# Whats everyones favorite splitting device?



## The Shooters Apprentice

When I was a kid my dad had a splitting maul named "Old red". Old red was a solid chuck on steel in a perfect triangle with a short pipe handle. My dad swore that was the best thing for splitting wood, and that's all he used. When I became a teenager, I bought one of those big heavy mauls and carried it around in my wood truck.

Flash forward 10 years and I had moved back to Alaska and was gonna start heating my house with wood again. During one of my moves around the lower 48 I had opted to leave that heavy POS behind and needed a new maul. My wife convinced me to try a "Speed maul" and I ended up with a 4.5lb channel lock speed maul with a 36" handle.

Man what a difference! that thing splits wood and you don't tear your arm off swinging it. I've split a lot of wood with that maul in the last couple years, and even though I have a 30 ton splitter, I almost always hand split since its faster.

However, I had a old timer tell me once that a properly shaped double bit was the best thing for splitting, because it had more weight then a standard single bit axe. I thought it was bull pucky. I have a couple double bit axes, and none of them really split that well. 

A few weeks ago we were clearing out a locker at work and there was a old double bit axe in there and I took it home. I can't find any markings on it, but I believe it is a plumb brand. Man, this axe SPLITS. It swings easy, and splits instead of getting stuck and has become my go to splitting tool. The other axes I have are mostly Kelly True Temper axes ive picked up here and there, most likely misplaced from forest service crews. The bits on these are quite a bit longer then this plumb axe. 

Anyway, figured I would show off a few pics.


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## SweetMK

When I was 23 years old, I could use a single bit axe to split a 16 foot C60 Chevy grain body truck full of oak in an afternoon.
I did that several times for relatives as I did not own a home, .
When I was 30 years old, I bought a Sotz Monster Maul,, because I could no longer swing the single blade axe hard enough.
At 35 Years old, I built my first hydraulic splitter, the Monster Maul was retired.
At 50 years old, I quit cutting or burning wood.
At 68 years old, I started cutting and splitting wood for exercise, I now give it to neighbors.


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## Squareground3691

Pick ur poison


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## Sawdust Man

My favorite splitting device? 
My sons......


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## SweetMK

I am thinking about switching to black powder.
THAT would make splitting MUCH more interesting.

There are several YouTube videos on the subject.
Most everyone is giggling like a little girl after the charge goes off,,,


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## Sawdust Man

SweetMK said:


> I am thinking about switching to black powder.
> THAT would make splitting MUCH more interesting.
> 
> There are several YouTube videos on the subject.
> Most everyone is giggling like a little girl after the charge goes off,,,


Now you're talking!!!


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## BigMoneyGrip

My dad bought the one on the top about 40 years ago. He gave it to me and I cleaned it up, painted it gold and rehung it. It's an 8lbs "K Head" made in Japan. It does OK but the G-B I got a couple of years ago smokes it.


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## SweetMK

BigMoneyGrip said:


> the G-B I got a couple of years ago smokes it!



_I looked that splitter up,,,_
*I once built a hydraulic splitter for about what they want for that thing!! WOW!!*

And, once I built a hydraulic splitter for far less $$$
but, the lower cost splitter was powered by the hydraulics of my tractor,,


*  *


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## Woodchuckels

Squareground3691 said:


> Pick ur poison.


Nice looking stable.


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## calamari

It must be softwoods that are being split with a double bit. I can't imagine using one to split oak. Either it will get so stuck so tightly you can't get it out or it will bounce back and do more than part your hair.
I have one of those big Super mauls that I've used for years and love that you can't break the handle. I used it to split some big Eucalyptus rounds once. I was able to accomplish it but thought my heart was going to explode in the process. 
I have a bad back and take pain meds every three hours but nothing makes my back feel better than splitting wood by hand. Helps my crappy golf game too. Unfortunately, I'm old and slow so I now use a hydraulic splitter most of the time but when I split oak by hand I do it this way. Multiple wedges and you just have to go around kind of tapping each one and it all falls apart. 
When I went to the quack recently I found I was 1 1/2 inches shorter than while in my 20s. Picking up heavy rounds is a big reason why. I guess swinging a sledge pulls my spine out and makes it feel better.


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## calamari

Notice there are no mushroomed heads on the wedges. Grind them off! A local lad was splitting wood with a broomed over wedge and a piece came off, went into his chest though his shirt, into his heart and he bled out right there by the wood pile. Be very careful with even this simple tool.


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## EchoRomeoCharlie

Depends...

