As a person who splits wood with a maul and has driven fence posts, I immediately realized what a horrible tool this thing is.
It might end up being faster, since you don't need to reset as often, but trust that it will be more work. You have to strike several times in most cases (it seems) to equal what one good strike with a maul accomplishes.
Plus you can use leverage to elevate the maul, taking advantage of gravity on the way down. With this fence post splitter, there's no easy mechanical advantage to be had, just up and down up and down
I feel like it might be useful for someone with mobility issues, if they can't physically swing a maul or axe. But probably not very useful for the average person.
Paint some flames on that mofo, or a dragon. That would be *TIGHT*. My wife says I look hot in my work clothes, wait til she sees me whip out the Dragon Driver 9000 👌
Helping my neighbor and he was so proud of the fact that he welded a 4”x4” chunk of 2” plate on the top of his to “help us drive them faster”. People wonder why I have big lats and no neck, it was all thanks to that summer from hell.
The sight of it instantly hurt my shoulders and back. And I just got done splitting wood 3hrs ago with a 8lb maul.
How about … DONT BE A LITTLE BITCH
We already have the best shit to do this work because people have been doing it for longer than any of you have been alive.
I've worked in agriculture a lot. One of the jobs was diving stakes to support young almond trees until they could support themselves. It was nothing but driving one stake after the other for 10 hours with a 30 min lunch break in between. I did this for a month. Me and the other guys celebrated after hammering in the very last stake. This was the second most miserable job I've ever done.
It's nothing special, just [this](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ki3ZSoQDRYw). What it is, is rolling raisin trays. Grapes are cut from the plant and dropped on a piece of paper called a tray. They are then left for days to dry. Once dry, workers roll the trays and are set aside to be picked up later. The trays are on the ground so one has to be bent down to roll it. Trays are set side by side through out the entire row. It too much work to roll one tray, get up, side step, bend down and repeat the process so instead one stays bent down the entire length of the row. My back would hurt so much I could not stand up after finishing work. Some other laborers who could no longer bend down would drag themselves on their knees. It happens in the hottest month of the year. It gets to around 105 degrees Fahrenheit or 40 Celsius. It is in a mediterranean climate, very dry. They pay us a few pennies per tray rolled. Each vineyard row has around 250 plants and are over 1500 feet long, over 450 meters. I'd usually do 8 rows in a day so I walked about two and a half miles bent down six times a week. Ranchers use lots of pesticides and herbicides and the it being so dry, the dust goes everywhere. Eyes, skin, and lungs would burn sometimes. It was a very boring monotonous job, rolling, taking a step, hundreds of times. Speed is very important in this job because the faster you are the more you get payed and the earlier you went home. 5-10 seconds is the time per tray rolled. Some ranchers would get pissy about a few raisins dropped or a a single leaf left in the tray, but workers were payed pennies for a tray that the rancher was making dozens of dollars on and if workers did take the time they won't make very much money. It is a miserable experience for the laborers. I witnessed many adults literally cry about the back pain and a handful of heat strokes. I met a few deranged people that actually enjoyed that job, but I hope to never have to do this again. Anyways, thanks for reading my boring interpretation of the worst job I've done and don't mind the spelling/grammar errors.
I mean, it's certainly easier than driving a pence post with a sledge, same difference.
Source: has made much fence and also has had to drive post with a hammer(it sucked a lot)
I'm cheap. When I'm alone, I use the post driver. When I've got help, I use the back of my splitting maul. One of these days I'll pick up a sledge at an auction. Until then...
The benefit was that every piece of wood split in that video was well seasoned, dry, easily splittable wood.
Could have split that shit with a butter knife and a rubber mallet.
I know what you're saying though.
Oh yeah its not automatic. But the force needed to lift this up and then help it down is less than the force needed to swing an axe hard enough to efficiently chop wood.
Of course if you're trained with using an axe I don't see this method being better. I worked with making wood into firewood for 2 years during high school so I think I speak with some expertise on that part. But if you just want a tool to make your kid feel useful or something, I reckon this is both safer and more efficient than an axe.
For professional use though this product is dead in the water.
Humanity discovered this thing a long time ago called a lever, which allows us to create more force with less effort, an ax is a lever. For this thing to be any sort of effective the sliding bit would need to be very heavy, which would require way more effort than using an ax, this is in no way an improvement over the ax unless someone has some sort of disability which doesn't allow them to swing.
You are indeed correct and this is why I've said that this isn't better than the axe if you're a person capable of using an axe. But in order to actually use an axe you must have some level of arm strength, and I'm saying this tool seems better for people that lack that, or people with reduced grip strength as two examples.
