Hand Splitting Technique
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sportbikerider78
Minister of Fire
Yep...i don't ride a horse to work anymore either.
For the record,,,I hand split about 3-4 cord this year.
Paulywalnut
Minister of Fire
My problem is I'm never sore while I'm working. Two days later is when I feel like I've been hit by a large truck. I always have to think, what did I do to be hurting like this.
I built this thing last year and split a little more than 5 cord with it. I didn't use it this season as I had use of a hydro. The wedge is made of a discarded cutting edge from one of our municipal plows. I saw this on YouTube and I just had to make one. The one on YouTube was quite a bit lighter than mine. The wedge alone weighs just over 100 lbs. Not too bad to work with once you get the hang of it. I split most everything from cedar kindling to big gnarly yellow birch uglies.
![[Hearth.com] Hand Splitting Technique](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/165/165140-644031fa304783eed5373a7870a9b4bb.jpg?hash=S-iKVVtKWL "[Hearth.com] Hand Splitting Technique")
Here's a YouTube video splitting some cedar kindling with the Magic Wood Chopper. (As dubbed by my wife)
Here's a YouTube video splitting some cedar kindling with the Magic Wood Chopper. (As dubbed by my wife)
Last edited:
Little Digger
Member
I still prefer to use a splitting axe over a maul of any kind or weight. I just can't see beating myself half to death with a 15# wedge on a pipe or 8# maul. Even a 6# maul is only used when absolutely necessary.
Yesterday for grins I used a "boys axe" to split up some rounds. Amazingly it worked fairly well considering the thing weighed a pound and a half with maybe a 2 foot hickory handle. My "Go To" splitting axe is the Fiskars X27 though.
Yesterday for grins I used a "boys axe" to split up some rounds. Amazingly it worked fairly well considering the thing weighed a pound and a half with maybe a 2 foot hickory handle. My "Go To" splitting axe is the Fiskars X27 though.
The video looks scary, but, the cutting edge is no where near hitting my hand. It's very controllable and precise. The arm is balanced closely with the strut spring and it takes little effort to pull the wedge down into the wood. It worked better than I'd hoped, really.
I use the same 8lbs maul. I start with a pendulum swing on my right side. Bringing the maul up centered over my head. With two hands together at the end of the handel I start the downward motion. Head speed is the key. If it's tearing you up, you should try a 6 lbs maul. Force = mass x velocity squared.
Good thread. I made some discoveries this year. I scanned every post on this thread (so far) and I have some quick replies...
Swing - Mine has always been two hands at the bottom of the handle, maul straight down my back, and then over my head in a center line with my legs widely spaced apart. Once I get the round into smaller pieces, of course I cycle much more quickly with half and quarter swings, like the video below. I'm talking about the mighty swings. At the last minute I try to "snap" more velocity into it from my wrists and isolate my shoulders and back from the impact. That last instant I consciously try to not "put my back into it", letting the maul do the work. I have bulging discs aplenty and 2 back surgeries - I don't punish my back or my shoulders. And of course I'm visualizing the maul splitting hitting the chopping block, going straight thru the round of firewood! Like a martial arts pro breaking bricks.
- Top tips -
**Use something to contain/manage the round as you split it, like a light truck tire on a nice big chopping block. This video changed my life...
After seeing it for the first time about 3 years ago, I couldn't believe I EVER did it any other way. WHAT A TIME SAVER!! (Yes, you'll need two chopping blocks, one without the tire for the big rounds, before you split them down enough to fit inside the tire.)
**Leave plenty of room around your chopping block so you can circle and destroy!
**Stand on a 2 or 3" piece of evenly cut round, to get extra height and velocity in your swing. I'm only 5'6", 145lbs. Strong for my size, but that trick really helps for the hard-case pieces. And my yard is pitched downhill, so I work with that, not against it, when setting up.
- TOOLS -
The Fiskars X27 has an edge that's like a Henckels kitchen knife. I mean no s__t, this thing is wicked sharp. Downside is, the edge is delicate, cause the relief (knife talk) is nothing like we have come to expect from mauls. As a matter of fact, as I'm writing this, I'm realizing, there is NO RELIEF in the edge grind!! The edge starts and ends in one single angle. Sucks for durability but makes for easy sharpening. Just position the file flush against the blade and it finds the optimum sharpening angle. Of course you still gotta have a feel for what you're doing, but it's very easy to get right.
After swinging the Fiskars X27 for only a couple of days, the blade had serious nicks and burrs that had to be filed away. If you can't sharpen, you won't realize the full joy of owning this thing. Still even with the imperfections in the blade, it was still performing beautifully.
