If you are new to woodworking, you might be wondering whether you should use an axe or a splitting maul. From an outsider’s perspective, both do the same job; breaking up wood. However, things aren’t quite that simple. They cut wood in slightly different ways.
It is vital that you choose the right cutting tool for your wood. If you don’t, then you are going to be making your life a lot more difficult. Luckily, you have us. We are going to help you to determine whether you need an axe or a maul.
What are the main differences between an axe and splitting maul in brief?
Generally speaking, if you want to split wood across the grain, you are going to need to pick up a splitting maul. If you want to cut wood, then you will need to pick yourself up an axe. Ideally, you would have both to be prepared for either scenario.
Contents
The Definition of Axes And Mauls
Let’s start by talking about the definitions of axes and splitting mauls. This way, when we discuss the differences, you will already have a rough idea of which may be the right choice for your wood chopping needs.
What is an Axe?
There are some people that call axes ‘splitting axes’. This is an incorrect description. Axes cannot split wood. Well, not easily.
Axes come in a couple of different lengths, usually around 10-37″. You have your small hand axes, which may be a little over 12″ long. These are good for light work. They aren’t appropriate for cutting up firewood.
The standard size axe is around 5-feet long. The head of the axe (the important part!) will weigh around 6 lbs., but you can get some that are slightly heavier or lighter.
An axe will have a sharp blade. This blade is designed to slice through the fibers of the wood. You will have to regularly sharpen the axe to get good results.
Our Recommended Axe
Some Popular Axe Brands
- Fiskars
- Husqvarna
- Leveraxe
- Gerber
What is a Splitting Maul?
A splitting maul, as the name suggests, is designed for splitting. It cannot cut. When you use a splitting maul, you will be cutting parallel to the grain on the wood. This will essentially split the wood along the grain.
The head of a splitting maul looks considerably different to that of an axe. It appears more thick and bulky. The front part of the head looks similar to an axe, although it isn’t as sharp. The back part is very similar to a hammer. You can actually hit the back part of a splitting maul when you are splitting wood, just in case you need a little bit of extra power.
The average splitting maul weighs around the 12lb mark. However, once again, you can get splitting mauls that are heavier and lighter than this. The length of a splitting maul will be the same length as a normal-sized axe.
Our Recommended Splitting Maul
Some Popular Maul Brands
- Fiskars
- Truper
- Husqvarna
- Estwing
- Gransfors Bruks
3 Main Differences Between The Axe and Splitting Maul
We have already spoken a little bit about what splitting mauls and axes actually are. This means that you should already have a rough idea of the differences. However, to ensure that you know everything there is to know, let’s take a look at the key differences in a bit more depth.
Weight
From the above definition, you might understand that while an axe is light weighed, a maul is heavily weighted. This difference is weight is a double-edged sword that indicates weight. As the axe is lighter so you can use it quickly without fatigue but many times it reduces the effectiveness of the tool.
In contrast, a maul is slightly heavier jaws but this gives more efficiency in the division of the wood.
Head Size
Perhaps another difference between the two tools is head design. The axe comes with the Sharpe blade and trellis head, which allows it to cut and split wood effectively.
On the other hand, the maul has a wide and flat head, making it very effective in cutting a large portion of coarse-grain wood. and doing so requires huge effort but done the job perfectly. With said the variety you might get what you need in which purpose.
Handle
The third and last difference is according to our research in the handle design of both instruments. You can see most of the axe comes in the short handle because they are targeted to splitting firewood or chopping wood. The short handle allows the user easy swing over the lying tree or wood piece on the ground.
While most of the maul has a large handle that capable user slitting wood from the slightly distant place and not much easy to swing.
Which One Is Suitable For You?
Well after so many discussions you might get your answer which one you need.
Perhaps it is ultimately a personal choice.
If you ask us about consideration fact then we can say that the size of wood, log, or tree you aim to split helps to select tools.
If you have to deal a large size of wood then you might go for a maul, as it is best with this. The drawback of using a maul is that you will become tired more quickly, because of its weight.
But if you want to split firewood or any kind of small size wood and want a wood cutting tool that you can also carry out in adventure purpose like camping then you could go for axe.
This is also great for small size people as can easily swing and you will not get tired while working.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a maul better than an axe?
Actually, it depends on the purpose of having the tools. If you need an splitting tool to split hard and large wood, then maul is the right choice for you. If you are using it for lighter pieces of wood, then you should buy an axe.
Should a maul be sharp?
Of course the maul should be sharp enough to do its splitting and cutting jobs efficiently. However, you don’t want to sharpen it too much.
Final Words
At the end, we try our best to acquaint with you the basic differences between the axe and maul. Moreover, give you many ideas that how can you choose one for your needs. I hope you find it helpful and get ready to take your decision which is suitable for you.
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