# 29 pound mega monster maul



## Dolmar7900 (Mar 12, 2015)

Just got this new 29 pound monster maul. It's very heavy but it really does the job.for comparison I added the video of the 15 pound sotz maul and the fiskars x27 super splitting axe, 36-inch


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## cityboy172 (Mar 12, 2015)

My back hurts just watching that first video.


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## OHutton (Mar 12, 2015)

Oh my god, that is incredible. You will have the strongest posterior chain known to man if you keep that up.


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## Bigg_Redd (Mar 13, 2015)

Pass


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## TreePointer (Mar 13, 2015)

At my age, back disc surgery costs much more than a 22-ton splitter.


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## 2PistolPacker (Mar 13, 2015)

Pass X2


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## claydogg84 (Mar 13, 2015)

It damn near flipped you over when it busted through... Seems like that sucker is going to tire you out fairly quickly.


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## Babaganoosh (Mar 13, 2015)

TreePointer said:


> At my age, back disc surgery costs much more than a 22-ton splitter.



I love shoveling snow and granted I'm only 37 but I already have some disk problems with my back from an injury when I was younger. Plus I'm 6'6". This year I bought a snow thrower. Asked myself why didn't I do this 5 years ago.

Being out of work a few days with a messed up back justifies a splitter or snow thrower any day for me.

Edit to add. I would buy one as a conversation piece. Maybe use it with my buddies occasionally for a laugh


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## Osagebndr (Mar 13, 2015)

Hmm...,. I like my grans fors bruks.


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## Dune (Mar 13, 2015)

Looked to me like by far the most effective was the Fiskars.


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## saskwoodburner (Mar 13, 2015)

cityboy172 said:


> My back hurts just watching that first video.



I'd be out for the season if I tried throwing that monster around!


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## sportbikerider78 (Mar 13, 2015)

Looks like an awesome workout.


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## BASSFAN07 (Mar 13, 2015)

You can be just as efficient with a 6lber or the fiskars. You can swing either multiple times before you expend the amount of energy you are using with that monster for a single swing.


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## Dune (Mar 13, 2015)

BASSFAN07 said:


> You can be just as efficient with a 6lber or the fiskars. You can swing either multiple times before you expend the amount of energy you are using with that monster for a single swing.


Disagree.
You need to know where to strike. The Fiskars is far more efficient.


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## brian89gp (Mar 13, 2015)

energy = 1/2 mass * velocity^2

Faster is generally better, until you reach maximum velocity of how fast you can swing with a given handle length (muscular limitations and your ability to control them)


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## TreePointer (Mar 13, 2015)

On some tougher rounds, I like my 8 lb. maul over the X27; however, it becomes a moot issue during a long splitting session.  The X27 allows me to go longer before becoming tired, and this is is especially true for easy splitting wood.


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## BASSFAN07 (Mar 13, 2015)

Dune said:


> Disagree.
> You need to know where to strike. The Fiskars is far more efficient.




Agree. 
Reading wood is paramount and should be foundational to anyone who splits wood by hand.  Technique and form should also be taken into account. 
I enjoy when friends want to come help me split wood and just grab a maul and go to swinging.  Minutes pass and they are whacking and slowing while I'm many rounds deep.  After a quick lesson on reading wood and technique it's amazing how their efficiency increases. They still rarely ever want to return.


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## Dolmar7900 (Mar 13, 2015)

TreePointer said:


> At my age, back disc surgery costs much more than a 22-ton splitter.


Yes I agree you definitely have to be careful so you don't end up having back surgery. Actually with the right technique I've actually rehabbed and strengthened my shoulders and low back. My back and shoulders are stronger now than I was before I started splitting wood.


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## English BoB (Mar 13, 2015)

That was four hits to many for me.

bob


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## Babaganoosh (Mar 13, 2015)

Looking at it again I'd rather take one shot with the 29 pound monster maul, and if it didn't split first time I'd hit the back of the maul with a sledge.  At the end of the first video it looks like it's very easy to hyperextend something or possibly pull your back. The momentum of the monster maul after it splits the wood and then keeps going is where your body is probably most vulnerable.

