I forgot to mention. I will be only splitting oak.

I have split wood for many years only with traditional mauls. I can't believe the plunger thing would do anything but would also like to be corrected. I doubt my regular mauls are near 12#. I suppose a heavy maul would be good if you can lift it easily. The metal handle could help. I really like the new plastic handle mauls. I had replaced many wooden handles and have not broken my plastic handle yet.

Look for a good splitting maul. 8lbs or so with an axe style blade rather than that giganto-triangle thingy. Most mauls have a striking face on the back that lets you drive a wedge.

That slide-hammer thingy doesn't work. I've tried em, and you can't put a whole lot of force downwards with them. Yeah, you can split really light wood, but not anything heavier.

The maul you show, frankly, it is crap. I had one that just bounced off the wood. It's to thick and can't get a good bite. JMHO.

Also invest if a few wedges.

Mike Stair is a pretty good primer, despite the fact he is wrong about mauls and wedges. He says not to use them as hammers, despite the fact that they are clearly designed for use as such. Why design a tool with a hammer head if its not meant to be used as such?

Also, he says the second wedge is poor quality, despite the fact I have use that very wedge for more than 7 years personally, and my grandfather for at least 10 before me.
If you need to sink it to the burrs, you need to pull it out and try something else.

Here is a link that might be useful: Mike stair's woodcutting page.

I used to hand split all my wood with two tools. A 6lb. "go devil" or splitting maul and two wedges for difficult knotty pieces. One thing to think about is "length of rounds". If your stove is going to take 26" pieces and your wood is gnarly with knots and twists... you are going to be WORKIN"! Working with both wedges at a time and taking plenty of time at it. Lesser lengths = less work in small increments.

I owned a "Sotz Monster Maul", one of the triangles of steel welded to a gas pipe handle. With proper technique you can break wood very quickly. You never swing it like a maul or axe, you raise it straight up and let it fall. Takes a bit of practice but the time saved in wiggling a regular stuck maul out of rounds is worth it.

WEDGES: I was always told to keep my wedge striking faces trimmed and ground so there were no curls or chips. I did that for 25 years... no problem. One day I heard a "crack", felt a pain in my leg and the next day I was in surgery to remove a corn kernel sizes piece of wedge out of my lower leg. The force of this flying demon was enough to land the "bullet" in the center of my shin directly between the leg bones. Doc said I just missed major arteries and nerves that ran my feet. Coincedently my father called the next week to tell me of a man in his town who had the same experience only in the abdomen, perforated his lower intestine in several places. Forwarned is forarmed!

LARGE TRIANGLE MAUL: I stopped using the wedges in favor of the large maul (just a bit too late!). Anything that could not be split with one or two hits with the 6er got the Monster. If it looked like the Monster would have trouble, the round got a starting slot cut 6" in with a chainsaw. The Monster would break knots this way.

TRADE SECRET: To make any hammer style splitting easier bury a foot thick piece of log so the flat surface is parallel with the ground and raised 2" and level. Get a auto/truck tire and sit it around the buried chopping block. It keeps the wood contained as it's split. The buried block keeps springy dirt from taking the energy out of your maul. If you don't have a large block bury four smaller pieces standing in a close square and fill in between with sand or clean dirt.

CAVEAT CHOPPER: If you have a bunch of wood and are not in shape... rent a hydraulic splitter. Wood splitting ain't for sissies or sissy wannabees... But it's a rewarding thing to see six cords on the pile that you have processed yourself by hand!

Wood heats you 3 times. When you cut it and when you split it and when you burn it. I just got 4 cords oak dumped here Monday night and I'll be stacking it Friday. No more splitting for me!

Thank you for your input. At this time, I plan to only split about a cord or two of oak each year. I do have 2 six pound mauls with plastic, fiberglass reinforced handles and a few wedges. I will continue to use them.

Just thought these items looked interesting. I think I'll pass on them and continue to use what I all ready have.

Thanks guys.

the Sotz monster maul is tough on the wrists. I adopted a regimen with fire wood when I hit 40. I only cut a gas tank's worth of wood. Then I split and stack it before I cut any more. I use an 8lb maul and a coupla wedges. I keep the heads clean by grinding off the potential shrapnel.

I have the monster maul / log blaster and I have split a lot of wood with it. It works, but it can be a lot of work and it can be tough on your body in general. I've got a full assortment of splitting equipment, but I think my favorite is a chopper axe I got at a garage sale for $2. It seems like a gimmick, but it really seems to work.

Andyma - I am considering adopting a new regime now that I am 40, but it involves an electric, hydraulic log splitter. I certainly hope I could continue to split wood with a maul for a long time, but my thinking is that I am not getting any younger and if I were to hurt my back or shoulder doing it, I might regret it for a long time. So, I just picked up the electric splitter and will be giving that a try this year. I will still get to play with the wedges and mauls to break up the big rounds, but hopefully I will like the splitter and it will reduce my personal wear and tear.

Greg

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.chopperaxe.com

I can borrow a nice gas powered log splitter anytime I want to drive across town and get it. What I found out about splitting wood is that if I factor in getting and returning the splitter, I may as well have just spent the hour with a maul. Also,consider this. The log to be split has to be loaded onto the splitter. Then you must step around and work the lever. Lifting is awkward and puts the back in jeopardy. Walking takes time. So does the action of the ram. Standing up the log and letting fly with the maul often is less tiring and quieter.

Hi All:

I saw this Axe, it looks like it would do the trick. http://www.chopperaxe.com Anyone ever use it.

Here is a link that might be useful: Chopperaxe.com

No, I haven't used the Chopper Axe, but, for seventy bucks, it should do everything but put the wood in the stove for you. I still like the 8lb, traditional go-devil but with a fiber handle. Paul F B

I've been splitting wood for about 35 years, my tools include wedges, a 6 pound sledge hammer,an 8 pound sledge, a heavy double bit axe, an 8 pound maul, and a 12 (used to be 16) pound sledge hammer. The newer gadgets almost always come up short (on performance).

Anything heavier needs a 'hollywood stuntman' to make it easier to split wood!

Oak is nice, so is Ash (even better), maple works well, but avoid Elm and Chokecherry - spiral grain and worse)(too much lignin in Elm).

I don't like steel/fiberglass handles - they hurt (my arms too much); but some like them better than the wooden handles that I (and my son) prefer (okay wooden handles do break - if you miss the mark - but the break reduces damage to the user's shoulders and arms!)

Keep it simple, the older tools work very well! Unless you're using a powered splitter (which strains the back). KIS use the old fashioned - tried and true tools.