# Hands hurt after splitting wood... help / suggestions?



## ericfox (May 23, 2011)

After splitting some wood (wearing work gloves) it seems there is an area about the size of a 50 cent piece between the bottom of my thumb and my wrist on the palm side is VERY sore... especially on my left hand (I am right handed). It is 3 days later and still pretty sore... wonder if I am doing something wrong or maybe some special impact gloves for splitting wood? There was a couple times that I got an extra big impact from not hitting the log quite right. I enjoy splitting wood, but not with this issue

Thanks for any suggestions


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## Big_Al (May 23, 2011)

What were you using to split with? Maybe try something different? Get heavier gloves? I usually just use an old 8lb maul and plain work gloves.


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## RAMROD48 (May 23, 2011)

Rub some dirt on it, you will be fine...its called manual labor...


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## JRepairsK70e (May 23, 2011)

Alleve and a hydraulic splitter works for me lol jk


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## Motorsen (May 23, 2011)

*Split some more wood!*

The only cure is training. Split somemore wood to "harden" your hands. It's a quite normal to get sore especially in the palm when not used to manual labour. You are getting alot of backfeed from your axe through the palms. Get splitting some more soon. Maybe you will feel releved after a short warm up.
Good health.

Motorsen


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## jerrycmorrow (May 23, 2011)

i don't wear gloves when swinging my 10# maul. the gloves tend to make me have to grip harder whereas not wearing gloves gives me a better feel and helps toughen my hands. if you're holding the maul where the end of the handle contacts your palm where the sore area is then you may be causing bruising at every impact. maybe shorten your grip a little bit so the end of the handle doesn't smack you.


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## gwiley (May 23, 2011)

I have injured my hands splitting with the sledge and maul - in the same area. I found that worst case I get reduced strength in my left hand/thumb for a while. Going through 10 cords/year has me seriously considering a hydraulic splitter as a result.


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## bobt (May 23, 2011)

jerrycmorrow said:


> i don't wear gloves when swinging my 10# maul. the gloves tend to make me have to grip harder whereas not wearing gloves gives me a better feel and helps toughen my hands. if you're holding the maul where the end of the handle contacts your palm where the sore area is then you may be causing bruising at every impact. maybe shorten your grip a little bit so the end of the handle doesn't smack you.


 
Hard manual labor simply requires gloves, especially in the palm area. 

Just ask any railroad section hand who still pounds spikes with a 10# spike maul about gloves and they will tell you that gloves are their best friend, even when the hands are hardened to the work.

We used to even swap old gloves between righthandes and lefthanders, as the opposite glove was worn the worst after a short time.

I would wear gloves that are full of holes in the fingers before going gloveless. Gotta protect the relatively soft palm area.

Bob


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## jerrycmorrow (May 23, 2011)

bobt said:


> Hard manual labor simply requires gloves, especially in the palm area.
> 
> Just ask any railroad section hand who still pounds spikes with a 10# spike maul about gloves and they will tell you that gloves are their best friend, even when the hands are hardened to the work.
> 
> ...


 
to each his own. been doing it bout 30 years. 4-5 cords a year. understand about the soft palm area but my hands get tired faster when i wear gloves.


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## mayhem100 (May 23, 2011)

Give it a couple days and go split some more. 

As the marines say, pain is just weakness leaving the body. You'll get used to it shortly before you're done splitting for the year, then your hands will get soft again and you'll go throughit all again next year.

For impact protection, you can try a pair of padded work gloves, but really the best thing is to work on your swing so you make fewer overstrikes...when I start hitting the handle I know its time to stop because I'm getting tired and my aim is going.


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## mdotis (May 23, 2011)

Burning wood will save you a bunch of money but it is not free. You have to earn your savings and pain is just one of the prices you pay. But most of the time it is the good pain that lets you know you are still alive. Like the other have said once you get your body trained the price will seem like a good deal. The human body is amazing, start slow and work your way up, let your body adjust to the new activity.


