwood handle, so went to fiberglass; the head worked loose from that one after about 20 years, so now on the second fiberglass, I don't notice any more vibration with the fiberglass over the wood handles and it seems the former results in less slip. Moral of the story: if you don't keep up with your aim, you'll be replacin' handles

 

[Gypo Logger]

I've been using the same maul since I was a teenager splitting with my dad; he had two mauls and he always used the narrower one so I got the wider one; to this day I don't know what make it is as there's no identification other than some illegible mark stamped into the head; dad still has the narrow one, and I "inherited" the other one. I've been splitting with that for about 39 years now. Never knew how much it weighed until this winter: had it in the house to install a new handle, went with a fiberglass one and was going to epoxy the head onto it and directions said to cure for a day at 75F so I built a fire in the wood stove in the living room and set the assembled maul next to the stove; that same night I had a meat scale on the counter as the kids and I were wrapping venison and I weigh and mark the packages before going into the freezer to make it quick and easy math when I pull them out to make bacon and sausage.....well.....I just happened to have the maul head in the kitchen prepping for the new handle and just for grins I placed it on the scale......it read 6.0 lbs. This is the fourth handle that I know of....I broke the original wood handle when I was about 16 and when my dad saw that he said it's time to make some handles so next time we went out to deer camp we cut a couple of ironwood trees, selected the best four feet from each and let those bolts dry for quite some time and then formed a couple of handles using a draw knife. That handle lasted me through college, but some years later while back home one weekend helping dad with some splitting, I was waaaay out of practice and the old aim wasn't as good as it used to be and I busted that ironwood handle, so went to fiberglass; the head worked loose from that one after about 20 years, so now on the second fiberglass, I don't notice any more vibration with the fiberglass over the wood handles and it seems the former results in less slip. Moral of the story: if you don't keep up with your aim, you'll be replacin' handles

That's a great post! You missed your calling as an outdoor journalist!
Sounds like you're a chip off the ole block.
John

 

[ppkgmsy]

It's all in the swing. When I was in better shape I'd could ring the bell 3 times in a row at fairs.
I could overhear much bigger guys say in the background that the bald headed runt can never do it, but when they stepped up to the plate most of them couldn't even ring it once. Lol

From one bald-headed runt to another -- Well done, sir.

 

[blue924.9]

6 pound roughneck maul from northern tool over here, until yesterday it had factory stickers and warning labels on it, now sports electrical tape on the handle near the head to help with overstrikes and splits tearing it apart as it goes through it. also has a nice coat of teflon spray on it and will get a sharpened edge when i can find my small hand held whetstone

 

[Johnny Yooper]

It's all in the swing. When I was in better shape I'd could ring the bell 3 times in a row at fairs.
I could overhear much bigger guys say in the background that the bald headed runt can never do it, but when they stepped up to the plate most of them couldn't even ring it once. Lol

That reminds me of something my dad told me years ago about a local logger who not only rung the bell at the local fair, but knocked it off the pole with a one arm swing........he was holding one of his kids in his other arm. I had the honor of knowing that guy (he died twenty-some years ago) and there were lots of stories about his strength, some published and some simply passed down, nicest guy you'd ever meet......but no one ever ever messed with him.

 

[Gypo Logger]

That reminds me of something my dad told me years ago about a local logger who not only rung the bell at the local fair, but knocked it off the pole with a one arm swing........he was holding one of his kids in his other arm. I had the honor of knowing that guy (he died twenty-some years ago) and there were lots of stories about his strength, some published and some simply passed down, nicest guy you'd ever meet......but no one ever ever messed with him.

Your post reminds me of this National Lampoon.

 

[brenndatomu]

I had a big birch round once that really tested me. The kids were watching me during that splitting session and counting how many swings it took to bust up each round. It was one of those that had a little bit of punk in one part of it which literally acted as a shock absorber making it very hard to split.

62 whacks to halve it and another 13 to get it into eighths. But we got er done lol

You didn't by any chance post a vid of that on youtube recently, did you?

 

[svk]

You didn't by any chance post a vid of that on youtube recently, did you?

Nope, fortunately that one didn't make it onto film.

 

[fixit1960]

Nope, fortunately that one didn't make it onto film.

SVK, perseverance is never something you should be ashamed of. You didn't give up.....who cares what others think. I've set some big tough rounds aside at times and whacked on them during different splitting sessions for months until I got them split. I showed them. At that time I didn't have a splitter and wasn't about to start up the saw in the splitting yard and let the kids know I couldn't hand split it. Of course that was 15 years ago... Age has a way of mellowing you

 

[svk]

SVK, perseverance is never something you should be ashamed of. You didn't give up.....who cares what others think. I've set some big tough rounds aside at times and whacked on them during different splitting sessions for months until I got them split. I showed them. At that time I didn't have a splitter and wasn't about to start up the saw in the splitting yard and let the kids know I couldn't hand split it. Of course that was 15 years ago... Age has a way of mellowing you

I agree! But can you imagine all of the armchair QB's commenting that I don't know how to split wood if I posted something like that!

