I know you get this question over and over again. Please tolerate one more. I split wood the old fashioned way, by hand. What is the best maul for splitting? I see Fiskars and Vipukirves. I have a junky Ace maul that is a pain in my .... literally! Help a new guy out. Which one should I buy?
The best maul for splitting?
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I hope you're just pulling my leg?! Why would you use an axe to split wood? Isn't that like using a shovel to pound in a nail?
gzecc said:
What...you had that custom made? Fiskars 28" splitting axes come in only two flavors:
Model 7854 Super Splitting Axe - 4 lb head
Model 7859 Pro Splitting Axe - 2¼ lb head
Then there are a couple of shorter handled splitting axes with even lighter heads.
http://www.fiskars.com/webapp/wcs/s...1&langId;=-1&catalogId=10101&categoryId=10277
gzecc said:
Maybe you thought that because of how effective it is. After swinging heavier mauls for a lot of years, some folks seem to have trouble believing that a much lighter, better engineered tool can get the job done with a good deal less effort.
To address the OP's question...carver, nobody here can tell you what's the very best tool for you. Way too many variables involved. Wood species, round dimensions, split on the ground or on a "stump", handle length & configuration that makes you comfortable. All these things and more come into play in the selection of a hand splitting tool. You can read what everyone here has to say about what they use and why they like it and how they can't imagine any better way to get the job done...but all that stuff we blab on and on about here is firmly entrenched in the context of all those same variables. I swear by my Fiskars hand splitting tools...but that's for me and my wood and my personal preferences & experience. They're not for everybody, nor are they for every conceivable splitting task. Lots of choices out there. We can tell you what we've found that works for us, but that won't necessarily be your optimum solution. We don't all have the same solution anyway.
Rick
I still love my Monster Maul, 16 lbs with a steel handle. Never gets stuck in the wood and splits anything that will split. Unfortunately you can't buy them anymore but they have some knock offs.
No joke. I'm dead serious. For the fisrt 50 years of my life, an axe was all I used. A curved handle is much safer than those new fangled straight handles.thecarver61 said:
golfandwoodnut said:
Yeah, man...just another of the variables. At my age & with all the abuse my old body has suffered over the years, particularly in the shoulders & back, I can't even imagine swinging a 16# maul through any significant number of rounds of anything. I really appreciate hydraulics to get the job started, and I really appreciate an effective, much lighter, hand tool for everything else. It's all about who you are (what you're willing/able to do), and what you have to work with (the wood). Where there's a will, there's a way. Rick
LLigetfa said:
Objection, Your Honor. Hearsay. Unsubstantiated personal bias. Where's the data? Straight handles aren't "new-fangled", they've been around since hand tools were invented. How is a curved handled tool any safer than a straight handled tool? I've had and used both, and I've never hurt myself with either. I really don't see any difference, once I've given myself time to get accustomed to whatever tool I've chosen to use (which takes all of about 5 minutes). I move LL's statement be stricken from the record, as it's without basis in fact. Rick
http://www.lowes.com/ProductDisplay...roductId=3013823&catalogId=10051&cmRelshp=sim
I have 2 of these one with the "control handle" and one with a curved handle. I also have 2 8lb mauls. I usually don't reach for the maul unless I have some very notted up chunk of oak. and if it's a crotch I just save it for the wood splittter. my 13 year old can handle the 4 lb splitting ax pretty well and I like it because I get more speed when I hit the wood. it works very well.
I have 2 of these one with the "control handle" and one with a curved handle. I also have 2 8lb mauls. I usually don't reach for the maul unless I have some very notted up chunk of oak. and if it's a crotch I just save it for the wood splittter. my 13 year old can handle the 4 lb splitting ax pretty well and I like it because I get more speed when I hit the wood. it works very well.
gzecc said:
Similarly. I got the 8lb yellow handle one from HD. The edge was a little blunt and after much frustration I went after it with a grinder. Oopps, now it's super sharp. One swing, and the bucked log splits in fear before the maul even touches.
thecarver61 said:
IMO, a maul is a maul. The only difference is 6lb/8lb/12lb whatever. I've never tried a premium maul like a Snow & Neally but I can't imagine it's a lot different.
LLigetfa said:
Ignore this advice. Fiskars axes have straight handles (canted in such a way to achieve what was formerly achieved with a curved handle)
No amount of cant on a Friskers can achieve what a curved handle does. When you split open your shin with one of those silly short straight handled things, you will be able to join a class action suit that I trust will start soon.Bigg_Redd said:
Curved handles required careful selection of wood so the grain followed the curve but unfortunately, good curved handles died with the good craftsmen. It was a lot easier to mass produce axes with straight or nearly straight handles. The only straight handles on old axes were the double bit axe for obvious reasons. It's too bad the manufacturers lost sight of why handles were curved in the first place because with modern fiberglass handle making curved handles could now be mass produced.
There you go, LLigetfa, an opportunity to invest your life savings and make a fortune in the curved-handled axe business!
LLigetfa said:
Please enlighten us: WTF exactly does a curved handle achieve that the canted straight handle doesn't? And how does the same curved handle keep the head of the axe out of my shin?
Thankyou for all your posts. I hadn't thought of all the possible variables involved when buying a maul. I was hoping that one stood above the rest. Things are never that simple. I should have known better. The whole curved vs. straight handles is beyond me and best left to the pros. Today I was bucking up with my new Stihl 361. I love that thing! I've got that sore muscle, cutting done and rounds stacked, feeling. Aaahhh! Anything else I do today is gravy.
If you draw a straight line through both hands down to the head of the axe, with a curved handle that line is much closer to the cutting edge than with a straight handle. This "line" can be viewed as a centre of gravity and act as a pivot point with more of the head trailing behind the line. The mass of the handle as well moves the centre of gravity lower so that at the point of impact it is closer to the cutting edge. The closer the centre of gravity is to the cutting edge, the less propensity it has to glance and veer toward your shin.Bigg_Redd said:
Ok, now, I know I'll prolly regret saying this, but . . .
I've never hit my shin with a curved-handled axe, nor with a straight-handled Maul.
Get the heaviest straight-handled maul you can swing. 12# Monster Mauls work great. If you're short, don't get wood that has to be split :lol:
I've never hit my shin with a curved-handled axe, nor with a straight-handled Maul.
Get the heaviest straight-handled maul you can swing. 12# Monster Mauls work great. If you're short, don't get wood that has to be split :lol:
thecarver61 said:
The Ace maul will be fine if you just stop hitting yourself in the .... :coolgrin:
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