Easy to split, axe.
Medium to split, splitting axe.
Hard to split, 6lb maul.
impossible to split, sledges and wedges.

Splitting for other people we usually use their hydraulic splitter.


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## calamari

EchoRomeoCharlie said:


> Depends...
> 
> Easy to split, axe.
> Medium to split, splitting axe.
> Hard to split, 6lb maul.
> impossible to split, sledges and wedges.
> 
> Splitting for other people we usually use their hydraulic splitter.


That's how I'd rank it too. Unfortunately not a lot of easy wood in my area except for Incense Cedar which I don't burn.


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## Screwbolts

A Wallenstein WP830 or a Huskee 35 ton splitter


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## Karrl

Nice axes and mauls guys, I hydraulic split 99% of my wood but I have started to use wedges to half my big oak rounds. Cut a slot in the top of the log and then pound the wedge into the slot. With straight grain oak it pops pretty fast from there.

The fiskars maul and splitting axe are fun to swing around but the difficult tree service wood I get really needs the hydraulic to get anything done.


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## Bearcreek

calamari said:


> It must be softwoods that are being split with a double bit. I can't imagine using one to split oak. Either it will get so stuck so tightly you can't get it out or it will bounce back and do more than part your hair.


It is. I used to live in Ohio and now live in North Idaho. A reasonably fit person can fairly easily get away with nothing but a felling axe for all their splitting needs here in the northern Rockies. Definitely not possible with eastern hardwoods.


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## calamari

Bearcreek said:


> It is. I used to live in Ohio and now live in North Idaho. A reasonably fit person can fairly easily get away with nothing but a felling axe for all their splitting needs here in the northern Rockies. Definitely not possible with eastern hardwoods.


It's all a trade off. Splitting is easier but feeding the stove more often and having to cut more wood as a result is the downside. Not having needle like Madrone slivers in your fingers from picking up pieces w/o a glove is a real plus. Reminds me of when I was a molding grader. It took me a year before my hands looked normal after I quit.
I've got a former step son who lives in Culdesac, Idaho. Beautiful country!


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## copen

calamari said:


> It must be softwoods that are being split with a double bit. I can't imagine using one to split oak. Either it will get so stuck so tightly you can't get it out or it will bounce back and do more than part your hair.
> I have one of those big Super mauls that I've used for years and love that you can't break the handle. I used it to split some big Eucalyptus rounds once. I was able to accomplish it but thought my heart was going to explode in the process.
> I have a bad back and take pain meds every three hours but nothing makes my back feel better than splitting wood by hand. Helps my crappy golf game too. Unfortunately, I'm old and slow so I now use a hydraulic splitter most of the time but when I split oak by hand I do it this way. Multiple wedges and you just have to go around kind of tapping each one and it all falls apart.
> When I went to the quack recently I found I was 1 1/2 inches shorter than while in my 20s. Picking up heavy rounds is a big reason why. I guess swinging a sledge pulls my spine out and makes it feel better.
> View attachment 962059


I used to think the handle on my big red monster maul would out live me too. I was wrong. It cracked at the transition point where the diameter changes, about 4 or 5 inches below the head. Funny thing is that it cracked on the bottom side of the handle when it seems like it would have been on the top side, due to my distance miscalculations once or twice. That dude'll ring your bell if you give it a little too much handle. A little welding and so far so good.
Wish I had your problem of splitting wood making my back feel better. After about half an hour or so, I gotta stop and "collect my thoughts" for a while. Don't know if it's the splittin or the bending over and pickin up, but sumpin ain't right.


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## calamari

copen said:


> I used to think the handle on my big red monster maul would out live me too. I was wrong. It cracked at the transition point where the diameter changes, about 4 or 5 inches below the head. Funny thing is that it cracked on the bottom side of the handle when it seems like it would have been on the top side, due to my distance miscalculations once or twice. That dude'll ring your bell if you give it a little too much handle. A little welding and so far so good.
> Wish I had your problem of splitting wood making my back feel better. After about half an hour or so, I gotta stop and "collect my thoughts" for a while. Don't know if it's the splittin or the bending over and pickin up, but sumpin ain't right.


No one is more pleasantly surprised about it being a benefit to my back than me and my golfing partners.
If you cracked it on the bottom that would have been a really mighty swing that was on target. On the top means it was a mighty swing that was "just a little outside" as Bob Uecker used to say when "Wild Thing" threw the ball into the stands.