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## GeeVee (May 23, 2011)

If its sore, stick it in Cider


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## banshee67 (May 23, 2011)

.. here try one of these


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## airwolf (May 23, 2011)

I had the same problem with my top hand(the one that slides). The vibrations from the wood handle didn't bother the bottom hand, that had a tight grip.

I got rid of the pain by stuffing a piece of carpet padding inside my leather glove.

I don't use the padding with my Fiskars, since the composite handle seems to transmit less vibrations.


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## turnkey4099 (May 23, 2011)

jerrycmorrow said:


> to each his own. been doing it bout 30 years. 4-5 cords a year. understand about the soft palm area but my hands get tired faster when i wear gloves.


 
Same here (8+ cord/yr) and I get a better grip without gloves. Of course I pay for 'no gloves' with accumlating splinters.

Harry K


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## Ironworker (May 23, 2011)

Really


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## LumberjkChamp (May 23, 2011)

It sounds like maybe the handle of your maul is just a tick too big. Try a different (smaller diameter) handle and that may be what you need. Handles are made to fit everyones hands but they don't really fit anyones hands. Got to keep trying until you find one that works.

Also, try holding with the handle running more through your fingers instead of it in the middle of your palm. 

I cut and split, all by hand, at least 10 cords per year. Its a portion of my winter exercise. I hate gloves.


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## ericfox (May 23, 2011)

thanks guys... glad to know Im not the only one that has gotten bruised hands from splitting... After thinking about this more - I think a lot of the bruising is from first day when I was using an axe to split the wood was swinging really hard and the axe just wasnt enough to split the wood many times... I since bought a splitting maul as some of you mentioned and a sledge and wedges... this seemed to work much better and the pain was probably already there from the previous day with the axe... so hopefully I will be good after a few more days 

Good to be a part of the forum though... glad to see there are the normal forum jesters


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## zogger (May 23, 2011)

*think through the split*

The axe head and speed and focus and keeping the edge straight to the wood does the work. Your hands merely steer this operation. Steer more, power less. Speed more, aim better. Finesse and focus is easier on the mitts than grunt swings.

To me, good splitting is like any other sport. Ya, most anyone can grab a whatever with some sort of edge to it and mangle a chunk of wood into pieces, but the better you get at it the less effort it takes to do even more work. And the less it beats on you, hands included. 

I also cull the herd fast. I have all the wood I want, so if a particular piece starts to give me fits, it gets thrown onto the obnoxious/bummer pile. I cull it till later. Two months (or so) later I'll go through the pile again. Amazing what an additional two months of drying will do for you, more cracks to aim at, etc. 

Anyway, I think of it as way more a sport/skill than "work" and for some reason it keeps getting easier the more I refine my technique. Especially with the fiskars.

I must say though I am dissatisfied with the fiskars sharpener. I have some brand X one that works better, but even that leaves some meat on the platter. I am thinking I might invest in a rouge wheel instead..maybe. There's a huge difference with the fiskars between normal "sharp" and OMG if your finger gets within an inch you get sliced sharp. The latter will really split some wood.


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## tomsteve (May 23, 2011)

get rid of the gloves and build up some callouses. if it keeps hurtin, let it heal then go at it again.


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## sunfish (May 23, 2011)

I did 10+ cords a year by hand for over 20 years. Now I have a splitter. Don't know if I'm just older, or smarter 

I never wear gloves either, they hurt my hands!


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## CTYank (May 23, 2011)

mayhem100 said:


> Give it a couple days and go split some more.
> 
> As the marines say, pain is just weakness leaving the body. You'll get used to it shortly before you're done splitting for the year, then your hands will get soft again and you'll go throughit all again next year.
> 
> For impact protection, you can try a pair of padded work gloves, but really the best thing is to work on your swing so you make fewer overstrikes...when I start hitting the handle I know its time to stop because I'm getting tired and my aim is going.


