Wood splitting tools decision time.....

[41mag]

Over the last 40+ years of strictly wood heat, my assemblage of various axes & mauls has come to annoy me more than give enjoyment thru seasonal use.

I've got a couple of long-favored 'normal' splitting mauls. One is a classic Collins pattern, rather shorter nose/fatter body, while the other is a rarely seen Japanese version with a longer nose most excellent for such as older growth Doug fir rounds. At around 6-8# they've reduced mounds of forest product down to stove size, and of all species.

My Big Boy, the old orange "Monster Maul" of Mother Earth News fame, has been in continual seasonal use since circa 1978.

About 20 years ago I happened upon a marvelous 'kindling maul', a short handled/stack leather grip model about 3 1/2# that has proven surprisingly useful. A decade+ ago the leather simply deteriorated. I've fabricated a series of replacement panels (rather like a knife scale) but none have really satisfied. Even my fabulous 'leather wrap' didn't survive long. Plus, now the tired old thing has disappeared, buried somewhere perhaps in the mound of wood I've recruited for this season's use. So I found a new version at a farm store. Initial test is not complete, but at 3# it seems a bit light, requiring faster/harder stroke.

There's a pile of random single bit & a couple double bit axes, a most useful pulaski, and a small collection of various styles of hatchets.

Mostly the hatches are not very satisfactory for much splitting anything save kindling size. One marvelous longer-handle "boy scout hatchet" was found years ago carefully stashed in a mountain stream with the end of handle slightly above the water surface. Presumably placed so as to wet/swell the handle thus retightening the chopping head, just this season I had to insert another metal wedge. Its form & size is quite satisfactory for
that 'tactical terminal ballistics' between heavy kindling & moderate stove fodder production.
Far better splitter use than the long thin light style Estwing design.

I regard the 1-handed size more as 'adjuncts' while the long handled models are the actual 'splitting tool'. Some of my long handles are well over 30 years old. Most crap out one way or another in less than a decade.

Which brings me to the point of this discussion: I'm past tired, of the recurring need for attending yearly to fit & tightness of the handles. Yes, soak them in a bucket of water. Yes, wedge if needed. (Just discovered a store that had not 1, not 2, but a small package of FIVE different size metal wedges in a little baggie, all for about $3!!!)

Yes, hickory. Yes, ash. No, haven't found some of the esoteric exotic and indestructium variety. Yes, I've located an actual pro shop that charges minimal labor even if I buy a handle elsewhere.

I'm almost ready to venture into the unknown 'nylon/whatever is it' synthetic realm.
There's a dandy single bit integrated synthetic long handled 3 1/2# Fiskars with a proper flair on the nose, but something about $50 tag has slowed down my enthusiasm for taking it home. Waving it about in the store balance seemed virtually ideal, yet past exposure to shaped-head splitters has been less than satisfying.

What to look for in seeking a 'good one' to replace the wood.
Or: "is it any advantage to buy a whole new tool build WITH the synthetic handle"?

Any cyber-answers from the electronic camp fire here?

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[peternov01]

i'm a welder so i like steel handled stuff, you may or maynot like that but here is a link to some of estwing's stuff.
Estwing Axes and Outdoor Tools
and a little 4 pound kindling tool
Estwing Fireside Friend Splitting Tool

 

[cigars]

I don't think that there's any one size fits all maul. I too have a nice collection of mauls, axes, sledges and wedges, probably not as vast as yours though. I do however find it practical to have them all handy when splitting wood. Like when you get the maul stuck in a tight grained round and then you use a wedge and a sledge to free it, or the sledge to drive the rest or the way though. Maybe Ron Popeil will come up with something for that one of these days. I do like the Wood Grenade though.

 

[41mag]

peter:
the Estwings I like in theory, and they are handsome enough of good quality. In general the ones I've used are simply not maximized for 'splitting' woods of the PNW forest.

I carry an Estwing hatchet in my git-kit in case I need to 'chop' something.

I regard 'chopping' as different than 'splitting firewood', as up until the last few years of being forced into the realm of 'pecker poles' rather than 'meaty old growth rounds' a larger mass splitting maul was more efficient. I've used 'faller axe' successfully on wrist sized fire wood, but as good as they are for their purpose, the blunt-force-trauma of splitting butt cuts in the rain forest benefits from a different design.