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## square1

In the 80s I used a Chopper One. Had fingers inside the business end of the splitting head which had little dogs a little farther back from the leading edge.
The edge would penetrate the round burying the fingers, the dogs would contact the top of the round throwing the fingers outward and splitting most anything with one solid strike.
Must have been some lawyers got involved, can't find one today.
Now an X27 is my main tool followed up with a sledge & wedges for the really ornery stuff.


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## sand sock

i prefer my county line 30 ton log splitter with the kohler engine..
tehn use my fiskars splitting axe is my next favorite. 
i like a 5 pound single bit axe
on splitting mauls 6 to8 pound head, but the important part is teh oval eye, so it doesnt roll in your hands and sprain your wrists. 

before i bought my splitter, my chiropractor said no more hours of splitting, you have a disk wanting to rotate. so i bought fiskars axe and let my son, see how much it cost. it was like $50 to$60 , last splitting maul in the store. i was behind on changing out some handles. i named it lucille in front of him. maybe it wasnt as good of a idea, as i thought. thinking the kid would want to swing it and bust logs for me. 

Yeah that was probably a parenting fail


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## Sawdust Man

square1 said:


> In the 80s I used a Chopper One. Had fingers inside the business end of the splitting head which had little dogs a little farther back from the leading edge.
> The edge would penetrate the round burying the fingers, the dogs would contact the top of the round throwing the fingers outward and splitting most anything with one solid strike.
> Must have been some lawyers got involved, can't find one today.
> Now an X27 is my main tool followed up with a sledge & wedges for the really ornery stuff.


We used to have one of those! we called it the "jingle axe" I always kinda thought it was a bit of a gimmick but.... it did work pretty well.


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## Brufab

Monster maul


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## SweetMK

Not that I use them, but, over the years, I accumulated several axe heads,, 
Also, I bought one of the Chopper1 "finger" axe's ,,
The last time the Chopper 1 was used was to chop ice in the horses water trough.
Then, it was left out there, until the handle rotted.

I found a guy with a bunch of new handles at a flea market,, cheap,,
I bought about a half dozen, 

I re-handled the Chopper1, it now can work like the day I got it.

Another one of the axe heads ended up being a Plumb Champion Quality Seal.
I did not know what that was worth, until I bumped into them on eBay one day.

I told my daughter, when I die, run over to the house, and collect that Plumb Axe,, so that it does not get tossed out.

I also rehandled two brush axes,, one is a Pexto, the other is a Collins.
After new handles, I used the Ken Onion knife belt sander to sharpen them.

I do not know what I am doing wrong, but, even when they are as sharp as a good kitchen knife, 
I can not get enough swing to cut blackberry bramble,,
*Is it possible that they are sharpened "WRONG"??*


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## The Shooters Apprentice

Brufab said:


> Monster maul


That looks identical to the one by dad had. Or I should saw has, he’s almost 70 but I’d bet money he still uses that maul exclusively.


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## SweetMK

This is my "splitter" that is not primarily a splitter.







It will split wood,,











BUT, it was mainly built as a hydraulic press.


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## Brufab

The Shooters Apprentice said:


> That looks identical to the one by dad had. Or I should saw has, he’s almost 70 but I’d bet money he still uses that maul exclusively.


Yea my dads 70 too. I used that maul quite a bit when I was a kid.


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## The Shooters Apprentice

Brufab said:


> Yea my dads 70 too. I used that maul quite a bit when I was a kid.


I’ve probably split 100 cords of wood with that maul.


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## Brufab

How old do you think those moster mauls are? Is that a 70's or 80's thing? I was born in 79 and started trying to use it when I was 5 or 6 years old. There already was considerable paint wear on it. Some memories never fade and that is one of them.


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## SweetMK

Brufab said:


> How old do you think those monster mauls are? Is that a 70's or 80's thing?


I bought mine in 1980,, it was a mail order thing, send a check, some time later, the Monster Maul was at the house,,


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## SweetMK

Brufab said:


> Yea my dads 70 too. I used that maul quite a bit when I was a kid.


Also, I am 72,, this year, I sold the Monster Maul at a flea market in 1983,,
that thing HAD to GO!!


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## calamari

square1 said:


> In the 80s I used a Chopper One. Had fingers inside the business end of the splitting head which had little dogs a little farther back from the leading edge.


A friend had one of those that he let me borrow. Saw Dust Man calling it a "Jingle Axe" is a very good description. For twisted oak like we have here it was too light and"gimmicky" to work so I went back to "Nosferatu" the Monster Maul. 
I think I bought mine in the 80s from ahardware store here in town. I thought I saw one for sale at the local Tractor Supply Store. They make a cute one handed downsized model I've seen for making kindling. Makes me wonder what kind of wood they're using for kindling. Maybe it was for killing pigs?