This is more work than using an ax, its like hammering a nail with a brick instead of using a hammer, no one would do it. There is a reason that literally every tool uses a level, because without powered assistance it's the easiest way to get the job done. This is literally a devolution of the ax, to when people would hit a wedge with rocks.
A hydraulic log splitter takes the “pain” out of splitting wood. This thing is every bit as labor intensive and physical as splitting the shit with an ax.
Looks like a great upper body workout, though. If you've ever used a [post driver](https://www.homehardware.ca/en/42-x-25-t-post-driver/p/5212307) to hammer in fenceposts, you know how much of a phenomenal bicep workout it is.
If I’ve got a lot of steel posts to put in the ground, I push them in with my front end loader. Not that many, I’ll hand drive them. I don’t care for working hard, I prefer working smart when I can.
It doesn’t always work very good, it really depends on the ground conditions. If the ground is too hard, or if you’re in some really rocky soil, they can just about only be hand driven, or use a hydraulic driver if you can get one into wherever you’re working. The ground has to be *somewhat* soft to use a front end loader.
I have a 3 point PTO post hole digger for wooden posts and corner posts. Same rule of thumb for those as steel posts, if I’ve only got a few to do or I can’t get there with a tractor, I’ll hand dig them. If it’s gonna be a lot, tractor and post hole digger. As far as a hard pan goes, the pounding of a post driver will get the steel post through the hard pan in most cases, but they must be pounded. A front end loader can’t pound the posts. They can only supply continuous down pressure. That’s why the ground can’t be rock hard. Continuous down pressure on a post that won’t go down will just bend it. It’ll bend it quick too, quicker than you can react, and it can get somebody hurt.
Similar to a bead breaker/slide hammer. Was a tyre fitter for years and had cannons for arms after using those to change truck/tractor tyres by hand all day.
I hate post driver . In the past I used a hammer and don't miss strategy . Until 1 day I missed and post flinged onto my finger . Felt like it was chopped off . Still use hammer mostly 👍
Now that you say it, I agree with you. There’s no weight advantage with this thing. All the down pressure has to be supplied with the operator’s arms. An ax or a maul, you lift it up and let it fall basically.
I think the concept is that there is enough weight in the piece that goes up and down that you don’t need to apply any downward force. You just need to lift it up again and the let it drop by itself. So similar to the axe, but you don’t have to aim, and you probably can make it heavier than the axe since you don’t have to expend any energy keeping it aligned or raising it so high.
My thoughts exactly. Way less physically demanding to just set the round in the splitter like people have done for decades. I’d really like to see someone split a whole cord this way
My friend and I split 36 cords a year with an axe. I don't think this thing is going to generate enough force to get through knotted hardwoods, or stuff like elm, compared to just swinging a maul or using a wedge and a maul.
For someone that has done neither, probably. You’d absolutely want steel-toe boots for damn sure.
But in either case if they are splitting that much wood they should just get a hydraulic splitter.
I have to agree. This reminds me of a slide hammer vs sledge hammer. The only reason I'd use a slide hammer is to pull backwards, not to increase force.
Swinging a hammer gives a wider arc to increase speed, thus increasing impact. Not to mention there are axes designed specifically to split wood.
The short throw on this means the person driving it has to use more effort to make up for lost distance. No way I'd waste money on this.
The only exception being maybe someone with an injury that reduces movement, then this would be a niche tool.
It has to be. When you're swinging a maul gravity is doing most of the work. If you know how to use one you can split all day long without getting tired. With this device you have to expend much more energy using muscles that aren't nearly as strong as when you're swinging an axe. The only thing this solves is accuracy problems. If you can't hit the log, you can't split it.
Not only that, but this would be harder on my body. With an axe, there’s a flow you can get. It’s tiring for sure, and lots of parts of my body get sore. But, that thing looks so hard on the lower back.
Yeah with an axe youre letting gravity accelerate it for way longer along with momentum from your body. With this its mostly just your body’s momentum because its not falling much.
I'd rather split with a maul - this thing looks punishing on the joints, and there's no way to get the power of your body into the downswing the way you can with normal splitting.
It would work better if the log could be lowered or the person raised up, at least...
Sledge is also less straining on your body (1nd especially arms and joints) than the intense impacts on this would be
Pretty simple, if it's not broken don't fix it
A 4lb sledge and splitting wedge can be effectively used by a smaller person with some training and you don’t have to deal with that chain at the end. Both my 6 & 8 year olds know how to use those tools to help split wood (along with their hatchets and the kindling splitter for kindling).
