After a few months of labouring with a cheap maul my wife bought at the car boot sale, this Fiskars maul feels like having a super power. It feels like cheating. The difference in productivity is really that big.
The maul sits beautifully in the hand, and is easy to grip. The textured surface and the hooked end ensure that it won't slip out. I find the maul light and short enough to lift right over my head, but long and heavy enough to deliver power to the log.
Don't guess at the size and weight you need: it depends on your size and strength as well as the size of the logs you're working with. The Fiskars Web site has a guide to choosing the right maul. Take the time to consider carefully. Once you've chosen, come back here and buy. If you have a lot of wood to split, it's worth every penny.
Just as one data point, I'm a fifty-something office worker, and I've used the XL maul to take apart leylandii logs that were 500mm across and 250mm deep. That was hard work -- my wife couldn't have done it. With smaller logs, the maul goes through that much more easily, sometimes almost effortlessly, but the problem then is precision -- it's easy to be slightly off-centre and just skim the edge off the log, rather than cleaving it in two. Although I've only got the XL maul, I can see that a shorter one would yield a more precise cut.
Although this maul has an anti-shock handle, I still find my fingers a little unresponsive after an hour or two of wood-splitting: it's hard to, for example, hold a wine glass by its stem. My hands return to normal by the end of the day.
Don't confuse a splitting axe (a maul) with a chopping axe. You can't use a maul to chop a long log into shorter segments: it's not designed to be used like that, and it won't work. If you need to chop wood, get a chopping axe or, better, a chainsaw.
Finally, whatever you do, don't skimp on safety gear -- rigid boots, shin protectors, safety goggles and ear defenders. No amount of cheap firewood is worth a serious injury or the loss of your sight or hearing. And get other people to stand clear while you work, because odd-shaped lumps of wood tend to fly off in unpredictable directions.
| Product Dimensions | 80 x 30 x 5 cm; 2.54 kg |
|---|---|
| Part number | 1015643 |
| Item display height | 77.4 centimetres |
| Item display length | 4.5 centimetres |
| Item display width | 23.5 centimetres |
| Item display weight | 2.43 Kilograms |
| Material type | Synthetic |
| Seasons | Evergreen |
| Power source type | Hand Powered |
| Department | Unisex-Adult |
| Manufacturer | Fiskars |
| Language | English |
| Item model number | 1055683 |
| ASIN | B01J9PW0DQ |