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## calamari

SweetMK said:


> This is my "splitter" that is not primarily a splitter.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> It will split wood,,
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> BUT, it was mainly built as a hydraulic press.


How often do you need a towable hydraulic press in the woods? Heavy equipment repair?


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## Drifter2406

Gransfors Bruks splitting axe, joy to use.


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## SweetMK

calamari said:


> How often do you need a towable hydraulic press in the woods? Heavy equipment repair?


The machine needs to be moved out from its storage space, for any use,,
I figured, make it very portable..






I dug around a 16" maple stump, 4 feet deep.
My 584 IH could not budge it even when it was dug that deep.
I chained the stump to one end of the machine, and chained a 24" poplar to the other end,,.
The hydraulic power was WAY beyond what my 10,000 pound tractor could produce.
The splitter pulled, and just sat there,, finally, after about 10 minutes the earth started to give.
Then, working the cylinder back and forth, the rocking finally loosened the stump, and it came out.


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## Brufab

SweetMK said:


> The machine needs to be moved out from its storage space, for any use,,
> I figured, make it very portable..
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I dug around a 16" maple stump, 4 feet deep.
> My 584 IH could not budge it even when it was dug that deep.
> I chained the stump to one end of the machine, and chained a 24" poplar to the other end,,.
> The hydraulic power was WAY beyond what my 10,000 pound tractor could produce.
> The splitter pulled, and just sat there,, finally, after about 10 minutes the earth started to give.
> Then, working the cylinder back and forth, the rocking finally loosened the stump, and it came out.


That's awesome looking, like something nasa made to go to another planet.


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## SweetMK

Brufab said:


> That's awesome looking, like something nasa made to go to another planet.



Thanks,, 
all you gotta do is give a guy unlimited access to a CNC torch,, and retirement time,,
and something like this will just pop out!! 

LOL!!


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## Brushwacker

The chopper 1 was probably by far my least favorite splitting tool I remember. Back in the mid 1980's i tried about every maul-axe I could get my hands on without going to extremes. I sold wood to a city firewood dealer, sold me his like new chopper 1 for 20-25 $ and after using it off an on for some time i sold it, if i remember right $5. Anything it would split through easy, most axes I had would go through with about the same effort much more safely. When the chopper 1 penetrated enough to activate the levers it usually flew apart at knee breaking speed, so if you had somebody working within 20 feet of you they were in grave danger.. Most often it would stick in difficult wood and it was a fight to get it unstuck. The Sotz monster maul become my go to for about 95% of my wood until my bones couldn't bear the shock of using it for much more then short intervals in my later years. I got the original Fiskars splitting axe and I was back in wood splitting, about a year later I got the isocore 8lb maul which is better for more difficult wood and I like better all round. Rarely use a wedge other then inside my porch when i am short on small splits. It's a fiskars also. 
I had a friend breath in a piece of a mushroom that broke off a steel wedge once, I heard it end up in a lung. 
If the wood is to difficult to easily split with the isocore alone a little noodling through the toughest knots and a hit with the isocore will finish it off if you don't care to noodle the whole split.


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## InTheNorth

Started with a splitting axe and maul for a couple years then moved on to a felling axe which works for about 98% of the rounds I split. The maul is a Gransfors which is real nice but a tank to swing all day and pretty unneeded. Used a couple cheap splitting axes that were okay but nothing special. Bought a cheap Garant felling axe that I loved using because of the 5 inch bit length. Recently bought a 4.5 pound Arvika 5star that is another level up and works like a dream and hardly ever gets stuck. Thinking about getting a 3.5 pound Council tool sport utility next. Doubt the maul will be used much anymore.


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## calamari

I envy your use of softwoods. Does the creosote build up quickly? Do you have a wire screen on your chimney top cap?


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## The Shooters Apprentice

I don’t have hardly any creosote build up and no kind of screens. I use Red Devil powder in my stove a couple times a week and can usually get it clean once a year in about 5 mins with a brush.


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## calamari

The Shooters Apprentice said:


> I don’t have hardly any creosote build up and no kind of screens. I use Red Devil powder in my stove a couple times a week and can usually get it clean once a year in about 5 mins with a brush.