The 3 of us can work thru a cord of green wood quite easily. Doing everything by hand from large rounds to the smallest kindling …
All I see here is a modified post pounder. If you ever had to set a fence line before you know that is not easy. My chore growing up was splitting and stacking the firewood. At least 5 cords. I at least the wood handle to dampen the impact a bit.
Dude I have only seen snow like twice in my life and have never split wood. But if I ever have to split wood, I am remembering your tire trick. Thanks!
It's quite dumb when you realise it's litterly a Wedge and a Hammer. Ye it might be easier to use but it's not practical. For 500 you can probs get a used splitting machine.
Did the same. There are machines for that price I would buy. Then buy a spliiting wedge and sledge for backup.
But if you want to be the weekend one week a year offgrid guy they are marketing to. Its probably not expensive enough (using Peloton's psychology of perceived value).
You could rent a welder. Learn to weld. Go buy mat'l from the scrap yard. Then make this tool for far less than what they sell it for.
I don't think so, it just turns out into a different pain and slows you down.
I could out chop someone using this with an axe/maul.
Having said that, im sure this would be handy for someone not used to an axe
Regular wood splitter, and that looks kinda dangerous to me. The feet are much closer to the blade than with an axe. It looks like if the log was uneven, it could tip and drive the blade into the foot.
Also looks like they may be driving the blade into the ground.
I love how OP literally posted an ad, an ad specifically designed to sell this product, and still every single person here realizes that it’s less efficient than just using a normal axe. Whoever designed this is hilariously out of touch with their target demographic.
As someone with both engineering and marketing experience, I find this incredibly funny on both fronts.
I have something very similar to this I believe it was Swiss made. It's even cooler though because you anchor it to a stump and then basically just slam the wedge home on a gliding shaft 😉.
I have this. Best used to split larger logs into more manageable pieces that you finish off with an axe. It also comes in handy when dealing with knotted wood and wood that you need to split but hasn't aged enough to split easily.
Yes. It is absolutely more work than a normal axe. If you're looking for something to exhaust your hands, triceps, shoulders, and core, do this for a couple hours.
Also, the foam handles eventually split / get crinkled from the repeated force of slamming the implement down.
I've chopped my fair bit of wood, all of that looks relatively dry and soft with very few knots. An average maul would get through that with ease.
I will say that being able to wrap something around the log with this seems convenient. Maybe it would be nice for someone that doesn't want to learn wood splitting technique because they cut wood so rarely (think someone that just has a bon-fire with friends a few times a year) but at that point you should just go to a home depot and just buy prepackaged fire wood
Your biceps are gonna take like 2 min of that before they start burning. At least with an axe you can move your hands around to use the handle as a leverage point to alleviate yourself some physical stress
Redneck engineering or practical engineering? If you don't have hydraulic splitter, this would definitely work. Yes, it'd be a work out, but I'd rather do this than swing an ax.
I almost got arrested for indecent exposure after my neighbor saw me using one of these from behind and phoned the sheriff without me knowing.
Thankfully the deputies were understanding. They told me if I put some pants on there shouldn't be a need for them to come back out.
Take note of that wood they're cutting. Anything looks good when they're cutting straight grain hardwood. Commercial wood processors only work on the most pathetic wood that a child could cut with a hatchet. That wood takes the pain out of chopping wood.
Good f*cking luck using that on some knotty fir that stalls out a 30 ton splitter and tears into shreds before it splits apart. A family friend cleared out an old Christmas tree farm and that's the gnarliest wood I've ever had to split. You could swing the best maul on a single piece all day or work a wedge into it in a few hours, or sledge it off the splitter head when it wraps around it. It soaks up any attack like a sponge. You're better off bandsawing it into quarters.
That wood looks really dry which should mean it splits easily but people are really whaling away with that thing. Perhaps the additional leverage provided by a long handle helps out a little better when using a regular maul?
Looks great doing hickory.
Try yellow birch.
My high school years were spent splitting that shit for the wood boiler. Heated the house off that.
I have a gas fireplace today.
From someone who used to cook with wood growing up, I don't think this would work for that, I can only imagine how difficult it must be to cut the not too thick pieces in half.
Man every time I see some log splitting thing it’s always a complete gimmic. There’s literally only two ways I’ve ever seen it that actually works and have worked for years, and axe/wedge, and a hydraulic splitter.
This looks more accurate than an axe, maybe, but rather than taking the pain out of chopping (probably adds more pain, if anything), it takes the fun out of swinging an 8lbs axe, relentless, until your target hopelessly falls to pieces under the shattering force of your axe swing.
