Splitting axe or maul

[pj1]

After some advice please as to peoples recommendations for a splitting axe or maul.
Advantages and disadvantages of both and recommended weights handle lengths etc.
Hope to be splitting a variety of woods. Oak, ash, chestnut etc but there will be some rubbishing stuff in there as well I’m sure.
Cheers Pete

 

[VSS]

After some advice please as to peoples recommendations for a splitting axe or maul.
Advantages and disadvantages of both and recommended weights handle lengths etc.
Hope to be splitting a variety of woods. Oak, ash, chestnut etc but there will be some rubbishing stuff in there as well I’m sure.
Cheers Pete

Always got on better with a splitting axe myself. A maul just never seems so well balanced, which means you don't get such a nice rhythm to the swing and end up wasting effort as a result.

 

[merlin]

After some advice please as to peoples recommendations for a splitting axe or maul.
Advantages and disadvantages of both and recommended weights handle lengths etc.
Hope to be splitting a variety of woods. Oak, ash, chestnut etc but there will be some rubbishing stuff in there as well I’m sure.
Cheers Pete

I bought a Fiskars x25 splitting axe last year - it was a revelation after years of using a maul, soooo much easier.

Highly recommended.

 

[bluesako]

do yourself a favour, i used a granforths splitter for a year great bit of kit still got it, if your young fit and healthy, if not splitters will smash your back in like i did with mine, i bought and still use a toolstation log splitter its fantastic, easy to use splits logs in record time money well spent, what took me 5 days to do i can in a day bs.

 

[Bowland blades]

Only ever used the maul tbf. I think it depends on 1. the wood species you mainly cut 2. the size of the unsplit ring or log .

 

[Longstrider]

B+Q website has the Fiskars reduced right now

 

[Cj1990]

Always favoured a splitting axe. Split the wood before it dries out, as soon after it’s been cut as possible

 

[plonker]

I bought a Fiskars x25 splitting axe last year - it was a revelation after years of using a maul, soooo much easier.

Highly recommended.

I have the x27 and had it a few years, great all round splitting axe.

 

[flatliner]

Maul for big rings or knotty stuff, Fiskar's for smaller straight grained stuff

 

[enfieldspares]

A friend used what is sold as a "log grenade". It has the advantage that you can buy two and use them spaced along whatever you wish to split. Also they are cheap and work. A maul is great until it gets stuck. With the "log grenade" if it gets stuck you just keep hammering it in further and it will split the wood.

Roughneck Wood Grenade 4-Way Log Splitter 1.6kg - Screwfix

Order online at Screwfix.com. The explosive force in splitting logs. Extremely effective wedge with diamond head design for making easy work of log-splitting. Forged iron, heated, treated and hardened. Use with a sledgehammer or splitting maul. FREE next day delivery available, free collection...

www.screwfix.com

 

[joe6r]

+1 for a Fiskars great axe had mine years and still does the business.

 

[Ludders]

I use the friskars x27 splitting axe my dad has the x25.
They are the same weight, the x27 has a longer handle. I like mine he prefers his, but they both do the same job.

 

[merlin]

I use the friskars x27 splitting axe my dad has the x25.
They are the same weight, the x27 has a longer handle. I like mine he prefers his, but they both do the same job.

Handle length is geared to your height, you can select based on the length of your arm (vid online somewhere); I'm 5'10", and the x25 was given as most suitable for me

 

[The Singing Stalker]

Curved ball.
depending on how much wood you are looking at, something like this. Got mine of evil bay. Can’t remember the make.
Amazon product ASIN B077G62LVNyou can get through an awful lot with one of those. I have been using mine for about 5 years.

 

[User00035]

There's a lass works at the local pub who's husband is a shepherd. They live in a tied cottage that only has a Rayburn and a log burner for heating so they get through masses of logs and haven't time to split the amount they need. So they collect cord wood through the year and get someone in with a processor in the autumn. Costs them £300 a day but in one day he can process a years worth of logs and shoot them into the wood shed as well.

 

[VSS]

There's a lass works at the local pub who's husband is a shepherd. They live in a tied cottage that only has a Rayburn and a log burner for heating so they get through masses of logs and haven't time to split the amount they need. So they collect cord wood through the year and get someone in with a processor in the autumn. Costs them £300 a day but in one day he can process a years worth of logs and shoot them into the wood shed as well.

I have a friend who provides a nationwide firewood processing service. He's got all the kit mounted on a big trailer, complete with hydraulic grab to lift large tree trunks into the machine. It's certainly an option worth considering if you use a lot of timber and want a whole year's worth processed in a day.

 

[Alantoo]

A friend used what is sold as a "log grenade". It has the advantage that you can buy two and use them spaced along whatever you wish to split. Also they are cheap and work. A maul is great until it gets stuck. With the "log grenade" if it gets stuck you just keep hammering it in further and it will split the wood.

Roughneck Wood Grenade 4-Way Log Splitter 1.6kg - Screwfix

Order online at Screwfix.com. The explosive force in splitting logs. Extremely effective wedge with diamond head design for making easy work of log-splitting. Forged iron, heated, treated and hardened. Use with a sledgehammer or splitting maul. FREE next day delivery available, free collection...

www.screwfix.com

Beware...They are not all equal, a friend uses them. After success with the first he bought another of a different make which just bounced out...I had to spend a happy half hour grinding it to match the profile of the good one which would have paid for two or three of the blooming things if I had charged him.

I have only used a maul, so can't advise re splitting axe. When I started doing more I set up a system with a hydraulic splitter set over a still so everything just drops in which means no handling or stacking. It also meant that I could deal with "trousers" and knotty Leylandii which were impossible by maul.

Although it is more efficient and I can keep pace all day without troubling my back, I miss the odd hour work out with the maul...very satisfying.

Alan

 

[pj1]

Thank you all for your replies. I’m only 5’5” so shorter handled would suit me better I suspect.
As yet I won’t be going through enough to justify hydraulic splitters or processing wood for a year.
I also quite enjoy the work out.
The fiskars seem reasonably priced. Is there any advantage on going for a more expensive forged by hand wooden handles type ?

 

[norcan]

Thank you all for your replies. I’m only 5’5” so shorter handled would suit me better I suspect.
As yet I won’t be going through enough to justify hydraulic splitters or processing wood for a year.
I also quite enjoy the work out.
The fiskars seem reasonably priced. Is there any advantage on going for a more expensive forged by hand wooden handles type ?

The main difference in use is that the premium ones tend to have a better blade profile. Also, a quality wooden handle will generally transmit less shock than a fibreglass one.

On the other hand, I doubt you really need a luxury axe just to occasionally split logs.

 

[WH308]

Another vote for a fiskars X25 here. Brilliant bit of kit.