Need a New Splitting Maul Handle

Wesspur
Rugged made
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I second House Handles. You can buy a couple different grades of handle in most types, and they're pretty clear about eye shapes and sizes in the individual descriptions. The website can be a little frustrating to look through but the handles are good quality.
 
This won't solve the handle issue, but I want to give a strong
plug for the Fiskars X27 splitting axe. I seldom need to use
a maul for anything less than 12 in. dia. and I am not so strong.
I think it is a real improvement, certainly worth a try, even for
larger diameter rounds.
 
oldercut said:
This won't solve the handle issue, but I want to give a strong
plug for the Fiskars X27 splitting axe. I seldom need to use
a maul for anything less than 12 in. dia. and I am not so strong.
I think it is a real improvement, certainly worth a try, even for
larger diameter rounds.
Click to expand...
I have an old original 15 lb Sotz Monster Maul, as well as the Fiskars X27 and the Fiskars Iso-core 8 lb maul and some old nameless hardware store 8 lb maul that I never use anymore. The Monster Maul will never get stuck, but its steel pipe handle (which will never break off) is brutal at delivering shock to the hands, especially during an overstrike. But it is my best splitter. The X27 is the 2nd best; I think it works better than the Iso-core. But it can't drive wedges. So, I end up using the iso-core more, as it is helpful when wedges are needed. I have no use for wooden-handled mauls when Fiskars has a lifetime guarantee on theirs.
 
Fiskars for the win...lol When I lived in Ohio, decades ago, Sotz Manufacturing was my neighbor in North Ridgeville / Columbia Station, Ohio. They were a going concern and cranked out the infamous Sotz woodburning barrel stove kits. I believe they are defunct now however. I had one of their barrel stoves as well. Problem with them was, the barrels would burn through after a while in the bottom and now the Asian's offer barrel stove kits cheaper on Amascon.
 
Sidecarflip said:
Fiskars for the win...lol When I lived in Ohio, decades ago, Sotz Manufacturing was my neighbor in North Ridgeville / Columbia Station, Ohio. They were a going concern and cranked out the infamous Sotz woodburning barrel stove kits. I believe they are defunct now however. I had one of their barrel stoves as well. Problem with them was, the barrels would burn through after a while in the bottom and now the Asian's offer barrel stove kits cheaper on Amascon.
Click to expand...
Yes, they are defunct. But have a look on used Monster Mauls on E-Bay. They have become a collector's item, some selling for more than $200. For less than that price, I bet you could get a fab shop to make one.
 
f3ck I remember the monster maul... a place I worked summers had one. It was the business for splitting anything short of a boulder but yeah a brute to swing and really rough on the hands. I like having a selection of lighter stuff alongside the heavies- sure makes the shoulders last when you can pick up a 3.5 lb axe for the quarters.
 
Hermio said:
The Monster Maul will never get stuck, but its steel pipe handle (which will never break off) is brutal at delivering shock to the hands, especially during an overstrike. But it is my best splitter. The X27 is the 2nd best; I think it works better than the Iso-core.
Click to expand...

I swung a Monster Maul every firewood season for many years when I was young and newly married. At some point (I don't remember when, but years after I bought it), the middle of the handle began to sag and bow down, towards the splitting edge, and eventually began to crack in two. I guess from it's own weight, after all those sudden stops the head was making and the handle wanted to keep going?

I can fix this, I thought to myself. So I cut the pipe handle in two at the crack, and got a buddy to turn down a solid rod about 16" long to slip inside the halves, then welded it all together. It never bent again, but I had to quit using it because that solid rod made the repetitive vibration from the splitting strikes absolutely unbearable after more than a half hour or so.

Eventually I cut the head off the handle, leaving about a 6" stub that I fit a wooden sledgehammer handle into. That worked pretty well and made the maul manageable again, but the wooden handle only lasted less than a day once a friend borrowed it. Ugh!

