Reccomend a maul (small guy)

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hareball

hareball

Member
Dec 11, 2009
699
Jersey shore/pines
Well the maul that has been here for over 30 years can't be found so I guess it's time for a new.
I am a small guy with bad shoulders and don't plan on splitting too much (have a dozen or so rounds sitting 3 years now) but never know when a few more might come my way and I'd like to have a maul ready to go.
Any suggestions appreciated :)
 
Fiskars super splitter, or pro splitter if your rounds
are smaller (8" or less in diameter). The first has
a 4.5lb head. The second hardly weighs anything.
 
Get a good axe. The secret with an axe is it needs to be sharp. So get what you need to sharpen it. I find an axe requires less energy to split wood than a maul. Fiskers is popular. I like my S&N.
 
Go with a good splitting axe - I haven't used a maul in years. Lots of people here are partial to the Fiskars super splitter. I bought the ~4 lb. splitting axe at Lowe's and it works just fine for me.
 
Thanks guys.
Years ago a maulisamaulisamaul but now years later since I've swung one I wanted to hear whats good. You friggin guys don't fool around here so why not right?

A splitting axe sounds better on my shoulders just as long as it has the follow through of a maul.
 
You can get more velocity out of a lighter axe and hence more force. The blade is thinner and sharper and so penetrates the wood better. Mauls beat wood to death whereas axes split it. I have both an axe and a maul--I rarely use the maul.
 
My husband went to buy one today, as the stove should be hooked up within the week and we had some stuff we needed split...
I tried to convince him that everyone on here seems to love their Fiskars and showed him some reviews... but he couldn't find one locally so he bought something else at Ace today. Oh well. He's probably going to do most of the splitting so....
 
Yeah I checked the store finder and none within 50 miles so ended up ordering online. The down side is delivery is 7-14 days.
 
Hareball, why not one of those small jack operated manual splitters from northern? no swingin involved, and if its only a round or two now and then???? or an electric splitter that everyone is ravin bout???? Or that sweedish eeeeeezzzzzzeeee splitter that looks more like a t post driver???
 
One of them splitters is a dream that I hope to have come true some day! I live in a neighborhood where houses are almost on top of each other and the lots are only 1/4 acre each lol!
Back in the 70's and early 80's it seemed every other house here had a chimney but I'm one of the only ones left burning and running a smoke dragon no less.

On the bright side a neighbor asked if I started selling wood. He said I see your wood pile getting smaller but have not seen any smoke coming out my chimney anymore. I told him I'm burning 24/6 and finally learned how to burn properly :)
 
If it hurts your shoulders and it takes 3 years to accumulate 12 rounds, you might consider just trading them with a fellow burner that burns big rounds. Just my initial thought.

Hakusan said:
You can get more velocity out of a lighter axe and hence more force. The blade is thinner and sharper and so penetrates the wood better. Mauls beat wood to death whereas axes split it. I have both an axe and a maul--I rarely use the maul.
Click to expand...

Um . . .What are you splitting? Ash? Or rounds that are already small (<6")? Cause if yer splitting rounds that need multiple stage splits, NO WAY an axe - sharp or not - outsplits a maul. :coolhmm:
 
anyone here that can come split a face cord of my wood in a day with a splitting axe and I'll pay you back by splitting three cords of your wood for next year (no picking and choosing which rounds to split). I don't know what sissy straight grained 16" long and 12" diameter rounds y'all are splitting, but if you can get the splitting axe in halfway to the handle on most of my rounds then i'd be surprised.
 
Danno77 said:
anyone here that can come split a face cord of my wood in a day with a splitting axe and I'll pay you back by splitting three cords of your wood for next year (no picking and choosing which rounds to split). I don't know what sissy straight grained 16" long and 12" diameter rounds y'all are splitting, but if you can get the splitting axe in halfway to the handle on most of my rounds then i'd be surprised.
Click to expand...

They're burying the axe head as deep as they can, then beating on the head with a sledge . . . probably a 6# one :lol:
 
Ask a neighbor, "teen ager", or buddy s to bring his maul over & split a few.

You'd be amazed, it makes folks feel good to be asked to help out.
 
If I ask a teenager around here they'd likely split the wood with a .45! :p
 
Ups rolled up and a rectangle box was in hand. I thought nah but what else could it be? It was!! I have nothing to compare it to and it's been 20 years since I've swung a maul or axe. First thought was This is a nice looking tool here and very lightweight. I threw on some shoes and ran out to the rounds that have been sitting for 3 years now and growing mold set up a base and put a round on it.
6 swings and 4 splits. Very impressive, the 2 extra swings seem to be where the axe shape falls short of a maul. The axe did split it all the way down but still clung together so another swing with minimal effort finished the split.
Now to roll the rounds out to the dirt and get busy. :)
 

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Buy a standard maul and keep it sharp. Don't believe what anyone tells you about a dull maul doing the same job as a sharp one.

If I were a man of average size I might buy a mega maul- but I'm not. I swing a standard 6 0r 8#er. Split smart and you'll do less work.
 
When I got my super splitter my 8lb maul went in the trash. I hav no desire to ever swing that thing again. If I can't split it with the 4.5lb super splitter or, better yet, the pro splitting axe, i'll noodle it.
 
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