I bought mine from amazon with the sharpner for 50 dollars. I got the amazon credit card which gave me a 40 dollar credit. So, I basically spent 10 dollars for the ss and sharpner.
First, about me. I am 6'4", and a big guy. I do blue collar work for a living, I use sledge hammers of various sizes and also sit around some days. I have never split wood till this year. I deer hunt, but I am no jerimiah johnson.
I have split about 2 face cords with an 8lb maul. That is the extent of my firewood splitting experience. I feel that this makes me fairly unbiased.
While a maul doesn't kill me, I was looking for a better tool to split with. I can't afford a gas splitter and I like to split my rounds after I have accumulated about 10 or so, so I would not want to accumulate them and rent a splitter. I live in a suburban neighborhood and try to be neat and considerate of my neighbors. I usually get my rounds from work, about 24" to 40" in diameter and if they are bigger than that,i split them in halves to load into my trunk.
I was worried about the handle length, but actually, I like the short handle. It forces you to take easier swings. I felt like a 5 year old swatting at a pinata at a kids birthday party. The maul is kind of like breaking concrete with a sledge. You can only take full swings to be effective.
I ended up taking about as many swings per round, as the maul. However, each swing was only about 60 percent of the effort as the maul. Before I knew it, I had so many splits laying there, they got in my way. I breezed through 10 rounds and I feel like I got an aerobic workout vs sore muscles.
I am very pleased. My only complaint is that it seemed to get stuck too much, but its not that big of a deal. I also know the tool wouldn't function without the edge. It was just different from a maul, if you know what I mean. It is so sharp, I just dropped the blade into a round while I cleaned up the splits, like you would an axe. Much safer than tripping over a maul, or having it fall on you. Which gets annoying.
The edge is alittle chipped, so I'm glad I bought the sharpner(still waiting for it).
Will it replace a maul? I think so.
Is it worth 40 bucks? Yes!! Especially since a cheap maul is around 30 dollars.
Will it hit your shins more? I had only 1 close call, vs, about 5 with a maul in the same splitting session. Usually, if it powered through a split, it stuck into the round I use to raise up the round I
am splitting! Pretty cool.
Is amazon fast? Yes, I ordered it sunday, had it on wednesday.
Will the ss replace a gas splitter? No! It isn't magic! It just works better than a maul. Have realistic expectations.
Hopefully this review helps someone. Any questions, let me know.
First, about me. I am 6'4", and a big guy. I do blue collar work for a living, I use sledge hammers of various sizes and also sit around some days. I have never split wood till this year. I deer hunt, but I am no jerimiah johnson.
I have split about 2 face cords with an 8lb maul. That is the extent of my firewood splitting experience. I feel that this makes me fairly unbiased.
While a maul doesn't kill me, I was looking for a better tool to split with. I can't afford a gas splitter and I like to split my rounds after I have accumulated about 10 or so, so I would not want to accumulate them and rent a splitter. I live in a suburban neighborhood and try to be neat and considerate of my neighbors. I usually get my rounds from work, about 24" to 40" in diameter and if they are bigger than that,i split them in halves to load into my trunk.
I was worried about the handle length, but actually, I like the short handle. It forces you to take easier swings. I felt like a 5 year old swatting at a pinata at a kids birthday party. The maul is kind of like breaking concrete with a sledge. You can only take full swings to be effective.
I ended up taking about as many swings per round, as the maul. However, each swing was only about 60 percent of the effort as the maul. Before I knew it, I had so many splits laying there, they got in my way. I breezed through 10 rounds and I feel like I got an aerobic workout vs sore muscles.
I am very pleased. My only complaint is that it seemed to get stuck too much, but its not that big of a deal. I also know the tool wouldn't function without the edge. It was just different from a maul, if you know what I mean. It is so sharp, I just dropped the blade into a round while I cleaned up the splits, like you would an axe. Much safer than tripping over a maul, or having it fall on you. Which gets annoying.
The edge is alittle chipped, so I'm glad I bought the sharpner(still waiting for it).
Will it replace a maul? I think so.
Is it worth 40 bucks? Yes!! Especially since a cheap maul is around 30 dollars.
Will it hit your shins more? I had only 1 close call, vs, about 5 with a maul in the same splitting session. Usually, if it powered through a split, it stuck into the round I use to raise up the round I
am splitting! Pretty cool.
Is amazon fast? Yes, I ordered it sunday, had it on wednesday.
Will the ss replace a gas splitter? No! It isn't magic! It just works better than a maul. Have realistic expectations.
Hopefully this review helps someone. Any questions, let me know.
