Technique problem?

[jblyttle]

What kind of wood are you splitting? Some woods just don't like to be split, especially around knots. I agree splitting with wedges and mauls sucks, It's not exactly easy on your hands, but you might have to get the split going with the axe and finish it off with a couple of blows to a wedge. Another option is to cut the thicker sections a little shorter.

Two years ago a got a bunch of free pine rounds. Still wet and knotty. Each piece was hard work- It was more of a workout that involved breaking wood apart than splitting. The maul would barely penetrate and would require many hard hits to get going. Then it would get stuck. I mean stuck. Then the wedges and hand sledge would come out. Plural wedges, working the cracks open. I have had a maul and two wedges stuck at once in that stuff. That process was usually repeated 3-4 times per round. Eventually everything ultimately separated. But man...

 

[GWashington1732]

Two years ago a got a bunch of free pine rounds. Still wet and knotty. Each piece was hard work- It was more of a workout that involved breaking wood apart than splitting. The maul would barely penetrate and would require many hard hits to get going. Then it would get stuck. I mean stuck. Then the wedges and hand sledge would come out. Plural wedges, working the cracks open. I have had a maul and two wedges stuck at once in that stuff. That process was usually repeated 3-4 times per round. Eventually everything ultimately separated. But man...

Depends on the species with pine. White pine shatters like glass. Ive had some european pines that would not be split, I just threw them in a fire pit and burned them as is.

 

[jblyttle]

Depends on the species with pine. White pine shatters like glass. Ive had some european pines that would not be split, I just threw them in a fire pit and burned them as is.

I think that it was pitch pine.

 

[GWashington1732]

I think that it was pitch pine.

They can be bouncy.