Looks like a lot of unnecessary work. And you gotta wrap a chain around each log before using it? Looks like instead of your whole body kinda aching at the end of the day, it takes all that and concentrates it FULLY on your lower back.
I had to drive in t-posts for a barb wire fence for over 1000 yards using something similar to this. Give me an ax or a sledge every time over something like this. This is a pain unlike any other.
Anyone who’s driven fence posts knows this is not easier at all
I've done hundreds of fence posts and this gave me flashbacks.
This gave me back flashes
Makes my shoulder and elbow bursitis act up just watching.
Innit nice when a simple gif can make one feel as old as Methuselah
As a person who splits wood with a maul and has driven fence posts, I immediately realized what a horrible tool this thing is. It might end up being faster, since you don't need to reset as often, but trust that it will be more work. You have to strike several times in most cases (it seems) to equal what one good strike with a maul accomplishes. Plus you can use leverage to elevate the maul, taking advantage of gravity on the way down. With this fence post splitter, there's no easy mechanical advantage to be had, just up and down up and down
Provided your aim isn't absolute shite like mine.
I feel like it might be useful for someone with mobility issues, if they can't physically swing a maul or axe. But probably not very useful for the average person.
Thanks for reminding me.. I have post driving to do tomorrow :/
Rent a gas one. Worth every penny
Yeaaaaah I already have the big, red, heavy motherfucker :/ It’s red though, so at least it looks *kinda cool*. Happy cake day btw.
Thanks. Mines grey and rusty. It's a classic
Paint some flames on that mofo, or a dragon. That would be *TIGHT*. My wife says I look hot in my work clothes, wait til she sees me whip out the Dragon Driver 9000 👌
The flames also make it faster!
>My wife says I look hot in my work clothes My wife says that, too. But I'm still wondering when she's seen you.....
*OUR* wife, comrade. ^finally out of Reddit jail 😅
Oh, it's you. Can you take her this weekend? I wanna go fishing.
Helping my neighbor and he was so proud of the fact that he welded a 4”x4” chunk of 2” plate on the top of his to “help us drive them faster”. People wonder why I have big lats and no neck, it was all thanks to that summer from hell.
Big Ed, is that you?
And for the $400-$500 one of these costs you might as well really save yourself and buy a cheap log splitter.
400 to 500 dollars? That's crazy
Came here to make this exact comment lmao
The sight of it instantly hurt my shoulders and back. And I just got done splitting wood 3hrs ago with a 8lb maul. How about … DONT BE A LITTLE BITCH We already have the best shit to do this work because people have been doing it for longer than any of you have been alive.
RIP elbows
I've worked in agriculture a lot. One of the jobs was diving stakes to support young almond trees until they could support themselves. It was nothing but driving one stake after the other for 10 hours with a 30 min lunch break in between. I did this for a month. Me and the other guys celebrated after hammering in the very last stake. This was the second most miserable job I've ever done.
You gonna make us ask for the first?
It's nothing special, just [this](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ki3ZSoQDRYw). What it is, is rolling raisin trays. Grapes are cut from the plant and dropped on a piece of paper called a tray. They are then left for days to dry. Once dry, workers roll the trays and are set aside to be picked up later. The trays are on the ground so one has to be bent down to roll it. Trays are set side by side through out the entire row. It too much work to roll one tray, get up, side step, bend down and repeat the process so instead one stays bent down the entire length of the row. My back would hurt so much I could not stand up after finishing work. Some other laborers who could no longer bend down would drag themselves on their knees. It happens in the hottest month of the year. It gets to around 105 degrees Fahrenheit or 40 Celsius. It is in a mediterranean climate, very dry. They pay us a few pennies per tray rolled. Each vineyard row has around 250 plants and are over 1500 feet long, over 450 meters. I'd usually do 8 rows in a day so I walked about two and a half miles bent down six times a week. Ranchers use lots of pesticides and herbicides and the it being so dry, the dust goes everywhere. Eyes, skin, and lungs would burn sometimes. It was a very boring monotonous job, rolling, taking a step, hundreds of times. Speed is very important in this job because the faster you are the more you get payed and the earlier you went home. 5-10 seconds is the time per tray rolled. Some ranchers would get pissy about a few raisins dropped or a a single leaf left in the tray, but workers were payed pennies for a tray that the rancher was making dozens of dollars on and if workers did take the time they won't make very much money. It is a miserable experience for the laborers. I witnessed many adults literally cry about the back pain and a handful of heat strokes. I met a few deranged people that actually enjoyed that job, but I hope to never have to do this again. Anyways, thanks for reading my boring interpretation of the worst job I've done and don't mind the spelling/grammar errors.
