Splitting maul
heavy, long-handled axe used for splitting a piece of wood along its grain
A splitting maul also known as a block buster, block splitter, chop and maul, sledge axe, go-devil or hamaxe is a heavy, long-handled axe used for splitting a piece of wood along its grain. One side of its head is like a sledgehammer, and the other side is like an axe.
Tools
Wedged mauls
A typical wood splitting maul has a head mass of 6 to 8 lb, or approximately 2.7 to 3.6 kg. Mauls traditionally have a wedge-shaped head, but some modern versions have conical heads or swiveling sub-wedges. The original maul resembles an axe but with a broader head. For splitting wood, this tool is much better than a typical axe. The weight of it is more advantageous, and it is less likely to become stuck in the wood thanks to its width. The wedge section of a maul head must be slightly convex to avoid jamming and it cannot have the elongated "hollow ground" concave-section that a cutting axe may use. Unlike an axe, maul handles are normally straight and have a more circular cross-section than the elongated oval axe handles tend to be. A maul's handle, unlike an axe, is intentionally used for levering as well as swinging.
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