 
I'd add that you really want to grip the handle tightly UNTIL approaching the wood, then just tightly enough to keep it from flying. Ease off on the swing too, then. Let kinetic energy do its thing. I've found that I can get the most kinetic energy in there, and keep the best control, with a 6 lb maul.

Gloves just don't work for me- they reduce my grip. Bare-handed, it's best IMHO to sand or scrape lacquer or whatever finish off the handle. Reduces blisters.

Definitely work up gradually to prime form. On a given day, stop before it becomes pain or drudgery. Don't need to do it all today.


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## JRepairsK70e (May 23, 2011)

been mulling your pain issue with splittin i seem to remember if my splitting block was to tall and had a run of rounds that didnt split on the first shot ,when the maul stopped in the chunk the vibrations come up the handle and into your palms ,i cured most of this by lowering the chopping block so the handle would be slightly lower than horizontal before the splitting began ,think it just generates more force to ensure a clean split ,or at least one of those reassuring pops that lets you kno its going next swing ,cheers ,hope this helps ,nvr mind my prev goof response jk


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## SPDRMNKY (May 23, 2011)

what works for me is to wear snug fitting gloves, and split on the ground
-----
std work gloves are too loose, and I find I grip tighter to maintain control

it also helps if the gloves are a bit damp...sweat does the trick

splitting on the ground means no "rebound" forces from the splitting block...less wasted energy (pick a place without rocks)

if you want to see what I mean by "rebound" forces, grab a basketball and tennis ball, and do this...
-hold the basketball in one hand
-hold the tennis ball in the other an inch above the basketball
-drop both at the same time
-watchout!

cheers!


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## woodbooga (May 24, 2011)

banshee67 said:


> .. here try one of these


 
silly. that's what you use when you nip yerself after kickback when bucken or limbing. sorespot? If you're new, my guess is to work through the pain. No doctor here, just figuring you're using muscles you've not used before. Personally, I got sore quads from carrying down a 2-y-o from a fire tower yesterday to catch a glimpse of the cloud-shrouded views of lake winni.


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## angelo c (May 24, 2011)

zogger said:


> The axe head and speed and focus and keeping the edge straight to the wood does the work. Your hands merely steer this operation. Steer more, power less. Speed more, aim better. Finesse and focus is easier on the mitts than grunt swings.
> 
> To me, good splitting is like any other sport. Ya, most anyone can grab a whatever with some sort of edge to it and mangle a chunk of wood into pieces, but the better you get at it the less effort it takes to do even more work. And the less it beats on you, hands included.
> 
> ...


 
There's lots of good advice above. I would add that you might have to change your grip on the handle somewhat as well. I used to get very painfull arms, wrist and shoulders when using your hands often. Mine came from 30 years of making pizza. I used to use my thumbs as an anchor to almost any weight lifting of any kind. Put your thumb on top of the handle and not under the handle and more of the weight goes to the hand and not only the thumb. Might help, it works for me. Just takes extra concentration as its a natural thing to have your thumbs do all the work.


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## trailmaker (May 24, 2011)

ericfox said:


> After splitting some wood (wearing work gloves) it seems there is an area about the size of a 50 cent piece between the bottom of my thumb and my wrist on the palm side is VERY sore... especially on my left hand (I am right handed). It is 3 days later and still pretty sore... wonder if I am doing something wrong or maybe some special impact gloves for splitting wood? There was a couple times that I got an extra big impact from not hitting the log quite right. I enjoy splitting wood, but not with this issue
> 
> Thanks for any suggestions



It sounds like you're describing a sore muscle. That will go away as your muscles strengthen. Splitting can put some wear and tear on your joints and bones however. I've found that a wood handled maul, atlas therma fit gloves, and wrist straps is a good set up for preserving the body.