- TOP TIPS for the Fiskars X27 -
**Swing with your feet WIDE WIDE WIDE apart. IF THIS THING hits your leg or foot, you are in SERIOUS trouble. It's way too nasty, do not drop your guard with this axe!!
**The blade does not get stuck easily, but of course there will be times when you will have to rock it out of your cut. KEEP YOUR FINGERS AWAY from the blade when you are dislodging it.
**This edge is a knife edge. To really get it back, you have to finish with a smaller file, and some fine passes. A bigger crosscut is fine to clean it up, but if you wanna run your finger over that blade and cry YAHTZEE!! you gotta go smaller.
More if you're interested...
This year I lost all romantic attachment to my "home store" 8 lb maul that I've had for 10 years or so. The cutting edge was never even straight, what a bee-otch it is to sharpen. (black head, yellow handle) I don't have my hand-me-down hydraulic log splitter any more. Gave it away. Too tired of the squirrels eating the gas tank and fuel lines, and buying a carbuerator a year cause of all the ethanol damage. But I also decided I'm an idiot not to take a closer look at "maul science". I knew that old 8 lb thing was BS. I feel really great in terms of strength, muscles and joints (more on that later) so I wasn't afraid of splitting all this wood by hand. Got a late start, but it's old wood so a lot of the moisture is already gone.
A cool friend lent me the two monster mauls (welded, all steel, worn red paint), a "light" one and the big bada boom. I had ordered the Fiskars X27, and I was almost regretting it before it came, thinking "You got the use of those others for free, why the hell did you spend $60???" cause the monster mauls were pretty good. The smaller MM is the go-to, and WORLDS better than that poor performer 8 lb maul I had been using for years. But, only a day after I took possesion of my lender monster mauls, the Fiskars came UPS. And that story I already told you.
Now for the last... How come at 52 yrs old I can still swing a maul for hours a day, day after day? No serious shoulder damage after using a Silky saw in a tree for hours... except for minor aches and pains... NO arthritis pain in my hands despite obvious osteo arthritis nodes... no more sciatica or back pain... only need 6 hours sleep...
It's cause of SOUL and CORE.
(broken link removed to http://www.myrainlife.com/184794)
I'm telling you, SOUL nutritional supplement by Rain Int'l saved my effin' life. My MCL in my knee FINALLY HEALED permanently after YEARS of limping around like a dog. I can RUN up and down stairs now, when only one year ago my MCL (some call it a TCL) was so delicate I couldn't go to the next step until both legs were on the one below. After being on SOUL for one month, my knee was strong and I started to lose weight. I am down from 177 to 147. My diet was always 90% vegetarian. My eating habits have not changed except that I also do green smoothies sometimes now. My cholesterol went down 50 points!! This stuff is GOLD, liquid GOLD. Every morning, I take one CORE and one SOUL, before, during or after my coffee. I am distributor #184794. In order to try it, you have to plug in someone's number. Use mine, or use someone else's. But TRY IT.
(broken link removed to http://www.myrainlife.com/184794)
I love seed nutrition and I think I will take it forever. And they give you a money back guarantee, so definitely TRY IT! I swear it saved my youth. I am no longer scared about getting older. A year ago, I thought, if I feel this way now, good God, what the heck's gonna happen 10 years down the road? But since SOUL and CORE, I'm good. Yes, you can make it into a business and a money maker, but I take it first and foremost for health and strength. Independently verified by Brunswck Labs, it makes your cells last 62% LONGER!! That's CRAZY
Don't let that unsplit wood pile intimidate you
God Bless!!
Miko
Swing - Mine has always been two hands at the bottom of the handle, maul straight down my back, and then over my head in a center line with my legs widely spaced apart. Once I get the round into smaller pieces, of course I cycle much more quickly with half and quarter swings, like the video below. I'm talking about the mighty swings. At the last minute I try to "snap" more velocity into it from my wrists and isolate my shoulders and back from the impact. That last instant I consciously try to not "put my back into it", letting the maul do the work. I have bulging discs aplenty and 2 back surgeries - I don't punish my back or my shoulders. And of course I'm visualizing the maul splitting hitting the chopping block, going straight thru the round of firewood! Like a martial arts pro breaking bricks.
- Top tips -
**Use something to contain/manage the round as you split it, like a light truck tire on a nice big chopping block. This video changed my life...
After seeing it for the first time about 3 years ago, I couldn't believe I EVER did it any other way. WHAT A TIME SAVER!! (Yes, you'll need two chopping blocks, one without the tire for the big rounds, before you split them down enough to fit inside the tire.)
