OK I was going to go the predictable argue physics, the old kinetic energy = one half mass time velocity squared but some folks don't care for that argument.
Here is mine.
Nice splitting mauls hang on the wall underneath a favorite print of the breed of dogs you hunt. A real man NEVER uses said tool so decades from now Firewood afficniados will bid the NOS to insane dollar amounts many multiples of the original price.
You can try them all, (they $suck).
Serious firewood producers just wimp out and get a splitter. FWIW, here is a chart of the energy in gasoline, pretty potent stuff for the density but near as good as uranium and thorium.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_density