I still have that head, but never bothered to put a handle back in it. I bought an 8-lb. Husky splitting maul from Home Depot, the one with the 34" fiberglass handle, and have been very impressed with how well it works. It's supposed to have a lifetime warranty, but hopefully I won't need the warranty. I've used the maul every season for 6-8 years now and noticed no deterioration.

Incidentally, I purchased a Fiskars X27 this season, based on how many people liked it, but I just can't make it work for me. It just doesn't have enough weight for hardwoods, for me, but if I'm splitting anything it's usually bigger than 8" diameter. I've read that this maul needs speed instead of brute force, but maybe I've been swinging heavy ones for so long I just can't develop the right touch with this light one. LOL Obviouly I'm doing something wrong, since most folks are impressed with it.
 
Woodtroll said:
I swung a Monster Maul every firewood season for many years when I was young and newly married. At some point (I don't remember when, but years after I bought it), the middle of the handle began to sag and bow down, towards the splitting edge, and eventually began to crack in two. I guess from it's own weight, after all those sudden stops the head was making and the handle wanted to keep going?

I can fix this, I thought to myself. So I cut the pipe handle in two at the crack, and got a buddy to turn down a solid rod about 16" long to slip inside the halves, then welded it all together. It never bent again, but I had to quit using it because that solid rod made the repetitive vibration from the splitting strikes absolutely unbearable after more than a half hour or so.

Eventually I cut the head off the handle, leaving about a 6" stub that I fit a wooden sledgehammer handle into. That worked pretty well and made the maul manageable again, but the wooden handle only lasted less than a day once a friend borrowed it. Ugh!

I still have that head, but never bothered to put a handle back in it. I bought an 8-lb. Husky splitting maul from Home Depot, the one with the 34" fiberglass handle, and have been very impressed with how well it works. It's supposed to have a lifetime warranty, but hopefully I won't need the warranty. I've used the maul every season for 6-8 years now and noticed no deterioration.

Incidentally, I purchased a Fiskars X27 this season, based on how many people liked it, but I just can't make it work for me. It just doesn't have enough weight for hardwoods, for me, but if I'm splitting anything it's usually bigger than 8" diameter. I've read that this maul needs speed instead of brute force, but maybe I've been swinging heavy ones for so long I just can't develop the right touch with this light one. LOL Obviouly I'm doing something wrong, since most folks are impressed with it.
Click to expand...
I have split 18" rounds with it, but I don't split it in half right away. I take flakes off the outside by striking tangentially. When I have split off flakes all the way around, it can usually start splitting radially. Mainly, these days, I use a maul to get the heavier rounds down to something I can lift onto my log splitter.
 
moxiemaul said:
f3ck I remember the monster maul... a place I worked summers had one. It was the business for splitting anything short of a boulder but yeah a brute to swing and really rough on the hands. I like having a selection of lighter stuff alongside the heavies- sure makes the shoulders last when you can pick up a 3.5 lb axe for the quarters.
Click to expand...
Both of my shoulder joints have been replaced. But they never did hurt while swinging the maul. Mainly they hurt doing dumbbell and machine flyes.
 
I was thinking more about the muscles tiring and the heavy impacts beating up on finger joints. These days I only swing my 8lb maul or sledgehammer w/ wedges to break the larger or complicated rounds. Once broken the lighter axes are a lot easier to aim and swing... and less tiring.

Part of my job was firewood at that old job, and all they had was a Monster Maul (complete with bent handle), vastly overkill for 8-10" pine. That steel handle gives me a bit of pre-traumatic stress disorder when thinking of a 20" piece of fresh elm...
 
The Mad Hopper said:
I am looking for a good 36" hanlde for an 8lb splittting maul. The opening to the maul looks about 1 inch. None of the hardware stores near me have replacemnt handles. Do you have any on-line recommendations? Thanks
Click to expand...
I have used Hickory or White Oak saplings in a pinch, just take a Hatchet to it and fit to shape. Just saying if you got nothing else.
 

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