**Leave plenty of room around your chopping block so you can circle and destroy!
**Stand on a 2 or 3" piece of evenly cut round, to get extra height and velocity in your swing. I'm only 5'6", 145lbs. Strong for my size, but that trick really helps for the hard-case pieces. And my yard is pitched downhill, so I work with that, not against it, when setting up.
- TOOLS -
The Fiskars X27 has an edge that's like a Henckels kitchen knife. I mean no s__t, this thing is wicked sharp. Downside is, the edge is delicate, cause the relief (knife talk) is nothing like we have come to expect from mauls. As a matter of fact, as I'm writing this, I'm realizing, there is NO RELIEF in the edge grind!! The edge starts and ends in one single angle. Sucks for durability but makes for easy sharpening. Just position the file flush against the blade and it finds the optimum sharpening angle. Of course you still gotta have a feel for what you're doing, but it's very easy to get right.
After swinging the Fiskars X27 for only a couple of days, the blade had serious nicks and burrs that had to be filed away. If you can't sharpen, you won't realize the full joy of owning this thing. Still even with the imperfections in the blade, it was still performing beautifully.
- TOP TIPS for the Fiskars X27 -
**Swing with your feet WIDE WIDE WIDE apart. IF THIS THING hits your leg or foot, you are in SERIOUS trouble. It's way too nasty, do not drop your guard with this axe!!
**The blade does not get stuck easily, but of course there will be times when you will have to rock it out of your cut. KEEP YOUR FINGERS AWAY from the blade when you are dislodging it.
**This edge is a knife edge. To really get it back, you have to finish with a smaller file, and some fine passes. A bigger crosscut is fine to clean it up, but if you wanna run your finger over that blade and cry YAHTZEE!! you gotta go smaller.
More if you're interested...
This year I lost all romantic attachment to my "home store" 8 lb maul that I've had for 10 years or so. The cutting edge was never even straight, what a bee-otch it is to sharpen. (black head, yellow handle) I don't have my hand-me-down hydraulic log splitter any more. Gave it away. Too tired of the squirrels eating the gas tank and fuel lines, and buying a carbuerator a year cause of all the ethanol damage. But I also decided I'm an idiot not to take a closer look at "maul science". I knew that old 8 lb thing was BS. I feel really great in terms of strength, muscles and joints (more on that later) so I wasn't afraid of splitting all this wood by hand. Got a late start, but it's old wood so a lot of the moisture is already gone.
A cool friend lent me the two monster mauls (welded, all steel, worn red paint), a "light" one and the big bada boom. I had ordered the Fiskars X27, and I was almost regretting it before it came, thinking "You got the use of those others for free, why the hell did you spend $60???" cause the monster mauls were pretty good. The smaller MM is the go-to, and WORLDS better than that poor performer 8 lb maul I had been using for years. But, only a day after I took possesion of my lender monster mauls, the Fiskars came UPS. And that story I already told you.
Now for the last... How come at 52 yrs old I can still swing a maul for hours a day, day after day? No serious shoulder damage after using a Silky saw in a tree for hours... except for minor aches and pains... NO arthritis pain in my hands despite obvious osteo arthritis nodes... no more sciatica or back pain... only need 6 hours sleep...
It's cause of SOUL and CORE.
(broken link removed to http://www.myrainlife.com/184794)
I'm telling you, SOUL nutritional supplement by Rain Int'l saved my effin' life. My MCL in my knee FINALLY HEALED permanently after YEARS of limping around like a dog. I can RUN up and down stairs now, when only one year ago my MCL (some call it a TCL) was so delicate I couldn't go to the next step until both legs were on the one below. After being on SOUL for one month, my knee was strong and I started to lose weight. I am down from 177 to 147. My diet was always 90% vegetarian. My eating habits have not changed except that I also do green smoothies sometimes now. My cholesterol went down 50 points!! This stuff is GOLD, liquid GOLD. Every morning, I take one CORE and one SOUL, before, during or after my coffee. I am distributor #184794. In order to try it, you have to plug in someone's number. Use mine, or use someone else's. But TRY IT.
(broken link removed to http://www.myrainlife.com/184794)
I love seed nutrition and I think I will take it forever. And they give you a money back guarantee, so definitely TRY IT! I swear it saved my youth. I am no longer scared about getting older. A year ago, I thought, if I feel this way now, good God, what the heck's gonna happen 10 years down the road? But since SOUL and CORE, I'm good. Yes, you can make it into a business and a money maker, but I take it first and foremost for health and strength. Independently verified by Brunswck Labs, it makes your cells last 62% LONGER!! That's CRAZY
Don't let that unsplit wood pile intimidate you
God Bless!!