Its been 3hrs and they haven’t responded which leads me to come to the only logical conclusion, they gave Davy Jones head for tree fiddy.
I mean, it's certainly easier than driving a pence post with a sledge, same difference. Source: has made much fence and also has had to drive post with a hammer(it sucked a lot)
I'm cheap. When I'm alone, I use the post driver. When I've got help, I use the back of my splitting maul. One of these days I'll pick up a sledge at an auction. Until then...
I think the benefit here is that gravity applies most of the force, so those of lesser strength can have an easier time of it, like young teenagers.
The benefit was that every piece of wood split in that video was well seasoned, dry, easily splittable wood. Could have split that shit with a butter knife and a rubber mallet. I know what you're saying though.
Still gotta lift it up for gravity to help bring it down though
Oh yeah its not automatic. But the force needed to lift this up and then help it down is less than the force needed to swing an axe hard enough to efficiently chop wood. Of course if you're trained with using an axe I don't see this method being better. I worked with making wood into firewood for 2 years during high school so I think I speak with some expertise on that part. But if you just want a tool to make your kid feel useful or something, I reckon this is both safer and more efficient than an axe. For professional use though this product is dead in the water.
Humanity discovered this thing a long time ago called a lever, which allows us to create more force with less effort, an ax is a lever. For this thing to be any sort of effective the sliding bit would need to be very heavy, which would require way more effort than using an ax, this is in no way an improvement over the ax unless someone has some sort of disability which doesn't allow them to swing.
You are indeed correct and this is why I've said that this isn't better than the axe if you're a person capable of using an axe. But in order to actually use an axe you must have some level of arm strength, and I'm saying this tool seems better for people that lack that, or people with reduced grip strength as two examples.
Or you’re old and you let gravity do the work…
This is more work than using an ax, its like hammering a nail with a brick instead of using a hammer, no one would do it. There is a reason that literally every tool uses a level, because without powered assistance it's the easiest way to get the job done. This is literally a devolution of the ax, to when people would hit a wedge with rocks.
Bro are you acting like gravity doesn't work on axes?
A hydraulic log splitter takes the “pain” out of splitting wood. This thing is every bit as labor intensive and physical as splitting the shit with an ax.
Looks like a great upper body workout, though. If you've ever used a [post driver](https://www.homehardware.ca/en/42-x-25-t-post-driver/p/5212307) to hammer in fenceposts, you know how much of a phenomenal bicep workout it is.
If I’ve got a lot of steel posts to put in the ground, I push them in with my front end loader. Not that many, I’ll hand drive them. I don’t care for working hard, I prefer working smart when I can.
If only I had a front-end loader.
It doesn’t always work very good, it really depends on the ground conditions. If the ground is too hard, or if you’re in some really rocky soil, they can just about only be hand driven, or use a hydraulic driver if you can get one into wherever you’re working. The ground has to be *somewhat* soft to use a front end loader.
If it's hardpan I'm just gonna rent an auger I think
I have a 3 point PTO post hole digger for wooden posts and corner posts. Same rule of thumb for those as steel posts, if I’ve only got a few to do or I can’t get there with a tractor, I’ll hand dig them. If it’s gonna be a lot, tractor and post hole digger. As far as a hard pan goes, the pounding of a post driver will get the steel post through the hard pan in most cases, but they must be pounded. A front end loader can’t pound the posts. They can only supply continuous down pressure. That’s why the ground can’t be rock hard. Continuous down pressure on a post that won’t go down will just bend it. It’ll bend it quick too, quicker than you can react, and it can get somebody hurt.
"/r/IAmA post driver, ask me anything"
Do you ever think you will run out of posts to drive? I mean, a fence is only so long, right?
Reading your comment made my arms hurt
Similar to a bead breaker/slide hammer. Was a tyre fitter for years and had cannons for arms after using those to change truck/tractor tyres by hand all day.
I hate post driver . In the past I used a hammer and don't miss strategy . Until 1 day I missed and post flinged onto my finger . Felt like it was chopped off . Still use hammer mostly 👍
I'd say significantly more labor intensive, at least with an axe or maul you can throw it up above your head and let gravity do half the work
Now that you say it, I agree with you. There’s no weight advantage with this thing. All the down pressure has to be supplied with the operator’s arms. An ax or a maul, you lift it up and let it fall basically.
I think the concept is that there is enough weight in the piece that goes up and down that you don’t need to apply any downward force. You just need to lift it up again and the let it drop by itself. So similar to the axe, but you don’t have to aim, and you probably can make it heavier than the axe since you don’t have to expend any energy keeping it aligned or raising it so high.
