These are my wood chopping tools: a twisty wedge and a 8 lb splitting maul. The splitting maul is made by Ludell and has a fiberglass handle so if you miss the log and hit the handle it doesn’t break. I’ve whacked it many times. You can split logs with one side and whack the wedge with the other.
The twisty wedge is made by Leborgne and will spit almost anything. It a good hard wedge that doesn’t mushroom. It’s very hard to find. The only ones online, I can find, ship from Europe. I bought mine from a chainsaw store in Canada. Here is a different brand shipped from the UK: BAHCO SPLITTING WEDGE TWISTED STEEL 8 1/2IN Once I found a more cheaply made twisted wedge at Harbor Freight tools but it doesn’t look they sell them anymore.
Most of my wood this year is Tamarack. Tamarack is so easy to split an ax would work fine, but alas, I whacked the wooden handle of my ax, one to many times and now the handle is broken.
Some of my friends that heat with wood like the “Grenade” and the “Wood Blaster” wedges. They get them from farm supply stores for about the same price as regular splitting wedges. The “Grenade” & “Wood Blaster” are both pointed wedges so they can’t be substituted for felling wedges like regular spliting wedges often are. But if you’re not dropping trees that shouldn’t be a problem.
If you have to burn the old handle out of your ax head, be sure to keep the sharp end of the head cool – like buried in the dirt with just the handle exposed to the fire.
I once came across a very old sketch of tools, no date unfortunately, but there was a picture of the tool you call a splitting maul. It was called a sledge hammer. I too use one of these, great in use with wedges for splitting rails. I have never missed a log, but occasionally I will strike a tad too far in and the helve hits the edge of the log before it splits away.
For easier logs I have had a metal pipe helve welded to an axe head. My three sons broke so many helves I decided this was the best thing to do!
They have left home now but I still use that axe in the woodshed. My own axe is an 18th century felling axe with a long straight helve.
Regards, Le Loup.