I'm not an expert but it's just an observation.


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## Jon_E (Mar 13, 2015)

I have a monster maul knockoff.  It's probably about 16 lb.  If what I'm hitting doesn't split with one or two tries, it's off to the hydraulic splitter.

That 29 lb maul is ridiculous.  Not worth the potential for injury.


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## OHutton (Mar 13, 2015)

I think a lot of whether it's safe depends on your existing level of physical fitness. Your average Joe homeowner is going to have a hard time with it. At our gym, we routinely swing 70lb kettlebells overhead for many reps during a workout. You're swinging the opposite direction with a maul, incorporating other muscles, etc, but the idea is similar. Work your way up and don't overdo it. I see no problem swinging this thing if you've gone through some strength and conditioning training and can utilize good body mechanics.


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## gerry100 (Mar 13, 2015)

brian89gp said:


> energy = 1/2 mass * velocity^2
> 
> Faster is generally better, until you reach maximum velocity of how fast you can swing with a given handle length (muscular limitations and your ability to control them)



ie the 29 pounder takes away enough speed to more than negate the mass and therefore reduces impact energy. Not to mention the loss in control and accuracy


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## Osagebndr (Mar 13, 2015)

BASSFAN07 said:


> Agree.
> Reading wood is paramount and should be foundational to anyone who splits wood by hand.  Technique and form should also be taken into account.
> I enjoy when friends want to come help me split wood and just grab a maul and go to swinging.  Minutes pass and they are whacking and slowing while I'm many rounds deep.  After a quick lesson on reading wood and technique it's amazing how their efficiency increases. They still rarely ever want to return.


Very true statement


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## BrotherBart (Mar 13, 2015)

Before my old ass would heft that thing I would move into an old folks home that had a fireplace.

Back in the eighties I swung a monster maul exactly twice. Handed it back and picked up my six pound maul. Since I bought the splitter in 1988 I have misplaced my maul and can't find it. And don't care.


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## bholler (Mar 14, 2015)

BrotherBart said:


> Before my old ass would heft that thing I would move into an old folks home that had a fireplace.


I am a whole lot younger that you in very good shape and i acctually love splitting by hand but there is no way in hell i would ever think about swinging that ridiculous thing.  And yes i have a splitter and use it for most of my wood but i still do at least a cord by hand


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## Knots (Mar 14, 2015)

Next step up from the 29 pounder is to call in an air strike.


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## ChadD (Mar 14, 2015)

I am 29 and after a year of splitting by hand I bought a hydraulic splitter. I figured if this is a long term plan for winter heat I would spend the money early on and enjoy the ease of spiting wood with it for years to come.


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## rwilly (Mar 15, 2015)

It would help a lot if you were able to get those rounds off the ground and onto a chopping block.


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## Bigg_Redd (Mar 15, 2015)

rwilly said:


> It would help a lot if you were able to get those rounds off the ground and onto a chopping block.



The fact that everyone doesn't employ the use of a chopping block is baffling to me.


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## Dolmar7900 (Mar 15, 2015)

Bigg_Redd said:


> The fact that everyone doesn't employ the use of a chopping block is baffling to me.



I tried a chopping block for a while.  Maybe I'm doing it wrong but it seemed to be more beneficial to have the log directly on the ground.   With the chopping block I have to wrestle sometimes big logs up onto the block.   Then being off the ground that extra distance decrease the amount of energy I could transfer into the log because my swing ark was much shorter.  Then I would have to hit the log more times.  If the ground is relatively hard I don't see the benefit with bigger logs.  Splitting small stuff it probably wouldn't matter but still you have to bend over and pick up the log and extra time.usually when I split the smaller stuff and the bigger stuff I packed them all tightly next to each other so they can't go anywhere and it makes it easy to split as a group.  Let me know if you have any suggestions because I may be missing something


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## Osagebndr (Mar 15, 2015)

A block doesn't necessarily have to be 12-16" tall. I have a 40" block that's 8" thick so I don't have to lift the bigger rounds up far to place it on . Keeps mud and dirt off the bottom also.working a big round from outside in is a lot easier than trying to half it also.