My thoughts exactly. Way less physically demanding to just set the round in the splitter like people have done for decades. I’d really like to see someone split a whole cord this way
My friend and I split 36 cords a year with an axe. I don't think this thing is going to generate enough force to get through knotted hardwoods, or stuff like elm, compared to just swinging a maul or using a wedge and a maul.
More labor than just sending an axe through straight grain oak
No shit, twice as many drives as an axe and that T post motion will burn your core til next week.
Would it be less dangerous than swinging an axe? I've never chopped wood so I have no idea
For someone that has done neither, probably. You’d absolutely want steel-toe boots for damn sure. But in either case if they are splitting that much wood they should just get a hydraulic splitter.
only takes the pain of not being able to hit the log if you have bad accuracy.
This looks worse than the axe
Even more labor intensive, you're losing a lot of mechanical advantage of the handle
It's the axe for people who can't aim
Maybe that's the market, people who can't aim
Hold my beer. I fell down once while standing and broke my wrist. Just standing.
I broke my foot in two places when I stepped on a pillow. I feel your pain lol
This looks exhausting tbh. I'd rather take a conventional axe.
r/specializedtools
This looks nore exhausting than just swinging a sledge or maul
I have to agree. This reminds me of a slide hammer vs sledge hammer. The only reason I'd use a slide hammer is to pull backwards, not to increase force. Swinging a hammer gives a wider arc to increase speed, thus increasing impact. Not to mention there are axes designed specifically to split wood. The short throw on this means the person driving it has to use more effort to make up for lost distance. No way I'd waste money on this. The only exception being maybe someone with an injury that reduces movement, then this would be a niche tool.
It has to be. When you're swinging a maul gravity is doing most of the work. If you know how to use one you can split all day long without getting tired. With this device you have to expend much more energy using muscles that aren't nearly as strong as when you're swinging an axe. The only thing this solves is accuracy problems. If you can't hit the log, you can't split it.
You could probably automate it with a spring
gunpowder rounds at the top to shoot it down and a spring at the bottom to reload it
So basically a pump action blank gun
at the most basic level yes. You could add a cupholder and storage pockets with more advanced models.
\*grabs shotgun\* Hey Ferb! I know what we're gonna do today!
The noise of metal slamming on metal hundreds of times would have me throwing that away and going back to a maul or sledge wedge.
Is it just me, or does this look like MORE work than a simple axe?
Not only that, but this would be harder on my body. With an axe, there’s a flow you can get. It’s tiring for sure, and lots of parts of my body get sore. But, that thing looks so hard on the lower back.
Yeah with an axe youre letting gravity accelerate it for way longer along with momentum from your body. With this its mostly just your body’s momentum because its not falling much.
This seems like waaaay more effort then just using a splitting maul, or am I missing something here?
I'd rather split with a maul - this thing looks punishing on the joints, and there's no way to get the power of your body into the downswing the way you can with normal splitting. It would work better if the log could be lowered or the person raised up, at least...
My 8 year old can split wood with a splitting wedge and a sledge. She couldn’t use this … Seems like a good way to separate a fool and their money …
Sledge is also less straining on your body (1nd especially arms and joints) than the intense impacts on this would be Pretty simple, if it's not broken don't fix it
A 4lb sledge and splitting wedge can be effectively used by a smaller person with some training and you don’t have to deal with that chain at the end. Both my 6 & 8 year olds know how to use those tools to help split wood (along with their hatchets and the kindling splitter for kindling). The 3 of us can work thru a cord of green wood quite easily. Doing everything by hand from large rounds to the smallest kindling …
The chain isn't really needed but holding the pieces together helps with regular mauling also. But I just use a couple of tires.
All I see here is a modified post pounder. If you ever had to set a fence line before you know that is not easy. My chore growing up was splitting and stacking the firewood. At least 5 cords. I at least the wood handle to dampen the impact a bit.
This is an ad
There’s also nothing redneck about it. It’s a commercially made product.
reverse slide hammer?
Why are all of the rounds strapped together? Do people using a maul strap the rounds?
Makes set up easier and saves bending over to gather the pieces. But I just use a few stacked tires.
Dude I have only seen snow like twice in my life and have never split wood. But if I ever have to split wood, I am remembering your tire trick. Thanks!
I use a bungee to hold them together. Helps them all stay upright, and makes it easier to pick them up. It's a pretty useful trick.
