Maul Advice

[David Day]

Disclaimer: I am by no means experienced in preparing logs for storage, burning, there may be….. will be, stupid ‘newb’ questions ahead!

Hi all!

I am after some advice surrounding wood preparation.

I’m moving to a new house in 4 days and I finally have a real fire!

I know it’s too late to get anything ready for this year but I can start and prepare wood for next year at least.

I have a hatchet (Husqvarna) and a Scandinavian Forest Axe (Gransfors), I also have a near limitless supply of large logs as my sister sublets part of her field to a local arboriculture company so we get them for free!

The question is this, should I buy a Maul to quarter up the logs before I move onto my axe’s (they are quite large).

If so, can anyone recommend a good Maul, I’m not the richest man in the world but I do appreciate the investment in a quality tool, if looked after they can last a lifetime and longer.

Are there any ‘mid range’ mauls or should I go straight for a Swedish one?

Any advice will be appreciated, I’ve never had to process wood on a large scale before.


David

 

[1 shot willie]

Hi Dave.

Would something like this do you?..........good reviews and not too expensive.


Roughneck Splitting Maul 8Lb

A neat trick here if you have not seen it before?

 

[Ystranc]

I have two splitting mauls and a few iron wedges for the really big stuff, I don't buy by brand. A lot of these products are finished by hand and the feel of an axe, it's balance and sharpness are down to the skill of the person grinding it...not the make. I would reccomend looking at every axe in the shop and choosing what feels best. Look down the axe head to check its symmetrical, the edge should be sharp, not rounded. Avoid composit plastic handles like the plague, they transmit shock back to your wrists and can't be easily replaced. Hickory is my first choice but ash is ok in an emergency.
One of my mauls is by stihl and the other is an unbranded generic cheap splitting axe. They've both had the handles replaced several times over the years. They're both different but each is as good as each other.
When I want to do bulk firewood fast I use a hydrocrack log splitter that runs off my tractors PTO. I bought this a few years back after tearing a trapezius.
Don't buy the roughneck, I bought one years ago when I was green and gullible... I sold it at a car boot for £3 and was glad to see the back of it.

 

[Ystranc]

A couple of photos of my firewood set up

 

[David Day]

Thats one hell of a setup!

 

[Ystranc]

Thats one hell of a setup!

It needs to be, I burn a helluva lot of wood.