We have to have screens here in Calif. for obvious reasons and the stove results in a a delicate pumice like material buildup that eventually clogs the screen even though I only burn dry hardwoods. I think it's a combination of humidity and the quick change in temp as the byproducts exit the cap. There's no visible smoke once the stove gets up to temp which usually takes 20 minutes max. The only way you can tell there's a fire is by the heat wave distortion you can see when you look at the cap. I have to clean the screen at least twice a season which is much more frequent now than it was say 10-12 years ago. Nothing has changed except the passage of time. It's a mystery to me.


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## Brufab

SweetMK said:


> I bought mine in 1980,, it was a mail order thing, send a check, some time later, the Monster Maul was at the house,,


I wonder what the shipping was on that


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## gggGary

Brufab said:


> Monster maul


Had a POS like that. The steel handle would gradually bend; then smack the flat end on a stump a few times to bend it back. That jarring from the steel was brutal on the joints. After too many years I got smart and now use the poly handle 8 pound splitting maul I got my wife for her birthday.. Wish I had done it years earlier. Actually I'm on the second poly handled maul and have reepoxied the head on once.
I have a gas splitter but still prefer the maul, and yes I noodle crotches, stump wood, and big elm rounds.


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## alanbaker

When I was a kid we called a splitting maul a "go devil". I have no idea where term came from. Anybody heard of such a thing?
We split alot of elm growing up, bury wedges and the block just sat there - a lot of work .
Years later I was helping a friend split wood for a friend of his recovery from surgery. We were young and full of piss and vinegar and tried to bull our way the the wood pile. Well, we were breaking handles. One morning the fellow we were helping comes out to wood pile, in the snow in slippers, PJs, bathrobe and a and his colostomy bag tape to his side and says " Guys, I know working for free, but I can't afford you if you keep breaking handles". Then he proceeded to give us a lesson in splitting firewood. He took a short handle single bit ax and work is way around the block of hard maple, slapping of slabs of firewood. He then said," That's how you split wood" Then he went back into his house. Humbling lesson and still use that technique today with ax and splitting maul. Favorite splitting tool is a heavy single bit ax. Hand splitting is as much the art of reading the round of wood as it brute strength. And the older one gets technique and reading the wood play a bigger role than trying to bull your through a bully piece.


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## benz66

InTheNorth said:


> Started with a splitting axe and maul for a couple years then moved on to a felling axe which works for about 98% of the rounds I split. The maul is a Gransfors which is real nice but a tank to swing all day and pretty unneeded. Used a couple cheap splitting axes that were okay but nothing special. Bought a cheap Garant felling axe that I loved using because of the 5 inch bit length. Recently bought a 4.5 pound Arvika 5star that is another level up and works like a dream and hardly ever gets stuck. Thinking about getting a 3.5 pound Council tool sport utility next. Doubt the maul will be used much anymore.View attachment 962444


Now, a 4.5 lb single bit sounds like a real splitting tool. Contrary to what some posters have said, I used a 4 lb double bit for years in red oak, white oak, hickory and apple to split most pieces. [generally 16-18" firewood] For knotty stuff, I used the maul and wedges, but from the time I was 15 or 16 on, a well aimed strike with the 4 pounder did split eastern hardwoods. I will admit on some knotty rounds, i'd saw them in half to make stovewood, because that made splitting the knotty stuff easier. Not much is more fun or better for you than splitting red oak with the 4 lb double bit. I'm gonna look into your 5 star 4.5 lb single bit. Sounds like a good investment.

(i will admit, I am contrary, and I like it. I suspect a few on here are contrary also ;>)


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## Sawdust Man

alanbaker said:


> When I was a kid we called a splitting maul a "go devil". I have no idea where term came from. Anybody heard of such a thing?
> We split alot of elm growing up, bury wedges and the block just sat there - a lot of work .
> Years later I was helping a friend split wood for a friend of his recovery from surgery. We were young and full of piss and vinegar and tried to bull our way the the wood pile. Well, we were breaking handles. One morning the fellow we were helping comes out to wood pile, in the snow in slippers, PJs, bathrobe and a and his colostomy bag tape to his side and says " Guys, I know working for free, but I can't afford you if you keep breaking handles". Then he proceeded to give us a lesson in splitting firewood. He took a short handle single bit ax and work is way around the block of hard maple, slapping of slabs of firewood. He then said," That's how you split wood" Then he went back into his house. Humbling lesson and still use that technique today with ax and splitting maul. Favorite splitting tool is a heavy single bit ax. Hand splitting is as much the art of reading the round of wood as it brute strength. And the older one gets technique and reading the wood play a bigger role than trying to bull your through a bully piece.