Miko
Attachments
![[Hearth.com] Hand Splitting Technique](/talk/data/attachments/165/165199-809048fd87a8378c15a503517eef1769.jpg?hash=fftWR87lks)
![[Hearth.com] Hand Splitting Technique](/talk/data/attachments/165/165200-4abf4597cd865cfa628d6c43c549cfbb.jpg?hash=O8uKUcd8Z_)
![[Hearth.com] Hand Splitting Technique](/talk/data/attachments/165/165201-b4a87b5f1423cb0dfe740add7ed7df1b.jpg?hash=dBAdVPc8yV)
![[Hearth.com] Hand Splitting Technique](/talk/data/attachments/165/165202-2ef159bfed658c6115f78bfdd43eee3c.jpg?hash=myTJGBjk9I)
Last edited:
mwhitnee
Minister of Fire
Different prices for different lengths. Amazon has 28 inch $45 and 36 inch (for taller users) $55.
sportbikerider78
Minister of Fire
Likely should use the impact force to slow something down...not a modified acceleration formula.
F = 1/2 m v2 / s
...where s = distance stopping force is applied..in this case the length of a split.
Want to not kill your shoulders? Cut shorter splits and use a lighter maul.
I find this site really helpful when you find yourself pontificating real life engineering calculations.
http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/impact-force-d_1780.html
"Ok let's go split some wood.... Fiskars? Check. 8# Maul? Check. Graphing calculator? Check!
Good thread. I made some discoveries this year. I scanned every post on this thread (so far) and I have some quick replies...
Swing - Mine has always been two hands at the bottom of the handle, maul straight down my back, and then over my head in a center line with my legs widely spaced apart. Once I get the round into smaller pieces, of course I cycle much more quickly with half and quarter swings, like the video below. I'm talking about the mighty swings. At the last minute I try to "snap" more velocity into it from my wrists and isolate my shoulders and back from the impact. That last instant I consciously try to not "put my back into it", letting the maul do the work. I have bulging discs aplenty and 2 back surgeries - I don't punish my back or my shoulders. And of course I'm visualizing the maul splitting hitting the chopping block, going straight thru the round of firewood! Like a martial arts pro breaking bricks.
- Top tips -
**Use something to contain/manage the round as you split it, like a light truck tire on a nice big chopping block. This video changed my life...
After seeing it for the first time about 3 years ago, I couldn't believe I EVER did it any other way. WHAT A TIME SAVER!! (Yes, you'll need two chopping blocks, one without the tire for the big rounds, before you split them down enough to fit inside the tire.)
**Leave plenty of room around your chopping block so you can circle and destroy!
**Stand on a 2 or 3" piece of evenly cut round, to get extra height and velocity in your swing. I'm only 5'6", 145lbs. Strong for my size, but that trick really helps for the hard-case pieces. And my yard is pitched downhill, so I work with that, not against it, when setting up.
- TOOLS -
The Fiskars X27 has an edge that's like a Henckels kitchen knife. I mean no s__t, this thing is wicked sharp. Downside is, the edge is delicate, cause the relief (knife talk) is nothing like we have come to expect from mauls. As a matter of fact, as I'm writing this, I'm realizing, there is NO RELIEF in the edge grind!! The edge starts and ends in one single angle. Sucks for durability but makes for easy sharpening. Just position the file flush against the blade and it finds the optimum sharpening angle. Of course you still gotta have a feel for what you're doing, but it's very easy to get right.
After swinging the Fiskars X27 for only a couple of days, the blade had serious nicks and burrs that had to be filed away. If you can't sharpen, you won't realize the full joy of owning this thing. Still even with the imperfections in the blade, it was still performing beautifully.
- TOP TIPS for the Fiskars X27 -
**Swing with your feet WIDE WIDE WIDE apart. IF THIS THING hits your leg or foot, you are in SERIOUS trouble. It's way too nasty, do not drop your guard with this axe!!
**The blade does not get stuck easily, but of course there will be times when you will have to rock it out of your cut. KEEP YOUR FINGERS AWAY from the blade when you are dislodging it.
**This edge is a knife edge. To really get it back, you have to finish with a smaller file, and some fine passes. A bigger crosscut is fine to clean it up, but if you wanna run your finger over that blade and cry YAHTZEE!! you gotta go smaller.
More if you're interested...
This year I lost all romantic attachment to my "home store" 8 lb maul that I've had for 10 years or so. The cutting edge was never even straight, what a bee-otch it is to sharpen. (black head, yellow handle) I don't have my hand-me-down hydraulic log splitter any more. Gave it away. Too tired of the squirrels eating the gas tank and fuel lines, and buying a carbuerator a year cause of all the ethanol damage. But I also decided I'm an idiot not to take a closer look at "maul science". I knew that old 8 lb thing was BS. I feel really great in terms of strength, muscles and joints (more on that later) so I wasn't afraid of splitting all this wood by hand. Got a late start, but it's old wood so a lot of the moisture is already gone.
