Pics of my new Halder Maul

[trailmaker]

I'm just starting to put the maul through it's paces now. I removed the paint from the head and improved the edge so performance should be increased on my next outing. I like it so far. The short 2.5 in bit means good penetration and the wide concave cheeks prevent sticking. The head dimensions are similar to the fiskars "super splitting axe" #7854 but it's much heavier at 9lbs.

 

[Bigg_Redd]

What's with all the pieces?

 

[trailmaker]

I think the main point is to allow you to replace the plastic insert after it becomes deformed from pounding wedges.

 

[Stax]

Is that the $177 bad boy?

 

[trailmaker]

That's the one. Clearly overpriced but splitter addiction disorder is a costly disease. I'm getting to the point where it might be cheaper to build my own forge.

 

[Jags]

I respect it for the quality of the build, but I gotta agree with Red - a maul needs 3 parts - a handle, the head and a wedge to keep the handle tight. Why plastic?? <----real question.

 

[CTYank]

I respect it for the quality of the build, but I gotta agree with Red - a maul needs 3 parts - a handle, the head and a wedge to keep the handle tight. Why plastic?? <----real question.

Didn't Henry Ford say "what isn't there can't break."? Some of those parts seem fragile for the violence that occurs while splitting wood.

 

[trailmaker]

I respect it for the quality of the build, but I gotta agree with Red - a maul needs 3 parts - a handle, the head and a wedge to keep the handle tight. Why plastic?? <----real question.

Plastic reduces the chance of shrapnel injuries. Another nice thing about it is it eliminates the need for earplugs (something I always manage to misplace) when pounding wedges. I don't know what type of plastic it is but it's incredibly light, if it were steel I think this maul would be up in the 12 lb range.

 

[trailmaker]

I respect it for the quality of the build, but I gotta agree with Red - a maul needs 3 parts - a handle, the head and a wedge to keep the handle tight. Why plastic?? <----real question.

Didn't Henry Ford say "what isn't there can't break."? Some of those parts seem fragile for the violence that occurs while splitting wood.

Yeah the durability of the extra parts is a concern. I'll report any failures but so far so good. I was actually splitting some Doug Fir today using the chain and bungee method which results in a lot of "overstrike" type of hits. That clamshell took a lot of heavy impacts and did a good job of protecting the handle.

 

[midwestcoast]

Anyone else think it looks like a robot-Flamingo?

 

[midwestcoast]

Have you pounded wedges with it yet? Curious how it feel & holds-up doing that.

 

[trailmaker]

Yes I have pounded some wedges. It's got a larger surface area than any sledge or maul poll I've seen, I guess it's such a light material that they can afford to oversize it compared to steel. It's light weight also means that as you swing most of the weight is trailing, which seems to help accuracy. Since it's big, accurate, and won't shatter, I feel like I swing it with a bit more confidence. I can't say about the durability yet. At first it seemed to deform very rapidly, but the rate of deformation has slowed. I think it might be getting compacted and denser with each hit

 

[jensent]

Just out of curiosity, how does the Halder compare to the Gransfors Bruks Heavy Splitting Maul. Had about a half cord of hard maple dropped of by the tree service yesterday and it's full of knots and scar tissue from lightning damage. A few pieces are straight grained and split easily, but very few. The Gransfors and the Halder have both been on my short list but how do they handle the tough splitting situations. Guess I'm just looking for the magic weapon. Keep us posted on how the Holder works for you.
Thanks
Tom

 

[trailmaker]

Just out of curiosity, how does the Halder compare to the Gransfors Bruks Heavy Splitting Maul. Had about a half cord of hard maple dropped of by the tree service yesterday and it's full of knots and scar tissue from lightning damage. A few pieces are straight grained and split easily, but very few. The Gransfors and the Halder have both been on my short list but how do they handle the tough splitting situations. Guess I'm just looking for the magic weapon. Keep us posted on how the Holder works for you.
Thanks
Tom

If the Gransfors and Halder are both on your short list I would say to go with the Gransfors first.

They are somewhat similar in head geometry but the Halder is 9lbs overall with a 36in length and the GB is probably about 7lbs overall (5.5lb head) at 31 in. long. It's not exactly apples to apples since they're in different weight categories. The size and weight of the GB makes it more useful IMO, more of a "go to" splitter than the Halder. The Halder is a bit more like heavy artillery I'll probably end up bringing with me but using it sparingly. The large surface area of the polymer make it an excellent wedge pounder.

The high price of the Gransfors is also a little easier to stomach because it comes razor sharp and free of any paint. I had to spend a bit of time removing paint and sharpening with the Halder. Also Gransfors Bruks has been around for a while and will continue to be around providing product support. Until a couple of weeks ago I'd never heard of Halder or their splitting maul. Their maul and axe are expensive and don't appear to be marketed very hard which means they will sell very few units, so at some point they might discontinue the line. Even if GB goes out of business your great great grandson will still be re-handling the head.

To answer your question specifically, I guess I'd say the Halder has a slight edge in the tough stuff but I wouldn't buy one just to split that half cord of hard maple. Also if that tree service maple scrounge has a lot of rounds with angled saw cuts the Halder might not be nimble enough. When I get rounds like that I like to use my trusty 28in fiskars "super splitter" because it's light weight allows me to swing it in at whatever angle the round calls for. The heavier Halder is more of a straight up and down type of weapon.

 

[RNLA]

If Gransfors made an 8-9 pound maul I would buy one in an instant... I know I have posted this before but I can't stop thinking it would be the "go to" for manual operations....