My grandfather taught my brothers and I how to split wood with an axe.
When I was 15, my 30 year old brother in law was trying to split a big piece of fir with a monster knot on one side (he was trying to split it 90 degrees to the 4" knot!), he beat on it till even a guy a dumb as he is realized he just couldn't split that piece, he threw down the axe and as he started to walk away he said "I defy you to split that piece of wood!!!" 
I picked up the axe, turned the wood 90 degrees and one whack it was split....made me feel pretty Good!

It's hard to believe, but some guys just ain't smart enough to run an axe.
It really pays to think about what you're doing!


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## copen

Brufab said:


> How old do you think those moster mauls are? Is that a 70's or 80's thing? I was born in 79 and started trying to use it when I was 5 or 6 years old. There already was considerable paint wear on it. Some memories never fade and that is one of them.


Don't know when they came out but I got mine in the mid 80's from Central Tractor, now Tractor Supply....I think.
Kinda rough on a 70 year old back. If I'd known I was gonna live this long, I'd have taken better care of myself.


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## Brufab

I probly over did it when I was a kid with it but swinging it was a right of passage. I split 2 fc with this one last year of mixed hardwoods


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## SweetMK

Brufab said:


> I wonder what the shipping was on that



It was about $39 delivered,, THAT was the OLD post office,,,,,,,,,,,..


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## copen

Brufab said:


> I probly over did it when I was a kid with it but swinging it was a right of passage. I split 2 fc with this one last year of mixed hardwoods


Nice shock absorber. Put a yellow fiberglass handle on my 6lb'r many moons ago. Has held up really well.


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## Billhook

Like many of you here as we approach our three score years and ten we have many scars, aches and pains to prove it having not taken proper care of our bodies in our invincible youth !
Apart from all the heavy lifting and levering that goes with ordinary farm work, I also played a lot of hockey and my wrists in particular are so arthritic that I cannot take the shock loads of an axe or maul, or pull start a gas saw.
When I was using an axe I found the Fiskars X27 to be an excellent tool, not only because it split well but also because it did not seem to become as stuck in difficult logs as conventional axes and was easier to unstick.

I do love working in the woods though and splitting firewood to use in our log burner which also does the water central heating. Here in the UK energy prices are going through the roof and I am very grateful for the woodland we have and the Winter storms which usually bring down enough trees to supply a year of firewood

The Covid Lockdowns we had here were very severe in the beginning and we were really locked down which gave me time to reflect on things. Being bored I set about designing a system that would bring a tree from the woods to the stove without me lifting or chopping or starting a gas saw. I only had the scrap iron in the yard to work with as every business was also shut down
The "Lockdown Firewood Processor" was the result, built around a Matbro Telehandler. 12,000 hours and about the same amount of dollars to buy secondhand. The splitter cost only my time anda few welding rods plus the remote control. I never actually imagined having a remote control, but discovered that I could fit a winch remote control for about $30 off ebay which made the splitter safer to use in case of exploding wood and also worked the teleram and grab which were useful for loading and moving the heavy logs.

The final part of the system was to make use of our old one ton potato boxes which work well for seasoning with the air gaps. I filled 150 boxes during lockdown! Well there was not much else to do!


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## Renegade32

SweetMK said:


> When I was 23 years old, I could use a single bit axe to split a 16 foot C60 Chevy grain body truck full of oak in an afternoon.
> I did that several times for relatives as I did not own a home, .
> When I was 30 years old, I bought a Sotz Monster Maul,, because I could no longer swing the single blade axe hard enough.
> At 35 Years old, I built my first hydraulic splitter, the Monster Maul was retired.
> At 50 years old, I quit cutting or burning wood.
> At 68 years old, I started cutting and splitting wood for exercise, I now give it to neighbors.


Full circle!


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## Brufab

Billhook said:


> Like many of you here as we approach our three score years and ten we have many scars, aches and pains to prove it having not taken proper care of our bodies in our invincible youth !
> Apart from all the heavy lifting and levering that goes with ordinary farm work, I also played a lot of hockey and my wrists in particular are so arthritic that I cannot take the shock loads of an axe or maul, or pull start a gas saw.
> When I was using an axe I found the Fiskars X27 to be an excellent tool, not only because it split well but also because it did not seem to become as stuck in difficult logs as conventional axes and was easier to unstick.
> 
> I do love working in the woods though and splitting firewood to use in our log burner which also does the water central heating. Here in the UK energy prices are going through the roof and I am very grateful for the woodland we have and the Winter storms which usually bring down enough trees to supply a year of firewood
> 
> The Covid Lockdowns we had here were very severe in the beginning and we were really locked down which gave me time to reflect on things. Being bored I set about designing a system that would bring a tree from the woods to the stove without me lifting or chopping or starting a gas saw. I only had the scrap iron in the yard to work with as every business was also shut down
> The "Lockdown Firewood Processor" was the result, built around a Matbro Telehandler. 12,000 hours and about the same amount of dollars. I never actually imagined having a remote control, but discovered that I could fit a winch remote control for about $30 off ebay which made the splitter safer to use in case of exploding wood and also worked the teleram and grab which were useful for loading and moving the heavy logs.
> 
> The final part of the system was to make use of our old one ton potato boxes which work well for seasoning with the air gaps. I filled 150 boxes during lockdown! Well there was not much else to do!



