6 lb vs 8 lb sledgehammer with splitting wedges

munkyboi said:

do you think i would lose significant effectiveness/efficiency if i switch to a 6 lb sledge?

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I think, because sledge hammers are not a huge investment, you should try one out and tell us what you think.

Depends how hard the wood is to split. As with a maul, use the lightest that will do the job.

I use both and much prefer the 6.

I only have an 8 pound sledge. I figure if I need to sledge and wedge there is no reason to expect an easy split. My Fiskars has already been bouncing off by then.

It depends on your strength and speed. Basic physics. Energy from a velocity increase is squared, where as an increase in mass is linear. So it's much better to increase speed, if it's possible. So if you can't get the heavier mall up to the same speed of the lighter mall, you may not gain much. On the other hand you may be getting to your maximum speed, if there is such a thing, and increasing the weight at the same speed can help. Clear.

I like using a 6 lb maul for hitting wedges. I also find that the 6 lb maul makes a decent indentation to start a wedge. I just got a Fiskars X27. I was impressed with the ease of swinging it and worked just fine on some straight grain fir I just picked up. However it was comical how the Fiskars bounced off a big piece of red oak. I think with a 6 lb maul, a couple of splitting wedges and the fiskars I've got all the manual splitting firepower I need.

I rarely "wedge and sledge" anymore, but when I did, I actually preferred a 10 lb. sledgehammer. I had thought that it would tire me quickly, but I actually liked how it got the job done in fewer swings.