Choosing a Splitting Axe

I ordered an old school splitting maul head "6 pound" that weighs in at 5lb 4oz. Closer to my 5 pound goal.

I was recently watching a BBR video that was interesting where the maul wasn't quite as good as an equaled weight axe for splitting, but damn close. The INTERESTING thing he was mentioning was the wide geometry bit on the maul sends the wood flying from the split and the axe sometimes the wood stays put more-or-less "motionless" on the splitting log. Or just falls over gently.

I want a 5lb axe and the 5lb maul to compare them side by side.
 
Not meaning offense, but any single comparison of an axe vs. a maul is of extremely limited value. The type of wood you are splitting will have way more to do with the performance of the axe vs. maul comparison than any specific attribute of the splitting instrument. with straight grained easy to split wood, an axe will split with less effort - but once you get into something that is stringy or dense or knotty, the maul will be superior for sure. they work different ways. the maul works by wedging and the axe works by penetration. in some wood, the penetration works against you and that's why axes get stuck when trying to spit. they sink in too far without having the wedging ability to actually break the round open. on straight grained wood, especially those already split in half, an axe will further split them without as much effort as the maul, because the maul requires more effort to begin penetrating the wood. I've split plenty of wood with an axe and thought it was pretty slick, until I sunk the bit half way into a big round with no way to extract it except to carefully pop the round open with a maul. So there is no perfect splitting instrument - there are always tradeoffs (except that the fiskars gets pretty darn close). I think that 6lb maul will work pretty good for you, especially if you sharpen up the bit some.
 
I don't think you can have to many options available in your splitting tool "arsenal".... it's always "fun" to switch tools once in a while!
Five pound SB axe patterns are almost all good splitters - I've used Plumb, Kelly, Warren, Forest King, and Winchester. The 6# maul is still generally the first choice, but I have a couple 8# and a Skookum 10# around just in case someone with "excess energy" shows up!
 
Trailsawyer said:
I don't think you can have to many options available in your splitting tool "arsenal".... it's always "fun" to switch tools once in a while!
Five pound SB axe patterns are almost all good splitters - I've used Plumb, Kelly, Warren, Forest King, and Winchester. The 6# maul is still generally the first choice, but I have a couple 8# and a Skookum 10# around just in case someone with "excess energy" shows up!
Click to expand...
That's been my experience also. I split white oak, red oak, sassafras, and hickory. The year I got a big dead hickory dropped, it was either buy, borrow or rent a hydraulic splitter. For the money comparison to buying one, a near 7 pound head Stihl Pro maul fit the bill at around $100 local. Even then, that sometimes bounced off big rounds more than I liked, so out came the splitting wedges and sledge. Once I got them halved, the Fiskars X27 or GF splitting axe took care of the rest. I guess you could call it kind of a system that works for each worker and their wood. I'm working on some vintage axes to add into this mix, and look forward to seeing how they work out. The hickory is the challenge, but the oak and most other wood is the fun.
 
348win said:
....the wide geometry bit on the maul sends the wood flying from the split and the axe sometimes the wood stays put more-or-less "motionless" on the splitting log. Or just falls over gently.
Click to expand...

Not having to chase after your wood is a definite advantage. I try to guess the exact force that will make the split but still leave both pieces sitting on the chopping block. Occasionally I get it right.
 
FLINT77 said:
I've split plenty of wood with an axe and thought it was pretty slick, until I sunk the bit half way into a big round with no way to extract it except to carefully pop the round open with a maul.
Click to expand...

The safest way to retrieve a stuck axe is with a sledge and wedge. One wedge started with a single jack will typically release the axe right away.
 
Square_peg said:
We've discussed this ad nauseam and you're welcome to call it whatever you like but Council did indeed market this as a "Rafting Axe".

https://www.bladeforums.com/threads...onstruction-axe.1305893/page-12#post-19480258
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Dude that's a different axe from a long time ago. Officials AT COUNCIL say it's not a Rafting pattern--are we really still having this discussion...just because Council used to make a rafting axe does not make this current production model one.
 
It's obviously made in the same dies.

So your Council sales rep doesn't know what other reps are selling. Not surprising. Bailey's is probably a bigger account.
 
No, I got the info from someone who intimately knows what they're talking about. They do not use the same dies. The forging dies wear over time, and have to be periodically re-sunk to keep them in good operation. After a die has been touched up a certain number of times it is no longer fit for service and gets scrapped. In the process of re-sinking the 5lb Dayton they took the opportunity to tweak the shape a little bit to try to appeal more to wedge-pounders, who represent the bulk of their market for that particular size, but it was not specifically modeled after a rafting pattern, and calling it one is frankly irresponsible. It's stuff like that that confuses people and leads to things like conflating National and Cedar patterns or round lug Jerseys and Rockaways. Terminology matters, and a rafting pattern it is not. That's the last I'm saying on the subject in this thread, though, because it's tangential to the actual topic.
 