 

[fixit1960]

I agree! But can you imagine all of the armchair QB's commenting that I don't know how to split wood if I posted something like that!

Re read what I wrote, maybe you missed it. You didn't give up.....who cares what others think.. Remember, in life the only one you need to make happy or care about what they think is...... yourself and those you love. To hell with the rest of them..and what they think. Here's one I use every so often; "I don't care if I'm making you mad, I'm not sleeping with you!" .

.......and for the girl friend when things get hostile I remind her that half of the population is configured in such a way as to be able to anatomically replace her on a whim. That's a big ocean out there.....

But seriously, she's a good woman and I can even get her to run a saw, stack and machine split...most of the time

 

[svk]

Re read what I wrote, maybe you missed it. You didn't give up.....who cares what others think.. Remember, in life the only one you need to make happy or care about what they think is...... yourself and those you love. To hell with the rest of them..and what they think. Here's one I use every so often; "I don't care if I'm making you mad, I'm not sleeping with you!" .

.......and for the girl friend when things get hostile I remind her that half of the population is configured in such a way as to be able to anatomically replace her on a whim. That's a big ocean out there.....

But seriously, she's a good woman and I can even get her to run a saw, stack and machine split...most of the time

I hear you loud and clear. Took me into my early 30's to honestly quit caring what others think of me. Everyone has their own mountain to climb.

 

[Bob95065]

I have 2 8lb mauls, one I bought and a friend gave me the other. I don't know who made them. See my avatar for a shot of one in action.

 

[Guido Salvage]

I'm a Scoutmaster with a Troop and on one camp out a year we set up the wood yard and work on Paul Bunyon skills. I bring my maul and axe and demonstrate technique and safety and then work with them to learn the basics. Surprisingly some take to it right away, others not so much. In those settings I very seldom let one get me. I figure we are at least exposing them to a skill they would never probably be exposed to in real life. Hopefully later on if they do pick up a maul/axe they know how to work it safely.

Several years ago I was cutting wood for my mother and my sister and 2 kids were there to help stack. My nephew is an Eagle Scout (as am I), but I found out that day that he did not know how to swing an axe. I was pretty pissed that someone could achieve a rank without acquiring basic skills.

 

[fixit1960]

Several years ago I was cutting wood for my mother and my sister and 2 kids were there to help stack. My nephew is an Eagle Scout (as am I), but I found out that day that he did not know how to swing an axe. I was pretty pissed that someone could achieve a rank without acquiring basic skills.

Congratulation's on your rank achievement and his......we as Scoutmasters see this all the time. They are changing the requirements yearly and some of us old farts believe it is to make it easier for the new recruits to succeed and keep the enrolled numbers up. I don't like it because an Eagle scout from last year should have the same knowledge and skills (within reason ) as someone who achieved that rank 30 years ago. But that is not the case.. Another case of dumbing down the requirements in order to pass the test, because parents and instructors don't want to hold their feet to the fire..

I'll bet you instructed him in the proper usage right?

 

[maul ratt]

Here's my favorite maul... Big Ox by Ochsenkopf

 

[rob206]

What do you have? 6, 8, 10 pound? Some other size? Which one(s) do you prefer?

No splitting axes allowed in this thread!

6# True Temper and 8# Collins here. They both have a similar shape with a good sharp edge and modest taper. Haven't noticed much difference in performance between the two, I think the higher speed of the 6 balances out the heavier weight of the 8. I've noticed my accuracy with the 8 isn't as good.

What do you have? 6, 8, 10 pound? Some other size? Which one(s) do you prefer?

No splitting axes allowed in this thread!

6# True Temper and 8# Collins here. They both have a similar shape with a good sharp edge and modest taper. Haven't noticed much difference in performance between the two, I think the higher speed of the 6 balances out the heavier weight of the 8. I've noticed my accuracy with the 8 isn't as good.

I use a Monster Maul. Supposed to weigh 12lbs, never weighed it to see exactly how heavy it is. I learned early on, to let the maul do the work. Trying to swing that sucker as hard as possible will have you gasping for air after a dozen or so swings. If I can't bust it with my MM, out come the sledge & wedge.

 

[El Quachito]

Top to bottom: WECO #6 made in Japan, Chinese made #8 and a Mexican #8. I intended to sell these after I fixed them up--so that means I am half way there atleast.

Is $30 too much to ask?