The 'Fireside Friend' you link is an improved (utilitarian) version of the one I described, which looked like this long ago when I first bought it

 

[Joe13]

I'm still using the fiberglass handled 2 hand mail I split wood with 28 years ago.

I've touched up the edge but never needed to do anything to tighten it as it is embedded in there with epoxy I assume.

I learned how to split wood so it's had some abuse for sure.

Color has faded from red too pink and I have no idea the brand or weight but it splits everything I've hit it with. I got 275#'S behind it though so maybe that plays into it - I dunno.


Polymer guns work so plastics have come a long way imo.

 

[Vendor Hidden]

It's coming close to wood-splitting time for me as well now that the temperatures are in the 80's (though 60's are optimal). Most of the wood on my land is Ponderosa Pine, though the 2015 drought stressed and then bugs killed quite a few fir trees. As of now I've got at least ten trees that I have to take down at some point for firewood even though our yearly rate of burning will only use three or four; still, it's good to have the extra.

To be honest, I'm not too particular about the tools I use to split. I've got a 5 or 6 pound maul on a hickory handle, a couple iron wedges, a sledge hammer that belonged to my dad, and a double-sided axe for easy work. That's been enough for me for the last 18 years living out here. I tried a fiberglass maul once (it was a friend's) and didn't care for it -- it seemed to send too much vibration back into my arm when it hit the wood. I was blowing through the hickory handles quite a bit until I figured out they are best NOT used as levers when stuck (best to use them as wedges and whack 'em with the sledge).

Went to Vegas a couple years ago to a hardware show and met a fellow out of North Carolina who made and sold splitting wedges and mauls with a peculiar twist that was supposed to add twisting force to the split that helped blow the wood apart. I was going to contact him once I got home but never got around to it. I'll have to look up his info because his products looked very promising. If I can find his info I'll post it here.

 

[Joe13]

It's coming close to wood-splitting time for me as well now that the temperatures are in the 80's (though 60's are optimal). Most of the wood on my land is Ponderosa Pine, though the 2015 drought stressed and then bugs killed quite a few fir trees. As of now I've got at least ten trees that I have to take down at some point for firewood even though our yearly rate of burning will only use three or four; still, it's good to have the extra.

To be honest, I'm not too particular about the tools I use to split. I've got a 5 or 6 pound maul on a hickory handle, a couple iron wedges, a sledge hammer that belonged to my dad, and a double-sided axe for easy work. That's been enough for me for the last 18 years living out here. I tried a fiberglass maul once (it was a friend's) and didn't care for it -- it seemed to send too much vibration back into my arm when it hit the wood. I was blowing through the hickory handles quite a bit until I figured out they are best NOT used as levers when stuck (best to use them as wedges and whack 'em with the sledge).

Went to Vegas a couple years ago to a hardware show and met a fellow out of North Carolina who made and sold splitting wedges and mauls with a peculiar twist that was supposed to add twisting force to the split that helped blow the wood apart. I was going to contact him once I got home but never got around to it. I'll have to look up his info because his products looked very promising. If I can find his info I'll post it here.

For 10 trees I'd probably just rent a hydraulic splitter for a day and be done with it.

All that limbbing, cutting and stacking would be plenty of excersise for me without haveing all the splitting too

 

[Vendor Hidden]

For 10 trees I'd probably just rent a hydraulic splitter for a day and be done with it.

All that limbbing, cutting and stacking would be plenty of excersise for me without have all the splitting too

Logging and splitting is both exercise and therapy for me, and I need plenty of both.

 

[peternov01]

well for splitting the live oak and scrub oak i burn, i use a old 10 pound maul that my dad made by welding a piece of pipe to. Anytime the wood handle broke on any tool he would put a steel handle on on it. for my camping hatchet i use a <broken link removed> I've had it about 12 years or so now and it is a nice little camp hatchet. I've used fiberglass handled mauls and axes and they work fine as well, but over time i've even had to replace the steel handles on some tools due to misuse and bad aim.

 

[Papa]

Soak the handle in antifreeze, the wood will stay swollen.