Well made video! That electric saw was doing work!


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## Woodchuckels

gggGary said:


> Had a POS like that. The steel handle would gradually bend; then smack the flat end on a stump a few times to bend it back. That jarring from the steel was brutal on the joints. After too many years I got smart and now use the poly handle 8 pound splitting maul I got my wife for her birthday.. Wish I had done it years earlier. Actually I'm on the second poly handled maul and have reepoxied the head on once.
> I have a gas splitter but still prefer the maul, and yes I noodle crotches, stump wood, and big elm rounds.


Still have have a monster maul, but it sets in the shed most of the time. I used to use it all the time. But after using it all winter on hedge and mulberry a few years back I noticed my joints in my fingers hurt all the time. Joint pain never went away until I bought a Fiskers x25. I think the monster maul's weight pulled on the joint tendons causing tendonits.
You can get away using it when your younger, but being over 70 stuff ain't the way it used to be.


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## PasoRoblesJimmy

Fiiskers X25 splitter. Mostly use a DR 5-ton electric splitter to save my back. Best part of an electric splitter is no maintenance.






DR PILOT 5TE Electric Log Splitter | DR Power Equipment


Split indoors or out! Quiet, clean, and efficient. Tackle logs up to 10 inch thick with the DR 5 Ton Log Splitter. FREE SHIPPING!




www.drpower.com


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## Brushwacker

gggGary said:


> Had a POS like that. The steel handle would gradually bend; then smack the flat end on a stump a few times to bend it back. That jarring from the steel was brutal on the joints. After too many years I got smart and now use the poly handle 8 pound splitting maul I got my wife for her birthday.. Wish I had done it years earlier. Actually I'm on the second poly handled maul and have reepoxied the head on once.
> I have a gas splitter but still prefer the maul, and yes I noodle crotches, stump wood, and big elm rounds.


I think nearly all the monster maul
I had handle, broke about 6 inches under the head. I'd find a solid piece of steel cut something like 12in long or shorter that fit snug in the tubeler handle, fit it inside where it broke and weld it back, no more breaking. Also i wrapped the handles with rubber from used intertubes and electrical and duct tape to help absorb some shock. I used carpet padding instead of intertube a time or 2 or so. Carpet padding was a little thick but not bad with my fairly long fingers.


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## Billhook

Renegade32 said:


> Full circle!


1953, definitely a vintage year!


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## mountainguyed67

Brufab said:


> Monster maul



I had one. The handle eventually broke off, I still have the handle as a cheater.


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## mountainguyed67

Brufab said:


> How old do you think those moster mauls are? Is that a 70's or 80's thing?



I bought mine new, either late 80s or early 90s.


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## Newmangrove

View attachment IMG_0367.MOV


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## catbuster

I put this head on a nice 36” Beaver Tooth handle and did some work profiling the edge. It works real well for the wood we have here.

I have a Stihl splitting axe that splits softer wood super well, but the handle is really short and it makes things kind of difficult to hit square. Their splitting maul looks really nice, but I can’t bring myself to add another maul when I already have two.


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## gggGary

you can still buy those brutal 12 pounders
https://www.overstock.com/Home-Gard.../13428064/product.html?opre=1&option=22247585
Can't imagine why you would..............


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## SweetMK

gggGary said:


> you can still buy those brutal 12 pounders
> https://www.overstock.com/Home-Gard.../13428064/product.html?opre=1&option=22247585
> Can't imagine why you would..............



That Vulcan is clearly a casting, probably cast steel.
The Sotz one that I mail ordered was flame cut out of a THICK sheet of steel.
Back then, oxy-acetylene cut steel was cheap.

Mine even had a flame cut edge that penetrated the wood.


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## copen

gggGary said:


> you can still buy those brutal 12 pounders
> https://www.overstock.com/Home-Gard.../13428064/product.html?opre=1&option=22247585
> Can't imagine why you would..............


