splitting wood by hand... wedge or grenade?

[FreightTrain]

OK , what do you use to split the bigger stuff by hand... a old style splitting wedge or those newer splitting grenades shaped like a top?

I hated splitting by hand until i got a splitting grenade... it makes splitting practically effortless compared to the older style wedges... plus just one tiny lil tap and no need to hold it!!

[freeinalaska]

What is this splitting grenade? This question is coming from an old style maul, sledge and wedge splitting guy.

[northwinds]

Originally Posted by FreightTrain

OK , what do you use to split the bigger stuff by hand... a old style splitting wedge or those newer splitting grenades shaped like a top?

I hated splitting by hand until i got a splitting grenade... it makes splitting practically effortless compared to the older style wedges... plus just one tiny lil tap and no need to hold it!!

Wood grenades are great, but I bring several types of wedges and a couple of different splitting mauls too. It's kind of like fishing lures; different stuff works on different kinds of wood, varying moisture levels, knots, etc.

I love splitting wood. No better therapy for me than an hour or two with a maul and then an ice cold beer while sitting on my splitting stump. It helps me sleep good at night too. (the splitting and the beer!)

[PyroDon]

A couple of wedges .
On big pieces a single wedge may not be enough and get stuck. Grenades tend to ethier get stuck (drivin all the way in and still not spit the wood ) or on some wood I have had them bounce back out . In my person experience if you can get it to split with a granade you can split it with a 8# splitting maul

[FreightTrain]

Originally Posted by freeinalaska

What is this splitting grenade? This question is coming from an old style maul, sledge and wedge splitting guy.

check out Tractor Supply Co (TSC) #40-03068

[topside1]

Northwinds, do you need any help splitting that wood? Or drinking the beer, your buddy in Tennessee....

[radiofish]

If you use a wood grenade or wedge, just watch out for when it starts to "mushroom" on the top where you strike it. One day you might hit it, and have a piece of metal come flying loose and hit you causing pain (at the very least)!!

I use a splitting maul, sledge hammer and regular wedges for splitting my firewood. Helps me to get rid of excess energy, keep up the muscle tone in my upper body, and I feel a great sense of accomplishment looking at the finished results!! For me - it is tougher to load the wheelbarrow, moving, and then stacking the firewood, compared to splitting it... I walk with a cane, so a wheelbarrow can be unwieldy at times!

[topside1]

Freight train, I am a pure 8pound maul guy. It's my belief if you need a wedge and all the extras (gerandes, dynomite, C4, etc) then your messing around with to big of an animal, select easier prey....Maybe I'm just getting old.

[northwinds]

Originally Posted by topside1

Northwinds, do you need any help splitting that wood? Or drinking the beer, your buddy in Tennessee....

Anytime. Plenty of wood. Plenty of beer.

[insanity]

If i cant maul it, i leave it in the woods. But i do own a few good OLD wedges just encase the need arises. Old = Better steel.

Using an 8lb maul now but I'm sure wishing i could find another 6lb. Why in the world does none of the stores carry a 6lb anymore.
I really wish i could find another old one in a flea market or some place.

I rarely need an 8lb. And it wears me out twice as fast. I can swing a 6lb turn my wrist (slightly) just as it strikes the wood which hopefully pops it open and lets the maul pass on threw. Then use the rest of the momentum to swing it around beside me and back up over my head. Nice and smooth.

[moonwolf]

Originally Posted by FreightTrain

OK , what do you use to split the bigger stuff by hand... a old style splitting wedge or those newer splitting grenades shaped like a top?

I don't split firewood for the outdoor wood furnace. I chainsaw 2 to 3 ft. whole log lenghts to burn.

What I used to use for splitting wood for the old indoor wood furnace was this type of splitting axe:

[topside1]

You Tennesseeans are the best...Eight-Six pounder who's counting...Nice place Northwinds, I'll bring my favorite maul, .270, and a full cooler.....

[chas]

About 1982 us guys in the lab started talking about making our own splitting mauls.So a guy brought one in and we made the head slightly longer and wider ,we didn't want to get in trouble for duplicating !
We took old 52100 slugs that where never used for tests and cut two heads from each,drilled the head for a handle.
Then we heat treated them and welded metal handles from stock laying around.The boss found out and we had to give him a few for him and his friends.All in all we made a couple dozen before we got tired playing around.
The funny thing is when that thing hits it goes thru or bounces out (rarely) but does NOT GET STUCK
None of us has ever had to sharpen our mauls and I've used nothing but wood to heat for most of those years!
I cheat now that the ole back is giving me trouble now and then.On bad days I use a hydrolic splitter a friend gave me
Chas

[tamsam]

The logs we can't split with the maul I cut with the chain saw long ways. Wife lays them up on my sawing log and I saw them making very nice bedding for all the critters. With a good shark chain I can saw them almost as fast as splitting with a maul and wedge. Sam

[mommagoose_99]

Girls can split wood too. I made 100 fence posts out of Black Locust myself. I used a sledge hammer and the old fashioned wedges.
Ps I am an old lady 55 years old.
Linda

[raymilosh]

Being a little guy, I use just an axe. no maul, sledge or wedges. When dealing with big pieces, i don't try to split them in two. i just knock pieces off the edge and move around the edges round and round until there's nothing left. If it's unsplittable that way, i leave it to sit for longer or use it in a bonfire. that's my way of dealing with it all. I don't stack it, either. I just pitch it in the woodshed as i split it.
ray

[Daddyof4]

I use a wood grenade as mentioned above with an eight lb. sledgehammer. It works way better than a standard wedge and is an excellent workout. With the grenade I can sometimes split a sizeable piece of wood in a couple of hard, well-aimed whacks.

Here is a link to a grenade offered in by Lehman's. This one is red but the one I have was brass colored.

http://www.lehmans.com/jump.jsp?item...CT&itemID=3334

[michiganfarmer]

splitting maul

[Farmerwilly2]

Beer? Hmmmmmmm beeerr.

Originally Posted by northwinds

Anytime. Plenty of wood. Plenty of beer.

[haypoint]

Splitting maul only. Axe gets stuck and wedges can fly off or get baried in nasty wood. I cut and hand split 12 to 30 pulp cords (4'x4'x8') of hardwood every year for the past 30 years. Nearly every piece was split at least once. Wood dries better if split.