Do you sharpen your maul?

Well... I would not describe it as nearly rounded. Most mauls are designed with a thick taper so that if the wood doesn't split, it will kick the maul back out rather than have it stuck in the wood. That's the theory at least.

I maintain the edge like it was when I bought it which is sharp. Well, as sharp as it can be with such a steep taper. The axe stays razor sharp.

I'll hit mine with a grinder every couple years. . . I'm not sure it does any good.

Hope this helps.

The edge on my maul got pretty ragged after a few cords of oak. It may have been my imagination but I don't think the splitting was quite as easy. Filing seemed to help - for sure it didn't hurt.

Occasionally I'll take a file to any burrs or other disfigurements I accidentally put on the edge of a mall. Why not? It has a tendency to bash into the ground and striking rocks dirt etc. With some woods getting a bite into the round can makes a big difference. It's more of a maintenance thing than sharpening. Now all my shovels, hoe's, axes etc I keep sharp...way sharper than the mall.

A sharp edge helps with the initial splitting action. I sharpen mine when the edge gets rounded or some what blunt. To prove that it helps, try splitting some tough wood and then sharpen it and see the difference.

I have a Gransfors splitting maul that came shaving sharp. I keep the edge fairly sharp and try to keep the little chips in the edge smoothed up so they don't 'grow'. The edge profile is fairly thin compared to normal splitters and works on the principle of quick penetration followed by a rapid change of head thickness to 'pop' open the wood. If the head sticks and I can pick up round and all, I'll swing and drop the round maul first on my chopping block letting the weight of the round do the work. If THAT doesn't pop it after a try of two, I'll grab a wedge and 12 lb sledge to bust the maul out. For wood with fairly good grain the sledge is seldom necessary as the Gransfors will pop that stuff right quick.

The Gransfors requires a little different approach to splitting, but it works real well.

ken999 said:

I'll grab a wedge and 12 lb sledge to bust the maul out...

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Glad to hear you don't take the sledge to the poll of the axe as I've seen many people do. I've spent countless hours reshaping the eye on axe heads that others have so abused.

I agree that a splitting axe shoud be sharp but the degree of taper is always a comprimise. Too thin an edge and the axe loses momentum before it gets to the thick part to pop the wood and risks getting stuck. Too thick and it bounces before getting past the dried end grain. Speaking of dried end grain, when I was scrounging wood and knew I wasn't going to split it right away, I would buck it up into double length so that I could make the last cut when I was ready to split it. The fresh cut side always split easier, at least for frozen Birch.

Probably the greatest increase in a mauls splitting efficiency is to take a sander and get rid of all the paint on the sides. Smooth it up to an almost mirror finish and keep it greased when not in use.

LLigetfa said:

ken999 said:

I'll grab a wedge and 12 lb sledge to bust the maul out...

Click to expand...

Glad to hear you don't take the sledge to the poll of the axe as I've seen many people do. I've spent countless hours reshaping the eye on axe heads that others have so abused.

I agree that a splitting axe shoud be sharp but the degree of taper is always a comprimise. Too thin an edge and the axe loses momentum before it gets to the thick part to pop the wood and risks getting stuck. Too thick and it bounces before getting past the dried end grain. Speaking of dried end grain, when I was scrounging wood and knew I wasn't going to split it right away, I would buck it up into double length so that I could make the last cut when I was ready to split it. The fresh cut side always split easier, at least for frozen Birch.

Click to expand...

I started out pounding on the Gransfors...man did that work slick...Then I started to notice that I was mushrooming the poll over. Being that the cost of the Gransfors are what they are, I decided to quit that program and bought a Wood Grenade to beat on. Wrecking a $14 wedge seems like a much better idea to me than senselessly beating the snot out of a good tool. I filed the tip on the WG to help get it started into the rounds, then I can roundhouse the heck out of it with the sledge. It works real good and I've only had a couple of real snarly pieces of Beech and Yellow Birch bounce the WG back out. Those rounds got the 385 Husky treatment.:grin: