Reminded me of something my Dad would say, you fixed it worse,

I am 73 years old, and split wood for my home only, usually around 2 cords every spring for use the second winter, so I keep 2 dry cords and 2 cords drying. I used to do it your way, but to save my back I converted to a HF 10 ton manual splitter to break the big rounds into halves and sometimes quarters, then I can easily pick them up to split on my HF 5 ton electric. Since I only have to do 2 cords, I am not in a hurry. I have been feeding my wood heater in my basement for the past 30 years, but only in the last 10 did I change over to my present method. Sure saves my back! When you get older, you cannot brute force so much, so I call it working smarter, not harder! HA HA I also try and miniumise the amount of lifting. When sawing logs into rounds, I use a saw buck for stuff 6" diameter and smaller, I place a wheel barrow under one end of the logs and a garden cart under the other. That way as I cut the rounds fall into a container that I can wheel around, rather than pick up later. The rounds are wheeled to my electric splitter, and as I start splitting, I stack the splits on a table on the opposite side of my splitter from where I am working, then when the carrier is half full of rounds, I start tossing the new splits back in the carrier, once finished I toss the stacked splits in, and move it to where I am stacking the wood. My electric splitter is on a stand on my back porch which is covered, so when it is raining, I can go outside and split some rounds and enjoy listening to the rain! Very relaxing!

Yesterday I cut 42" Leylandii rounds approx 10-15" long , approx 50yrs old , knotted all over. We felled them in late January, cleaned them off in July and will split it in the evenings next week. Thankfully we have a decent tractor mounted splitter , single ram one blade vertical split. They just had to be taken down as they were dangerous but man the saws don't like them, and cleaning off all those palm branches is time consuming, but we won't complain when we are warm in winter. Back in the day me and my Dad split with axes , wedges , mauls , sledgehammer . One time he made bad contact with a wedge and it flew straight through the side window of the Van . Never parked so close again , and only then did I understand his instructions to stand behind him when he was raining down blows with that 12lb Sledgehammer. Kinda random comment, but I miss those days . Stay safe everyone 🙏

I'm in my 60s and still swing a 20 lb maul, working rounds sometimes over 4 ft across. Starting from the outer edge, I work in a circular motion, to center. If you choose to use split wedges I would recommend you have at least 3 on hand. Burying a wedge in the middle of a round without getting a split does happen. And at that point it's not coming back out. Placing another wedge between it and the edge will normally complete the split, but not always on larger rounds. Which is why I say have at least 3 on hand if you choose to go this route. I find working the edge with a maul, much easier then making center splits on larger rounds. And at any age, easier is often the better option.

Funny I saw this today. My father in law had a house in the Adirondacks that he heated with a wood burning furnace. I've fallen trees, bucked to length, split, lugged to the truck, stacked. Wet wood if frozen splits like balsa. I've used a monster maul since 1982. He got tired of me cracking wooden handles. Maybe I'm wrong, but if you start from the outside, maybe 6-8 growth rings from the end and cleave a piece that are kinda half moon in description and move around the piece in the same way and then you use the wedges if you need to. The name of the game is the fewest swings as possible. When you're older, it's that AND having to bend over as few number of times as possible, wedges don't promote that.

Love it when the sound changes. No mistaking a split starting.

Man, some commenters here are either mean or condescending. Give the guy credit for taking the time to put this together. Not everyone has the best technique. There’s things to be learned here. Geesh

I have a Monster Maul I bought ~1975 out of the Whole Earth Catalogue. Still have it. Works better than any other maul I’ve ever used.

I like the wedge method. To keep my shins from wedge kick outs I make pockets with my saw.

Last week I split 3 cords. I went to the feed store and rented a 27 ton splitter for 45 dollars. Took 4 hours. At 65 manually splitting this must wood would take me days.

I can attest to the method, it works. I have an 8 lb hammer, 2 wedges and a maul. Just one point when the wedge is anchored if you stand perpendicular to the split it prevents the wedge from flying out at you.

you are fairly new at this . i can tell . on the first log wher you put the wedge in the center you wind up fighting the entire resistance of the round. go to the crack at the edge of the heartwood and there will be a little less resistance. on the one with the knot you had so much trouble with , split the round in half 90 degrees from the knot first, then split it either side of the knot. another thing you can do to on on large rounds is forget about trying to split all the way across first. instead split an edge,move a little to one side , split another spot , turn the axe 90 degrees to the splits and knock out the section between them, then work your way around the round this way until you down to the heart wood then split across the heart wood it will be much easier.

That last one that gave you a hard time still made that crunching sound that sounded really satisfying. I didn't know anything about splitting wedges before like november of 2022 and it was the best thing since sliced bread! I had to split wood for my fire pit and had such a hard time I went to get a better axe and a young guy working at the local walmart, if you can believe it, pointed me toward it and WOW I split more than I needed for that day! Lol!

Love the sound the wood makes as it splits.

Thank you for the demo. Very good pointers!

You can likely do what the old guys say, but use the Fiskars to go around the outside, then split the middle. The head speed on the light Fiskars can do some serious damage. I don't use a maul at all anymore.

Maybe only God knows how old people split wood before you developed this scientific method

I'd call the flic something like "talking spidermann hand and her adventures into log splitting". :)

I don't often split wood, so I'm not very accurate with my axe, but I used your technique of using the axe head as a splitter and used a 5lb sledge hammer to hit the axe head, and it worked very well. It seems much easier than aiming an axe! Thanks.

Son,I'm a 64 year old man. I split with a maul. I start around the outside edge and work circles around the block. I can split two rounds in the swings you took to split one in half. Keep on swinging.

Pretty cool and informative video thank you

i have no recollection of subscribing to this channel, but i'm really glad i did because this video is really relaxing to watch

If you got more time and a full woodshed and get freezing weather in winter, I would suggest you wait for a good cold snap. When the wood freezes through, it is already under pressure (frozen water expands) and FAR less effort is required when one follows your ideas shown here. Or just save the tough ones for winter, your call.

Try splitting close to the log edge and it will work like a charm. Also when you hit it with the splitting axe just right on the edge (also hitting the bark), it should be much easier. Definitely hitting natural crack helps a lot.

Good tip with the wedge, but thinking once it is halved that you could finish splitting it with a good maul. You need a bigger splitting maul, that one is just too little.

I have had this very problem time and time again. It's obviously because I failed to acquire the proper tools. Now I know. Thanks.

Good on you for not editing out that stubborn SOB

A very helpful ,well filmed and explained video. Thanks very much.

A little tip: Make wooden wedges, a little bigger (thicker), which are used for the final splitting (opening) of the stump. Thinner wedges are used to initiate splitting. When you have a stump with knots, that's a real challenge. That wood you are splitting has a pretty nice splitting line (no bends or knots), so it's only important that it cracks and then everything is easy. 😎

nice video. Thanks for sharing your ideas with us.

You can use a thick long branch or tapered piece of firewood as a wedge to hammer down in and knock the two pieces apart.

Nevermind. 5 chisels in a log and I sunk them all with no split.

Good technique. I follow the crack to the outside of the round put the wedge there. Also you might consider getting the big version of the Monster Maul it has its place in what your doing. regards from a 80 yr old wood cutter.

All you really need is a splitting mail. Been using one for years. They dont get stuck in the wood like an axe will. You'll wear yourself out more from pulling the axe free than you will from swinging it. As far as splitting a log with a knot, I hit the log vertically lined up with the knot. My maul splits the log and knot down the center no problem. It's when you try and split a log in the opposite direction of the knot that makes it split uneven and chunks fly off.

Thank you. So many take knowledge ( information) to their grave and should have written a book about their gift to others

Man, did you really work that out all by yourself? Amazing

Wood is really different when it comes to splitting. I have three steel splitting wedges and a couple of plastic felling wedges and a sixteen pound sledge hammer. Even with those tools at hand there are some Maple, Ash, and twisty Birch rounds that need to be cut in half with the chain saw.

Thank you, great tips!!

Great video! Thanks!

Did this from sun up til sun set in my youth, but couldn't do it today. My dad had the bright idea to heat the house with wood and bought unsplit wood because it was cheaper and he had free labor, me. I would listen to American top 40 every Sunday splitting wood.

The wedge flies back at your legs because you arent hitting the wedge square. Youre whipping the maul when you come down. Grip the handle tight and bend(loosen) your knees when it strikes.

I agree with you using the cracks, I’ve been doing that for years to split wood. Only time I have trouble is when there’s a limb or knot that’s grown where the crack is (Knot) 😂and I have to cut thru however big the limp or knot in the trunk is where it grew from? I don’t have the splitting mall like you used. But I have a old axe the handle broke off of and I use it to pound down thru the tree trunk round. The mall might be easier? Regardless, a crack in the wood just a split waiting to happen! Just needs a little help

Thanks for showing even the struggle of a difficult round like that last one, great video demonstration! Have a happy Halloween man

Thanks for the great video and the great work 👍🤗

Those are pretty big rounds but you can place one or more bungee cords around the log as you're splitting the round. It'll hold together while you finish splitting the round. Avoids exhausting bend overs chasing and resetting for the next hits.

Easy to do when splitting soft wood as is Pine, even Redwood, try that with Curly Jarrah or Wandoo Timber, that wedge will be flying around all day long.

Toughest wood I ever split was green pitch pine, what a nightmare, twisted up cherry with knots is one thing, and understandable but this pine was straight as an arrow, large but so what. It just absorbed blow after blow with an 8lb maul. I don't recommend the Axe method because I ruined my Favorite colins axe doing it that way, It blew the epoxy right out the top because this wood would not give up and the metal-on-metal vibration took its toll. Also, I've come to really appreciate that Fiskars x25 splitting axe, it's one hell of a splitter for what it appears, in fact, it's the best I've ever used and its actually annoying because it is nothing to look at and not even really ergonomic, but you can't argue with the results.

We split by hand, but do it in the winter, when we can. Below zero temps make any log split easier, and keeps you cooler too.

Very satisfying sound

Nice voice-over tone. Jessie's brother from "Breaking Bad". Used my maul the other day and I know exactly where. Can't find the bloody thing now. Just as well that we've run out of wood...in a way.

Good to see some good old-fashioned not quitting. Good job buddy.

More leverage from outside in, and always look for a crack already started, trying to open it. Hydraulics really help to.😁 i do 24" logs for my boiler, so my power splitter is a must.

Fir splits real easy with a 5# rafting ax. 36" rounds split with 3 hits of the ax. far sap wood, near sap wood, heart wood. If, I do need a wedge, a 12# wedge and a 8# single jack works easy. I'm 70, I right now have 142 blocks ranging from 18" to 32" sitting in my yard waiting to split and stack. I split and stack 8 blocks a day, I'm getting lazy these days. Also, have a chopping block, splitting on the ground allows force of tool to be transmitted into the ground making your work harder.

I like the diamond wedge the best. About 3 hits will bust it open. You might need a crowbar around cause the diamond wedge with get stuck down into the log. But you have to worry about it popping out. That what i used on big Gnarly logs! Once its splits, i used the maul or double headed axe on it

always wear safety googles too when splitting with a wedge, my brother ended up with a half inch metal sliver burried in his eye once

Ever tried splitting Eucalyptus? The grain is like mini corrugated iron! Even a powerful tractor splitter baulks at it.

Hey nice video. Where did you get that tool and then opening scene to measure the moisture in the outer ring?

Ya got a big one on there mate! We call them Doggers. Not sure why. When the old log doesnt want to get out of bed no matter how many times ya ring the alarm. Those ones i like to catapult. Do you have catapults? Ya make a teetertotter with a board and another log, then you drive your truck into it as fast as you can go. Not great for the drivetrain, or the window shield ,but sometimes you just have to catapult the thing.

If you are going to use a wedge,safety glasses are recommended. You also need to grind off any part of the wedge that mushrooms. Otherwise chunks of metal are going to start flying. I dont have a splitter but I know that whatever my maul cant handle, my saw will. The saw really isnt slower on knotty pieces and saves a lot of wear and tear on my arms. Best of all you get piles of really good fire starter.

Can you split parallel splits, for woodturning blanks?

Try splitting close to the edge. Get your maul and wedges nice and sharp and try different head profiles and weights to see what works best for your splitting style. For me an elongated teardrop shape works the best. I've noticed no one on YT talks about sharpening and maul shape. They just talk brands and use them straight off the shelf. Also, I know this will seem obvious but it might not be to everyone, try splitting from different clock directions and even through knots sometimes if it just won't crack. Sometimes you have to flip the log upside down. I've noticed that splitting from the end of the log that is toward the top of the tree usually splits easier. The logs you're splitting are clear and straight grained. You should be getting full splits with each stroke no problem. If not, get a heavier/sharper maul.

Estwing makes an excellent wedge.

Great idea. Get a Post driving sledgehammer.

I've experienced the wedge getting ejected back toward the sledge hammer. What do you do for this? I resorted to a hydraulic splitter.

1st - split evergreens when dry (tar is dry and brittle, not sticky). 2nd -split hardwood when green (raw). After making first split (between knots), don't fully disconnect peaces, they stand better this way. After initial split you can hit along annual rings closer to outer edge.

I'm 70yr old and split 10-12 cords every year. All I use is a splitting maul. It's the size of a sledge hammer, 5-7lbs, but one side is sharpened. Most rounds even bigger than yours will split in 1-5 hits, (although I counted 17 hits on one stubborn round). The "trick" is this. Swing the maul with all you've got in a Big round circular motion, (like a baseball swing only vertical), and here's the magic, when the maul is over your head in the swing, squat down as you pull the maul right thru the round like you are trying to bust the ground below it! It's all in the Ass. Not the arms. The increased power you get from pulling the maul from the sky to the ground with your whole body weight, that's what breaks it and yes it's a timing thing. I'm only 5-8" and weigh 185lb. No wedges needed. You are right about, finding a split at the center of the round there's almost always one there even if it's tiny and focus on that. 2ndly, yes avoid the knots, work around them.

Nice. But where I live, we are using all hardwoodlike maple and beech. A 24" round that is 18" long is tough, and I mean tough to split with a wedge. My splitting maul is 8 pound.

Try that on some seasoned Osage Orange, the Axe and Wedge bounce off, that's when I bought a Log Splitter, I was 65 anyway, well overdue.

So much energy chopping wood

I'm 65, I drop em, chop em and split em eith a maul. We have a rocket stove so I don't like anything over 2" thick. I rented a wood splitter one time in the last ten years, because I was dealing with an oak that was three feet thick and it was just too much. I burn about two cords a year and all of it hand split with a maul. Wedges are for when nothing else will work.

The manufacturer of the ax Fiskars, forbids hitting the ax with a hammer. It also forbids cutting wood with an ax sideways.

Steel toe boots lol, try your ax splitting from the outside rings and go around it. Also Buckin Billy Ray Smith is a great teacher. Also if you use wages get 3 of them and you can double up sometimes.

You have a lot right, but a few things wrong: First, set the wedge in within a few inches from edge of the round. The distance will increase depending on the diameter of the log and where live wood meets old. The fracture could go sideways if you're not far in enough. Too far in and you risk two things: Spending too much effort to make the split, and not making it split and getting the wedge stuck. Second, don't ever hit the backside of your axe. Hardened steel can shatter. Third, I have to admit that I've pried with an axe, but it's generally a bad idea. Fourth, why use the splitter after? They usually do the hard part; not the easy. Build a splitting stand with a tire and go crazy with it.

Or......peel it like an onion taking slivers off the outside. Works like a charm. I too took this laborious route for decades before a wise old country feller showed me the way.

Hilarious this popped up. I have some oak at 48 inches I bought home today. My Wedge pops out after the 4th hit like clock work. I've been here before. Gonna wait a while on them. Lol. Not sure on that fancy wood. Looked easy

erm surely the most efficient is the splitting axe for the first hit then the big sledgehammer thereafter?

Lad I am 82 & split wood 74+Years! so here is some hairy advice! DONT EVER use a sledge hammer on wedges or axe heads! it mushrooms the heads -- use a MAUL & your wedges will pass on to your grandkids in mint condition . Its also so much easier than patting away with a hand hammer! Saftey wise it also avoids the danger of hammer flakes (steel on steel eventually flakes) which can whizz off like bullets or mini shrapnel , blinded a guy I knew. . A worn-out chopping axe automatically becomes a SPLITTING axe as it becomes less thin as the cutting edge is filed away,Oh & weld a guard on the head to stop wear on the place where the handle enters the head , that thang you are using is too thin at the "splitting" edge, also the straight handle is ergonomically wrong (yeah big word but try a straight handle vs "cranked" one & you will work it out! ) you need 3 wedges small medium & serious. BUT really really mate you need to share a splitter machine ---help a guy who has one & he will split yours! put your time into a GARDEN! Either way get yer gear off to get vitamin D level up (to "40") & you will be 15 times less likely to get covid. ---works in garden too!

Yeeters gunna yeet. If you're doing that method just use multiple wedges in a line or in star formation around the edge or the wood. Two wedges placed on opposite sides will cut the time down drastically.

Some people leave it after hitting it!, for about 10 seconds, Gives the wedge or axe time to do it’s work! Obviously it takes longer! But the trade-off saves energy

The method you showed is a quick way to mess up the axe pol and also the using the axe as a lever is a quick way to snap the head off.

Nice. Now try sweetgum. I just dragged some 14" diameter water oak logs out of the woods yesterday. 6-8 ft long each. They've been laying back in my wooded acreage since hurricane Ida knocked them over last year, and my brother and I cut them up to dry out. I split about a dozen rounds so far... mostly one or two strike splits with the Fiskars splitting axe. I still have a lot of work left to do.

No twigs is easy and still a lot of work, which my hydraulic splitter does in a second. Its great as a workout, but not if you are going to split some cubic meters manually pr day.

What camera did you use to film? The quality of the video is awesome!!!

3:50 VERY SATISFYING!

Dont you worry about snapping a handle ? Prying like that . I mean how many times can you do that before it eventually cracks or something. Or are they metal ?

IMHO...at least partially dried is easier than fresh cut. the reason is, that as the wood is drying it's contracting, and it will start splitting on it's own from those huge stresses. place your wedges closer to the perimeter of the round, on the larger cracks that are not in line with any knots. placing another wedge on the opposite side of the round (either lengthwise or axially) will also help. I have also split 20" diameter x 8' logs lengthwise just leap-frogging wedges from one end to the other this way.

You need a longer handled maul with more leverage. With the right tool a couple good swings would get through. Wet wood always easier to split with maul as it doesn’t tend to stick to wood

Get the estwing splitting wedge and a maul , and the cheaper $10 harbor freight wedge for backup on larger rounds. The estwing is by far best wedge, a maul better than a splitting ax or a sledge. Best maul I have is tractor supply ground works maul. It works better than a husky or fiskars I've had.

Once you get them down to quarters it’s faster and easier to continue w the ax.

best to hit the wedge with the wide side facing you that way if you hit the edge of it there is less chance of it coming out and spinning towards you.

If you put that wedge closer to the edge, maybe half way between the heartwood and sap wood, it would only take one to two strikes to split that piece.

When I have a stubborn piece like you, I usually flip it over and split in line already established.

i never use a wedge often quicker to turn round lengthwise on ground and rip it like half way with saw and then use a 6lb maul to split rest.

All my rounds are knotty, but using a splitting axe, big hammer and having around a couple of extra axes to use as wedges always works. Just use an ear protection, because whacking on the metal really hurts your ears.

When stuck move to another area and it will make easier split as round gets smaller

Take ten seconds and place your chainsaw in the middle of the round bar facing out and w the dog gripping the round rotate the saw downward to groove the edge of the round. Place your wedge in the groove and pound away. No more bounce out.

Another bit of advise Always STRIKE the Splitting wedge at 90 degrees to the face ( Widest part ) that way IF the wedge jumps out by a Mis Strike , the wedge Will NOT fly Towards You , but at 90 degrees AWAY from You !

First step: Split easy to split wood like Fir or Pine with no knots or limbs. That is easy. If you split hardwoods, you will have a challenge, no matter what. You are working too hard. There are easier splitting methods that are much less work and much quicker. After decades of struggling with his techniques on Red and stringy Water Oak, now I only use a 4 or 6 lb. splitting maul. Instead of splitting down the middle, I split from the edges and work inward. Once the outsides of the log are split off, it relieves a lot of the holding tension and the inner parts split easier.

Geai technique for sure

I was just splitting rounds today. Wished I had one of those protectors on my sledge. Accidentally hit the plastic on my sledge instead of the mail and now the fiberglass handle is destroyed.