 

[41mag]

misuse and bad aim

...w...wa.....wai...wait a minute here.....you been watching my splitting technique????

 

[Joe13]

due to misuse and bad aim.

We are still talking axes and such right? Wasn't sure if the conversation changed.

 

[Stomper]

 

[jrd541280]

The old style Collins 6 1/2lb. Is my favorite. Long taper. Seems most on the market now are blunt as a battleship nose. Plus as with a good reloading argument, I find I get better results with a lighter bullet at a higher velocity.

 

[Siglvr]

"Yes, soak them in a bucket of water."

NO NO NO NO NO NO!!!!!!!! Water is the enemy of wood. Big time. You can do what you want, it's yer life of course. But in my viewpoint the only plausible excuse for water swelling a wood handle is that yer kid borrowed your junk and walked off (tired) and left it laying in the dew encrusted grass. 2 words, .....2 words for the graduate and this stuff is gold and not expensive for what it does!: Chair lock Chair-Loc Tightens Loose Joints, Dowels, and Sockets on Chair Rungs and Spindles

Chair lock works for any loose wood handle if it's not too far gone. Hope that helps that part. It sounds like what you are using is working for you. So I'd stick with it. I recently tripped over a Fiscars "splitting axe". (broke the wood handle on my brothers Splitting maul slamming it onto a wedge on a 19 foot round) Had never heard of the word axe instead of "maul" after the word splitting. I'm somewhat happy as it splits as good, but is lighter. I have the X27 and the hatchett. Both are exellent. They are made in differing sizes, get the one that works for you. https://smile.amazon.com/Fiskars-X2...&qid=1502850176&sr=1-4&keywords=splitting+axe However couple of issues: 1st) the fiberglass handle, abiet stronger, is not impervious to destruction. 2nd) It transmits much more vibration. If you have any carpel tunnel, Morton's neroma or some such or torched tendons (I've either have or currently have, all), it will hurt. Worth looking into. The
Collins Style Diamond Wedge is also a good thing to add to anyones wood splitting lexicon. Amazon.com : Collins Wood Splitting Wedge, Diamond Shape, 4 LBS : Power Log Splitter Accessories : Patio, Lawn & Garden

I like yer attitude. Splitting wood is a good way to work a bunch of upper body muscles ya never get too, and a good thing to do just to have the wood as well.

 

[41mag]

Siglvr: thanks for the straight up post. Never heard of the wood treatment stuff, had it all but ordered until running into this line in the link: "** This product is not currently available from the manufacturer"

Do you have a current source, I'd like to give it a try.

 

[41mag]

while I rather am intrigued by the claims of the X-series Fiskars, the wood bits they use for demo are rather petite.....

I'm near the Outback, the woodsy remnant of the old Oregon Territory Logging country. The product could be used on more challenging examples if they were trying to convince such as the folks out this way.

 

[Rock solid]

I caved and bought a log splitter last year. Still have the mauls and axes but very thankful for the splitter after tearing my rotator cuff over the winter.

 

[darkminstrel]

I hand process all my wood on the homestead from felling with a 5' crosscut and then using it or the 7' crosscut to make the rounds, all the way to splitting every bit down to kindling or stove size.

When it comes to handles you have to treat them like a consumable; they break. I have a 90 year old maul that I used for 20 years with a fresh handle before it finally snapped. Get your hickory handle, strip off any laquer, soak the thing in BLO over the course of some days(brush on, let soak for an hour, wipe off, brush on more, repeat). Once the handle won't take up anymore BLO into the fibres I hang the head and use a wood wedge, lightly coated in wood glue, to seat it proper. Then I take regular old superglue and soak the top of the eye. The superglue wicks down the fibres and creates a very solid force to hold the head in place. Every year, in about October, I give every handle another coat of BLO to keep the wood wet.

I don't believe in cross-grain metal wedges as they rip the fibres apart.

 

[ikemay]

Fiberglass and metal handled hatchets, axes, splitting mauls will give you the least amount of maintenance which I really like. Typically the heads need a little re-working, but they seem to do the job for me at an affordable price.

I don't leave my wood handled axes in the house or garage. I leave them in the middle of my woodshed, where there is enough moisture as the wood seasons to help keep the handles from drying out and shrinking.