Splitting axes are used for breaking the wood apart into smaller pieces by splitting apart the wood fibers. Whereas, felling axes are used to fell the vast trees and cut through the wood fibers. Interchanging the use of these axes for the purposes would leave you in a lot of frustration and hair-pulling moments. Apart from splitting axes, mauls are also used to divide the wood into smaller pieces for obtaining firewood. So we’re going to make a thorough comparison between the two in our review of splitting axe vs maul.
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Our Verdict
After the thorough comparisons and weighing out the pros and cons of both splitting axe and maul, we’ve come to the following conclusions: If you want to split wood enough for an occasional fire, then axe is the best option for you as it is a multi-purpose and a lightweight tool, used for various other chores as well. But if you want to split a lot of large-sized wood for firewood purposes, then go for the maul as its heavyweight will give you extra power, and your work will be done in less time.
Splitting Axe Vs Maul: Comparison Chart
| Splitting Axe | Maul |
|---|---|
| It has a sharp, tapered head. | It has a fat and blunt head. |
| It generally weighs between 3 to 6 pounds. | It generally weighs between 6 to 8 pounds. |
| It has a sharp edge for wood chopping purposes. | It has a dull edge, which is suitable for wood splitting purposes. |
| It has a shorter handle, which is made of wood or composite material. | It has a longer handle, which allows us to apply extra force and do our work in less time. |
| Takes less force to work with as it is lightweight and hence can be worked with for a more extended period | It takes more force to work with due to its heavyweight, and hence working it for longer duration is tiring. |
Splitting Axe
A splitting axe is a multi-purpose tool, but it is mainly used for chopping and splitting wood. Its blade is thin and sharp, which easily cuts through the forest and breaks the wood fibers apart. They’re not too heavy and are relatively easy to work with for more extended periods without getting tired and facing muscle fatigue. You can use it to cut the tree branches or to cut down a whole tree.
Axe handles are made either of wood or composite material. You can select the handle type, which is preferable to your grip. The axe handles are generally short so that they can be used for a lot of chores. The handle can be measured up against your arm length. If the stem is shorter or equal to your arm length, then it’s an axe.
Maul
A maul is a massive sledgehammer with a pointed axe head. Maul is used only for the specific purpose of splitting wood. It has no other use besides this. Its blade is fat and blunt, which offers more force for cutting wood than an axe. Since a maul is more massive than an axe, it requires more strength to work with. Splitting wood with a maul will leave you tired and exhausted.
The maul has a handle that is longer than the ax’s handle. If you measure the handle against your arm length and the handle comes out to be longer, then the tool is a maul; this is the standard way of differentiating between the axe and maul when their blades are rusted and cannot be distinguished easily. The handle of the maul is made up of wood and composite materials as well. Usually, you’ll find maul with handles made up of fiberglass, plastic, or hard hickory.
These materials provide better support to the massive head. The weight and the design of the maul are such that it’ll prevent you from injuries and split the wood in a single swing.
Splitting Axe Vs Maul: Similarities
- Both splitting axes and mauls are used for splitting wood. They both cut through the wood and split the wood fibers apart.
- Both have handles made up of either wood or composite material, which means they’ll have a reasonably similar grip.
Splitting Axe Vs Maul: Differences
- Splitting axe has a thin and sharp blade that easily cuts through the wood and splits the wood fibers apart. At the same time, maul has a significant and blunt edge, which requires some extra force to split the wood.
- A splitting axe is lighter than a maul. A splitting axe generally weighs between 3 to 6 pounds, whereas a maul weighs typically between 6 to 8 pounds.
- Splitting axes have a smaller handle. It is shorter when compared to our arm’s length. Mauls have a more extended handle, which is longer than our arm’s length.
- Since a splitting ax has a small handle, the blade is closer to our body, and if not used carefully, it can lead to severe injuries; this is not the case with maul as it has a relatively long handle.
- It takes a lot of swings for a splitting axe to split wood as it is lightweight so it doesn’t strike as much force on the wood, unlike the maul, which can cut wood in a single swing as it exerts a lot of power on the wood due to it being heavy.
- The splitting axe, being light in weight, can be used to split wood for a very long duration without being tired. Whereas, the maul, being heavy, can make you feel tired after using it for a short term and you can end up with muscle fatigue if you’re not acquainted with its use for a long duration.
- A splitting axe is a multi-purpose tool, and besides splitting wood, it can be used for many other chores. A maul, on the other hand, is only used for cutting wood and has no other use besides it.
Splitting Axe Vs Maul: Features
Features Of Splitting Axe
- It has a thin and sharp blade.
- It has a sharp edge for splitting wood with ease.
- It has a handle which is shorter than our arm’s length.
- Its handle is made of wood or composite material.
- It is light in weight. It generally weighs between 3 to 6 pounds.
Features Of Maul
- It has a fat and blunt blade.
- It has a dull edge, which is suitable for wood splitting purposes.
- It has a handle that is longer than our arm’s length.
- Its handle is made of wood or composite material.
- It is heavy. It generally weighs between 6 to 8 pounds.
Splitting Axe Vs Maul: Pros And Cons
Pros And Cons Of Splitting Axe
- It has a thin and sharp blade that easily splits the wood fibers without requiring extra force.
- It is lightweight and doesn’t cause tiredness even after working with it for more extended periods.
- It is a multi-purpose tool, and along with wood splitting, it can be used for various other purposes.
- It takes longer to split wood as it is light in weight and requires effort to cut the wood.
- Its short handle results in shorter distance from the body, resulting in injuries if not used carefully.
Overview Of Splitting Axe
- It has a stout and blunt blade which, on applying force, can split wood in one swing.
- It takes shorter to split wood as each swing breaks the wood easily.
- Its long handle maintains a safe distance from the body, which prevents injuries while splitting the wood.
- Since it’s more substantial than the splitting axe, splitting wood with it for longer hours will leave you tired and exhausted.
- Its sole purpose is to split wood, and unlike the splitting axe, it is not a multi-purpose tool.
Conclusion
After weighing all the pros and cons and knowing the proper functionality of both the tools, we have concluded that what tool is best for you for splitting wood is up to your need. If you want a workable amount of wood and a device that serves all your purposes besides splitting wood, should be lightweight, easy to use, and should not make you feel tired after continuous use for long durations, then you should opt for splitting axes.
If you want a relatively large amount of wood for firewood and a tool which splits wood in a single swing, accelerates your work and breaks a large amount of wood in less time, but requires more force and can make you feel tired, won’t serve any other purpose except for wood splitting and will be massive as well, then go for a maul.
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