"Monster Maul" from the late 70's

Anybody else still have one of these? I bought it from a Mother Earth News ad in the back way back then... Still my favorite tool of destruction when dealing with knots or other non-splitable pieces of wood. I did like the catchy ad: "No gimicks, just simple physics"...

I always just cut my wood into rounds, and split as needed during the Winter - good reason to get outside and get a bit of exercise, not to metion the mental health value of beating on a stack of wood!

12 lbers are sold at local Ace hardware, the thing I don't like about them is that the handle is way short. I am very happy with 8lb maul with long hickory handle, splits most anything. Something that gets nasty gets a quick cut er two from saw to help it along, or I just outright cut the round in half, anything 12" or less doesn't stand a blimmin' chance.

I saw a 12 pounder at Tractor Supply yesterday. It did have a much shorter handle than the other mauls.

I bought one in 87 when I started the Biz. Still going strong after who knows how many cord. Had to weld the handle once .
A quick note to anyone looking to buy one. DO NOT use one of these to pound wedges. My dad used mine topound wedges and this is what caused the handle to break. Best maul I have ever owned.

I have one of those. Dad bought it when we used heat with wood in the 80's.
I have it now, splits all of the big pieces the Ryobi can't. Or when I want some exercise.

Does a number on your shoulders after awhile though.

I had one back in the 90's and it just got to my shoulders and back after about 10 swings. I sold it at a yard sale for $5. I bought a lighter one when I cant use my splitter.

Shipper

Ha! I don't have any idea whatever happened to the handle of mine, HOWEVER, I still have the head and use it as a splittin' wedge.... I've beat on it with a sledge hammer for years!

I call it "THE BLASTER"

It's the same orange as in your pic

When my other wedges get hung up, buried, whatever, I bring out "the blaster" and it never fails to open 'er up!

I love it.
And I'd love to challenge somebody with a big gas splitter to a contest to see who can split a big pile of wood faster. This thing explodes the wood in one or two swings.
In fact, that's the only drawback: not good to have friends and family nearby (as in, within 15 feet!) when using it because the split can really go flying.

I will take you up on your challenge. We will each have 2 people feeding us wood and the first person that goes through 100 pieces wins. Now if you have a heart attack or worse, we will have to have a doctor at hand. ;-P

Shipper

Great. Bring a giant pile of red oak to my place so we can get started! ; )

I have one and I will take that challenge I bought a fiskars just to see what it was all about but I dont use it I would much rather have the monster maul, It is good to see from the pick that yours has the same slight bend that mine has. It's also from the 70's.

It looks like we have a contest going here then, since you both live either in my state or near it I should get the newspaper and TV people to cover this? Kinda like John Henry of back in the day? You think we should have a scale to weigh the mauls like in a prize fight? Don't want anyone to be overweight. :lol:

Shipper

I'll join in too on this challenge.
Unless this splitter has a 4 way and less than 10 second cycle times I know I can blow it out of the water on 100 pieces.

Other factors include the "getting the $*?#+$! head stuck in the round" (GtFHSitR) factor. With this big, blunt beast the round explodes; you never experience the GtFHSitR.

This particular quote gives me great satisfaction in that I have, for many, many, years, had ONLY the head of this beastly maul. I use it as a wedge, starting with a smaller wedge, then place "BLASTER" in there and pound it with a sledge hammer!

WARNING: if using said "BLASTER" as a splitting wedge, DO NOT have legs, feet, pets, small children, or loved ones standing on either side of the round being split!

You must own a different model than the one I had. I tried to split cotton wood and elm and all I got was sore arms and back.

Shipper

I have the same one Thata all I use Its bent also

"And on the 8th day god made Monster Maul" AMEN

co Hose... I do love the beautiful color of the handle... seems much sweat and effort turn handle so beautiful a color and also warp the handle...I think maybe hickory wood handle or ash wood with a stain Never seen a 2 stage lathed maul handle. ( probably hand carved),....Plus how does one secure a replacement handle with no access on bottom of splitting wedge?...I think I would like to own one , but think how to maintain this tool for life....

OP here - I have, in 30 years of owning that orange bad boy (how can it really be that long? but I digress...) NEVER EVER had it stuck in a round. It may bounce off, but as the ad said in 1978 - "no gimmicks, just simple physics" - lots of weight, a triangular shape and velocity... what more do you need?

I'm kind of strange I guess, but I really enjoy smacking a few good rounds after sitting on my butt all day pushing electrons around - writing software. It's a good thing to do something REAL, after a day of that.

I think it's amusing how many of us are still using these tools after all these years.

Mark

JoeyJ, if I'm readin' you right, you're thinkin that handle is wood..... It ain't. It's steel welded to the splittin' head.

Oh I am so silly sometime,,,thank you for your correction...ansehnlich1, san

On the eighth day god created the Monster Maul. That is a classic line, I love it. Using the monster maul to split elm I ahve done it it take a sledge and wedge to split it in two then use the Monster to split the rest trust me this works two years ago I split elm all summer long. This is the best technique I came up with.

This was the splitting implement of choice back in the mid to late 80s when we were heating the farmhouse. Get all of us boys together and spilt the entire pile in one day.

We used to have one, but I'm not sure where it went. Having fond memories of it, I went to TSC and bought the twelve pounder they had. It doesn't seem to work nearly as well as the Monster Maul did. Could be simple physics, or the fact that I'm 25 years older. So I went back to TSC to tell them it didn't work right and they made me a deal on a Huskee.