Wow, kinda pricey these days huh? But what isn't ?


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## lohan808

Well ideally the favorite would be a 30ton 2stage splitter. It that lucky. I have an armstrong powered 8lb maul. I use the cheap stuff as shattering handles in southern oaks is common. For the soft stuff I use Grampy's Kelly double bit. Splitting is the good life for me. Prolly need to get my head checked


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## Brufab

gggGary said:


> you can still buy those brutal 12 pounders
> https://www.overstock.com/Home-Gard.../13428064/product.html?opre=1&option=22247585
> Can't imagine why you would..............


Wow gggGary I can't believe there still in production  must be so chiropractors have a steady flow of patients.


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## copen

SweetMK said:


> That Vulcan is clearly a casting, probably cast steel.
> The Sotz one that I mail ordered was flame cut out of a THICK sheet of steel.
> Back then, oxy-acetylene cut steel was cheap.
> 
> Mine even had a flame cut edge that penetrated the wood.


They're actually kinda soft, the older ones. Mine developed teeth along the edge. Don't know how that happened. Ended up grinding off the edge to about a quarter inch flat and building it back up with 7018 rod. Helped everything but my aim.


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## smcowboy1974

8 lb. maul with a fiberglass handle. Used to use wood handles, but went through 2 or 3 every winter. 
If worse comes to worse I use a 12 lb sledge hammer with a wedge.


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## Brushwacker

mountainguyed67 said:


> I bought mine new, either late 80s or early 90s.


Early 1980's when i got mine. I expect they had been around a bit longer. I am thinking I ordered it from an ad in a magazine, Mother Earth News.


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## Brushwacker

gggGary said:


> you can still buy those brutal 12 pounders
> https://www.overstock.com/Home-Gard.../13428064/product.html?opre=1&option=22247585
> Can't imagine why you would..............


I had 1 or more of the knock offs, they didn't feel the same as the original Monster. Original felt like it worked a bit better all around to me.


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## gggGary

8 pound Task Maul. 


cutting ash today.
Has a thinner front section so it can be sharpened many times without having to remove a lot of metal. Handle has a nice rubber protective sleeve above the head to reduce strike damage. I admit it I tend to make T splits so hitting the handle on the unsplit piece in front of my "next" line happens.
Head shape may have changed a little.


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## sirbuildalot

I have an original Sotz monster maul. They had 4 models. The "lady's maul" weighed 11.5 lbs and had a 8lb head. They also had a 16 lb maul with a 12 lb head, a 24 lb maul with a 20 lb head, and a "professional" model. They are pretty neat, and as was said were often shown in magazines.

I also have an original Chopper1 axe. 

I have to admit I prefer my gas powered SuperSplitter though


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## timsmcm

I have been using my helko tomahawk 8 lb maul. It's a bustin Jessie. That head must be made of some pretty impressive steel. I busted rocks steel glass you name it. Never have I ever touched the edge once. Sharp but not too sharp for blunt force trauma.


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## Fangorn

I love my x27. I have split a good amount of (Virginia) white oak with it. It's hard to beat one of those for 60 bucks, guaranteed for life. I have beat the hell out of it and it's still going strong. I also have the big fiskars Maul, and it's pretty solid, too. I like that I can bury it and then sledge the back end of it if I need to.


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## jjramrod

If I'm splitting by hand I prefer wedges and my 24 lb sledge one whack most of the time and the wedge shoots through the wood like a bullet. If it isn't straight grained or it's knotty my hydraulic splitter will push right through it.


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## biggerstaff94

No idea of the brand but it bangs for 3.5lbs. I have a boring fiberglass 8lb maul for the bad stuff.


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## Bubster

I like my Fiskars X-27 for most splitting.Ash,red oak,most wild cherry,and most locust is no problem.I have the big Fiskars maul as well,but I can't remember the model number of it.


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## biggerstaff94

Got my $20 Plumb Victory double bit put together with a 36” handle.


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## jolj

When I was in school I used a five pound single blade ax, an eight pound hammer & steel wedge for crouch & knotted rounds.
Now that I am no longer ten years old, if I cut more than four pick up loads a year, I would get a splitter & push a button.


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## Section VIII

Started with a TruTemper splitting axe but it got stuck all the time. Got a Fiskars X27 and a wedge and sledge for the knotty stuff.

Just recently broke down and bought a Champion gas splitter because I, like many of you it seems, am getting old and my body can't go like it used to.


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