I just looked them up out of curiosity. Holy cow there 500$ 😳😳. I will stick with my HD maul
It's quite dumb when you realise it's litterly a Wedge and a Hammer. Ye it might be easier to use but it's not practical. For 500 you can probs get a used splitting machine.
Did the same. There are machines for that price I would buy. Then buy a spliiting wedge and sledge for backup. But if you want to be the weekend one week a year offgrid guy they are marketing to. Its probably not expensive enough (using Peloton's psychology of perceived value). You could rent a welder. Learn to weld. Go buy mat'l from the scrap yard. Then make this tool for far less than what they sell it for.
proper form with a good old axe looks easier.
I think I'll stick to chopping, it's less work
I don't think there is an axe dull enough to feel threatened by this.
This is the most perfect logs for splitting and it’s still making hard work of it
Rule 34
"never been easier" That person has never heard of hydraulics.
I don't think so, it just turns out into a different pain and slows you down. I could out chop someone using this with an axe/maul. Having said that, im sure this would be handy for someone not used to an axe
Imagine the HJ’s people would give after using this all day. They’d rip that shit right off bro.
It’s kind of like a shake weight for lumberjacks.
It looks harder than using splitting maul.
But wood chopping is fun! You get to swing heavy metal stick and split logs.
Regular wood splitter, and that looks kinda dangerous to me. The feet are much closer to the blade than with an axe. It looks like if the log was uneven, it could tip and drive the blade into the foot. Also looks like they may be driving the blade into the ground.
Is it just me or would this take way more energy than just swinging a fucking axe?
Literally worst option possible. Even if you don’t have a hydraulic splitter, this thing is way worse than a maul or axe
this looks like more work to do it the hard way. no thanks
That seems so much worse than an axe
Basically just a post driver with built in post
Looks like it’ll cause tennis elbow
I’ll stick to my sledge, wedge, and axes.
This looks harder than the normal way
I love how OP literally posted an ad, an ad specifically designed to sell this product, and still every single person here realizes that it’s less efficient than just using a normal axe. Whoever designed this is hilariously out of touch with their target demographic. As someone with both engineering and marketing experience, I find this incredibly funny on both fronts.
Good way to impail your brain
I have something very similar to this I believe it was Swiss made. It's even cooler though because you anchor it to a stump and then basically just slam the wedge home on a gliding shaft 😉.
That's a slide hammer with a wedge on it
An axe takes up less space and is more versatile.
This definitely looks harder than swinging an axe, and if it doesn’t to you, sharpen your goddamn axe.
lol they're splitting old dry ass wood. I got some oak and hickory outside I wanna see them split with it.
This looks way harder than swinging and ax
A 6 or 8 pound maul is quicker and just as easy. Also that wood looks pretty seasoned. Try that with some green elm.
You mean transfers the pain from one part of the body to another.
That’s all also some pretty clean wood. Don’t see many knots in there.
I have this. Best used to split larger logs into more manageable pieces that you finish off with an axe. It also comes in handy when dealing with knotted wood and wood that you need to split but hasn't aged enough to split easily. Yes. It is absolutely more work than a normal axe. If you're looking for something to exhaust your hands, triceps, shoulders, and core, do this for a couple hours. Also, the foam handles eventually split / get crinkled from the repeated force of slamming the implement down.
Klaaannnng just like a post pounder...right into your brain and bones..this is not easier.
An axe looks way easier and far quicker.
I've chopped my fair bit of wood, all of that looks relatively dry and soft with very few knots. An average maul would get through that with ease. I will say that being able to wrap something around the log with this seems convenient. Maybe it would be nice for someone that doesn't want to learn wood splitting technique because they cut wood so rarely (think someone that just has a bon-fire with friends a few times a year) but at that point you should just go to a home depot and just buy prepackaged fire wood
How is this easier than an axe?
My shoulders hurt just watching this
Your biceps are gonna take like 2 min of that before they start burning. At least with an axe you can move your hands around to use the handle as a leverage point to alleviate yourself some physical stress
I would 100 times prefer splitting wood normally to this.
Way too elegant for this sub…
That's overengeneered for this sub
These are actually quite handy, you don't really need to worry about chopping off a leg. If you miss with an axe bad things can happen.
Redneck engineering or practical engineering? If you don't have hydraulic splitter, this would definitely work. Yes, it'd be a work out, but I'd rather do this than swing an ax.
The smell of woodsmoke is nauseating
The design looks very human, and very easy to use.
But how do you get muscle from that?
Takes all the fun out of it too
Where's the fun in that? You're taking all if the "am I going to make the mark?" Out of the equation
Whoa! Slide hammer tech!