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The wood in our area varies greatly on what works best. We have a lot of variation in wood species and grain orientation. The biggest variable is the amount of rain that we get in a given year and the moisture content in the wood when it is being split. I have a sizable collection of splitting axes and mauls. In a lot of species there will be one profile that will be the clear winner for splitting--so having a number of different profiles is a good thing if you live in a damp area. When the wood is really wet I have had a couple rare times when in certain species even my Fiskars 8# IsoCore stuck.

I have one traditional 6# wood handle maul where I got the profile about perfect and that maul works well in about every situation. But I reprofiled it a couple times till I got it right. I kept thinning it till it didn't bounce in most situations but was careful not to go too thin so that it would start sticking. IMO opinion a maul is a pain when it bounces too often or when it does not extract easily. With a maul, I would rather have an occasional bounce though then an occasional stick.

I am working on a second maul that appears like the same profile, but yet it doesn't split or extract the same. I still have to figure out where the subtle differences are.

I have another fiberglass handled maul with a good handle guard and a traditional 6# head that is almost as good as my best one. This one gets all the stringy work so I don't need to worry about those those strands chewing up the handle. Or sometimes I get wood that just doesn't want to break in a straight line and the handle wants to catch going down through. This calls for a fiberglass handle.

My mauls are all 6# or 8#. I don't have or want any monster mauls.

I have one short wedge-styled axe that works well for splitting green wood. Most axes don't work so well on our wood until it is seasoned.

Play with your wedges also to get them right so they start easily without popping back out. I also cut downward angled kerfs into my wedges to keep them from popping back up once they are started. My brother burns large 24-30" long pieces in his outdoor stove and needs to use wedges to split some of the tougher rounds because they are that long. I profiled and kerfed a 4# slim starter wedge and a 6# wide splitting wedge for him. Those two wedges bust up all his big nasties quite well. Those things will even cut through most knots.

So start a collection and you will enjoy splitting wood when you get the right profile selected.
 
thunderstick said:
The wood in our area varies greatly on what works best. We have a lot of variation in wood species and grain orientation. The biggest variable is the amount of rain that we get in a given year and the moisture content in the wood when it is being split. I have a sizable collection of splitting axes and mauls. In a lot of species there will be one profile that will be the clear winner for splitting--so having a number of different profiles is a good thing if you live in a damp area. When the wood is really wet I have had a couple rare times when in certain species even my Fiskars 8# IsoCore stuck.

I have one traditional 6# wood handle maul where I got the profile about perfect and that maul works well in about every situation. But I reprofiled it a couple times till I got it right. I kept thinning it till it didn't bounce in most situations but was careful not to go too thin so that it would start sticking. IMO opinion a maul is a pain when it bounces too often or when it does not extract easily. With a maul, I would rather have an occasional bounce though then an occasional stick.

I am working on a second maul that appears like the same profile, but yet it doesn't split or extract the same. I still have to figure out where the subtle differences are.

I have another fiberglass handled maul with a good handle guard and a traditional 6# head that is almost as good as my best one. This one gets all the stringy work so I don't need to worry about those those strands chewing up the handle. Or sometimes I get wood that just doesn't want to break in a straight line and the handle wants to catch going down through. This calls for a fiberglass handle.

My mauls are all 6# or 8#. I don't have or want any monster mauls.

I have one short wedge-styled axe that works well for splitting green wood. Most axes don't work so well on our wood until it is seasoned.

Play with your wedges also to get them right so they start easily without popping back out. I also cut downward angled kerfs into my wedges to keep them from popping back up once they are started. My brother burns large 24-30" long pieces in his outdoor stove and needs to use wedges to split some of the tougher rounds because they are that long. I profiled and kerfed a 4# slim starter wedge and a 6# wide splitting wedge for him. Those two wedges bust up all his big nasties quite well. Those things will even cut through most knots.

So start a collection and you will enjoy splitting wood when you get the right profile selected.
Click to expand...
thunderstick,

I'm trying to picture the kerfs in the wedges. If you wouldn't mind, could you post a picture?
Thanks SwedeFP
 
wedge_w_kerfs.jpg
 
The kerfs need to be cut slanted down towards the point so they don't catch when driving in the wedge; but will catch when the wedge tries to to back out i.e. pop up. Other companies use this concept in their manufacturing such as Halder and Helko (though this is more for turning the wedge). However I like mine near the point so it prevents a pop out when setting the wedge.
51QksXin89L._AC_SL1423_.jpg


71nxcLfQalL._AC_SL1190_.jpg
 
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Good info guys.

I'm hoping my handle gets here soon so I can hang my 6# (5 lb actual) maul. I'm hoping there's a wedge and pin with it too but I might have to order those seperate. It's a NOS handle so those little pieces could have been lost by now. I see handles at the store where taped on wedge has been lost, stolen or tape fell off.

I'm new to axes and I CANNOT believe the market for these old heads. EVERY listing on eBay sells. It's almost guaranteed. There are no current completed listings that are UNSOLD for 4# and 5# axes. That's fricken crazy!
 
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