A cool friend lent me the two monster mauls (welded, all steel, worn red paint), a "light" one and the big bada boom. I had ordered the Fiskars X27, and I was almost regretting it before it came, thinking "You got the use of those others for free, why the hell did you spend $60???" cause the monster mauls were pretty good. The smaller MM is the go-to, and WORLDS better than that poor performer 8 lb maul I had been using for years. But, only a day after I took possesion of my lender monster mauls, the Fiskars came UPS. And that story I already told you.
Now for the last... How come at 52 yrs old I can still swing a maul for hours a day, day after day? No serious shoulder damage after using a Silky saw in a tree for hours... except for minor aches and pains... NO arthritis pain in my hands despite obvious osteo arthritis nodes... no more sciatica or back pain... only need 6 hours sleep...
It's cause of SOUL and CORE.
(broken link removed to http://www.myrainlife.com/184794)
I'm telling you, SOUL nutritional supplement by Rain Int'l saved my effin' life. My MCL in my knee FINALLY HEALED permanently after YEARS of limping around like a dog. I can RUN up and down stairs now, when only one year ago my MCL (some call it a TCL) was so delicate I couldn't go to the next step until both legs were on the one below. After being on SOUL for one month, my knee was strong and I started to lose weight. I am down from 177 to 147. My diet was always 90% vegetarian. My eating habits have not changed except that I also do green smoothies sometimes now. My cholesterol went down 50 points!! This stuff is GOLD, liquid GOLD. Every morning, I take one CORE and one SOUL, before, during or after my coffee. I am distributor #184794. In order to try it, you have to plug in someone's number. Use mine, or use someone else's. But TRY IT.
(broken link removed to http://www.myrainlife.com/184794)
I love seed nutrition and I think I will take it forever. And they give you a money back guarantee, so definitely TRY IT! I swear it saved my youth. I am no longer scared about getting older. A year ago, I thought, if I feel this way now, good God, what the heck's gonna happen 10 years down the road? But since SOUL and CORE, I'm good. Yes, you can make it into a business and a money maker, but I take it first and foremost for health and strength. Independently verified by Brunswck Labs, it makes your cells last 62% LONGER!! That's CRAZY
Don't let that unsplit wood pile intimidate you
God Bless!!
Miko
I'm on a super strict Super Bassomatic '76 diet.
![[Hearth.com] Hand Splitting Technique](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/165/165263-2f1ef2fc66030bd74eea85e4a0ac9d21.jpg?hash=Q0qodR-yqO "[Hearth.com] Hand Splitting Technique")
Yeah really ri-eeeeeet???? These boyz got some big brains here on this-here site, here.
And yesterday I spent about an hour splitting with the smaller of the two monster mauls. And that thing is PRETTY INCREDIBLE as well. It has a very sharp edge, but weighs probably like 10 or 12 lbs. Excellent tool as well, especially when targeting the outside edges of your rounds. Total performance. Just gotta be able to swing it is all! It's borrowed, so I want to get my use out of it before letting go.
Attachments
![[Hearth.com] Hand Splitting Technique](/talk/data/attachments/166/166026-451c8b3a459af491b44841d022553cbd.jpg?hash=hri-wLAY3Z)
![[Hearth.com] Hand Splitting Technique](/talk/data/attachments/166/166027-ac51a0f5b24277cc71b29564ddaca776.jpg?hash=-Y2sCM70ay)
![[Hearth.com] Hand Splitting Technique](/talk/data/attachments/166/166028-41bdaa8d83ddf63f3ed04cec3481a2e4.jpg?hash=A00qIVTdzG)
I have the feeling I'd be wearing my wedding band around my neck after using that contraption.
My brains got me a degree in beer drinking and chasing womens in college. I use my muscles developed from the 12ounce curls to split these here large rounds.
Little Digger
Member
How would one explain using a boys axe (21" hickory handle) and being able to split some fair sized rounds (12 to 20" across) of black locust, walnut, and I think cherry? I did that for grins a couple of weeks back. The rounds were 20 to 24 inches in length. It was fun and hilarious at the same time.
Man, that gave me such a chuckle I finally created a login (after lurking a couple days) just say thanks for the laugh!
Nice! If I can't be helpful, at least I can be funny.
Welcome to the forum. I'm honoured to bestow upon you your first "like"! It's a good time in here.
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