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## rwilly (Mar 15, 2015)

Not that anyone doesn't know this already.....

When the splitting maul/axe hits the wood, you want the blade to be parallel to the face of the wood you are splitting. I try and keep a shorter round to use as a chopping block so when my blade hits the wood, it is about waist high.

If you are hitting the wood with just a corner of the blade, then it is not the proper height.


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## Bigg_Redd (Mar 15, 2015)

Dolmar7900 said:


> I tried a chopping block for a while.  Maybe I'm doing it wrong but it seemed to be more beneficial to have the log directly on the ground.   With the chopping block I have to wrestle sometimes big logs up onto the block.   Then being off the ground that extra distance decrease the amount of energy I could transfer into the log because my swing ark was much shorter.  Then I would have to hit the log more times.  If the ground is relatively hard I don't see the benefit with bigger logs.  Splitting small stuff it probably wouldn't matter but still you have to bend over and pick up the log and extra time.usually when I split the smaller stuff and the bigger stuff I packed them all tightly next to each other so they can't go anywhere and it makes it easy to split as a group.  Let me know if you have any suggestions because I may be missing something




I feel that the added protection and added accuracy that a chopping block affords is worth the tradeoff of lifting the round.  The way I figure it I have to manually get any round in position whether I leave it on the ground or not so an extra 16" lift onto my block isn't a ton of extra work.  Obviously I'll halve or even quarter on the ground rounds that are too heavy to lift.  

Also, I find the longer arc = stronger arc to be specious.  If that where really true then you'd see more people standing on a block to raise themselves more over the splits.


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## Dolmar7900 (Mar 15, 2015)

ChadD said:


> I am 29 and after a year of splitting by hand I bought a hydraulic splitter. I figured if this is a long term plan for winter heat I would spend the money early on and enjoy the ease of spiting wood with it for years to come.



That's funny. I'm 45 and I bought a log splitter but now I have so much fun splitting wood by hand I'm thinking about selling the log splitter because I don't use it.    I just let my buddy use my log splitter because he's 35 and it's too hard on his body to split.


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## KenLockett (Mar 15, 2015)

Dune said:


> Looked to me like by far the most effective was the Fiskars.


+1 on that one.  The red maul looks unwieldy.  Fiskars for straight grain rounds and 22 ton log splitter for everything else.


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## Osagebndr (Mar 16, 2015)

I like to mount a spare tire to my block also to keep from having to pick the wood back up as I split


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## iamlucky13 (Mar 16, 2015)

Bigg_Redd said:


> The fact that everyone doesn't employ the use of a chopping block is baffling to me.



I was getting really curious reading this thread that nobody had mentioned the lack of chopping block. I was starting to think I was the odd guy out for using one.



Dolmar7900 said:


> Maybe I'm doing it wrong but it seemed to be more beneficial to have the log directly on the ground. With the chopping block I have to wrestle sometimes big logs up onto the block.



With the big rounds, I will often leave it on the ground and do the first split with wedges, since the first always takes quite a bit of effort anyways. The wedge sits higher for most of the split anyways, and the way I swing when driving a wedge is much different than when splitting directly with the maul.



Osagebndr said:


> I like to mount a spare tire to my block also to keep from having to pick the wood back up as I split



I just saw this idea for the first time recently. I also just recently found the previous property owner left a tire buried behind some brush I was cutting. I'll give it a try when I start splitting this spring.


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## Snagdaddy (Mar 16, 2015)

nothing beats a sotz monster maul for splitting the knotty rounds without hauling out the hydro splitter.  the fiskars and the 6 and 8 pounders just get stuck.  of course these other mauls have their place.  don't make me use the golf analogy.


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## drz1050 (Mar 16, 2015)

As far as mauls getting stuck.. some old ones have a concave profile after the edge, can't get stuck if there is no contact  

It's not 100%; They still get stuck a little bit, but are very easy to pull back out.


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