afblue said:
So is there anyone here that has either a Super Spear or a Smart Splitter and what is your experience with it?
I have a Wood Wiz that is essentially a super spear variant - slide hammer on a pipe... It works, but slowly, I would say my average was needing to hit 2-3 times as many cycles per split as I did with my maul. Made a LOT of noise, worse than a sledge and wedge...
The two-three places where I felt it did do better than a swinging tool
1. When you had a log that would crack but not come apart, it let you put the wedge in the crack and then drive it down below flush with the top of the round
2. When you had something cut on an angle, or bent so that it wouldn't stay standing while you tried to hit it with a maul - it let you prop the round between your legs while getting started, and hold it up with the handle while hitting it after that.
3. When dealing with stringy wood like elm, the handle would help pry the splits apart. However it isn't designed for this, and I did eventually bend the handle (which it is claimed can be replaced w/ metal conduit)
Overall, it was a useful tool, but I could have lived easily without it.
Given how much effort it was to use, and especially how noisy it was, I am not at all sure I'd want to use something like that indoors. My choice for indoor use would probably be one of those little electric splitters.
Gooserider