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## wampum (May 24, 2011)

To each his own,but I do not like gloves when swinging an axe or sledge. I worked in a cement mill for well over 30 years,a 20 pound sledge is used almost every day.The doors on the raw and finish ball mills are pounded in with a twenty pound sledge. Sometimes they drop easy other times you pound for hours to get them in.You also adjust kiln alignment with the same sledge.
In my first few years I used that dang sledge so much my nick name was sledge.(thats the truth)Time and time again I saw too many guys loose control of a sledge and let it fly,every time they had on gloves.Ma-be some of these new gloves would have a better grip. When we were using a bar and sledge,nobody used gloves period.(unless you were holding the bar)We had to drive bolts or pins out,which required one would hold the bar the other would swing the sledge.If you missed you could really put the hurt on some one.Eventually they invented tool holders.The holder used a strap you tightened and an aluminum handle that got you a little out of the way.I never hit anyone,but I was hit several times. When I had to worry about hitting my buddy,I would never wear gloves. Honestly I never remember my hands being sore. But I guess you use that sledge several times a week for years you kinda get use to it.


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## Henry and Wanda (May 24, 2011)

Buy a wood splitter !!!!!!!!


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## WidowMaker (May 24, 2011)

What's the wrist strap for???


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## Dalmatian90 (May 24, 2011)

One thing I didn't see was...Advil.

At least until your body gets used to using muscles you haven't used in a while and the torn tissue heals and rebuilds.

I've learned there's certain things I do at certain times that I just take Advil as soon as I stop (and sometimes before I start) otherwise.

It's just for a few weeks while you get acclimated to the work, it shouldn't be forever.



> I never wear gloves either, they hurt my hands!



Find gloves that fit right.

It was driving me nuts a couple years ago I could not find leather work gloves that felt right on my hands -- they all felt restrictive and would cause pain if used for prolonged time.

Finally found Kinco gloves, the only drawback being the closest store that I know carries them is Work 'n Gear up in Worcester (about 45 minutes from me). These FIT like the old fashion work gloves every hardware and farm store used to carry locally before Wells Lamont and the other brands all moved their production to the Land of Misfit Toys.

This spring I also picked up a set of gloves that sort of resemble goatskin versions of Mechanix gloves. They're not holding up quite as well as I'd like in the velcro for the $20 I paid, and one day lighting a brush pile on fire I got to see flames dance across the surface of the nylon part of the glove, but dayum they're comfortable. Made in Pakistan, so I figure if anyone knows goats, gloves, and velcro... they do :msp_tongue:

I picked those up at Work 'n Gear (XL size) but have seen them at Walmart for a little less but only in L size that don't fit me.


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## sunfish (May 24, 2011)

> Find gloves that fit right.



I do wear gloves when running the splitter and handling/stacking wood, good well fittin gloves. But I don't like gloves when using any kind of hammer, axe, maul, gun, fishing rod, or saw. I've done a lot of framing and blacksmith work in my time and just avoid gloves when I can.


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## D&B Mack (May 24, 2011)

If it is your left hand, make sure you are not leaning the the maul with your left hand while picking up the pieces. The butt of the maul would be pushing into your palm everytime you bent over with the weight of your body. Doing this a few hundred times or more can cause a sore spot.


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## trailmaker (May 24, 2011)

WidowMaker said:


> What's the wrist strap for???


 
I tried out those straps on a whim and they alleviated some pain I was feeling in the wrists after splitting. I'm not sure exactly how they are helping. They are just wraps, not rigid bracing so I think they may be dampening any vibrations that make it back up to my wrists. I imagine that your carpals want to scatter like pool balls when a shock makes it back up the handle through your hands.


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## jerrycmorrow (May 24, 2011)

trailmaker said:


> I tried out those straps on a whim and they alleviated some pain I was feeling in the wrists after splitting. I'm not sure exactly how they are helping. They are just wraps, not rigid bracing so I think they may be dampening any vibrations that make it back up to my wrists. I imagine that your carpals want to scatter like pool balls when a shock makes it back up the handle through your hands.


 
my pissy form is typically a vertical delivery. yeah, juvenile, i know but couldn't (wouldn't) resist.


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