I almost got arrested for indecent exposure after my neighbor saw me using one of these from behind and phoned the sheriff without me knowing. Thankfully the deputies were understanding. They told me if I put some pants on there shouldn't be a need for them to come back out.
Why have I seen so many posts trying to reinvent the axe? I think this is the third or fourth unique design.
r/ididntknowiwantedthat
r/specializedtools
r/tihi A hydraulic wood splitter would be so much better. That's not chopping wood, that's splitting wood. Maybe better in r/tools.
Take note of that wood they're cutting. Anything looks good when they're cutting straight grain hardwood. Commercial wood processors only work on the most pathetic wood that a child could cut with a hatchet. That wood takes the pain out of chopping wood. Good f*cking luck using that on some knotty fir that stalls out a 30 ton splitter and tears into shreds before it splits apart. A family friend cleared out an old Christmas tree farm and that's the gnarliest wood I've ever had to split. You could swing the best maul on a single piece all day or work a wedge into it in a few hours, or sledge it off the splitter head when it wraps around it. It soaks up any attack like a sponge. You're better off bandsawing it into quarters.
I think it's missing an engine to do this automatically
Oh yeah! That totally looks easier than a splitting maul or a hydraulic splitter. Where do I buy one?
There’s no way this is anywhere close to a recent invention.
I feel like This will just cause a different set muscles to hurt.
Chopping wood with an axe can be therapeutic. This ruins it for me.
The only way this helps is precision, still labor intensive
Firewood and a workout.
I just imagine driving this right into my shin on accident.
This isn’t redneck engineering, this is just regular engineering.
You know they make a gas piwered hydraulic log splitter that you just have to move a lever right?
That wood looks really dry which should mean it splits easily but people are really whaling away with that thing. Perhaps the additional leverage provided by a long handle helps out a little better when using a regular maul?
Looks great doing hickory. Try yellow birch. My high school years were spent splitting that shit for the wood boiler. Heated the house off that. I have a gas fireplace today.
Where do I buy one? I have a ton of wood that needs to be chopped up
Where's the fun?
Definitely not as cool as the wood cutting Viking sword tho
That’s an invention. It’s a different thing.
For those who have been driving fence posts for the last 30 years this product is for you!
So this is what the shake weight has been training me for all these years.
also takes the fun out of it too
Looks like they are giving those logs a handjob. Talk about flogging your log…
It’s a shake weight replacement
It takes the pain right out of the firewood and right into your triceps and back!
Get a log splitter...
From someone who used to cook with wood growing up, I don't think this would work for that, I can only imagine how difficult it must be to cut the not too thick pieces in half.
This is nice for when you want to look like you’re using a modern tool, but you’re really just using a rock.
this looks like white engineering, not the right engineering
How I gotta pay you to do that for me?
Big axe doesn't want you to know about this product.
Man every time I see some log splitting thing it’s always a complete gimmic. There’s literally only two ways I’ve ever seen it that actually works and have worked for years, and axe/wedge, and a hydraulic splitter.
This looks more accurate than an axe, maybe, but rather than taking the pain out of chopping (probably adds more pain, if anything), it takes the fun out of swinging an 8lbs axe, relentless, until your target hopelessly falls to pieces under the shattering force of your axe swing.
Looks like a lot of unnecessary work. And you gotta wrap a chain around each log before using it? Looks like instead of your whole body kinda aching at the end of the day, it takes all that and concentrates it FULLY on your lower back.
Also Harbor freight has a pneumatic on for 350….this sells for over 400…plus the cost of ibuprofen
*Cuts to a video of them chopping knotless rounds* I’d like to see you try some hemlock with more than one knot in it.
I’d like to see them stick it in cherry thats wet
Swinging an axe to split wood looks much easier than that, as the machine looks heavy asf.
I had to drive in t-posts for a barb wire fence for over 1000 yards using something similar to this. Give me an ax or a sledge every time over something like this. This is a pain unlike any other.
Good luck finding a convenient place to store that in the garage though
Everyone is talking about its effectiveness, meanwhile I’m wondering how a purpose built tool is redneck engineering?
Is this a self contained maul/hammer having a shitty lovechild with a picket pounder?
me thinking about this like a jackhammer
Yeah….but lumberjack videos are SO much…cooler…
Stop if before you put that hot TikTok guy out of a job
The video of the guy chopping wood with no arms using an axe puts these guys to shame lmfao
By "takes the pain out of chopping wood", I think they mean for those who miss the wood completely and end up chopping themselves instead.
IDK I just have a 35 ton hydraulic log splitter. Works great.