I have a couple places at the land that require strategically-placed proper sized rip rap for erosion control. Any chance I get at access to a free load of riprap or fieldstones I usually jump on it. I've always used a giant hammer for busting up larger pieces, but the other day at auction I bought this rock maul of equal weight. I hadn't seen 1 like this. I'm thinking it might make it easier to split up bigger rocks. For $4 I figured I couldn't go wrong. I haven't tried it yet. It's hard to see in the picture, but the head is rounded. If it works, I might put a better handle on it. 'Never know what ya might see at auction.

I have one but havent tried breaking rocks with it.

I have one as well. Didn't know that's what it was.

How long is it?

It looks like my stone mason's hammer. On mine the end of the handle is mushroomed from tapping stones into bed joints while laying up walls. I have faced many thousands of stones with mine.

Edited to add: my stone hammer is about 18" long and the head might weigh 4lbs.

Nice find.
I found one at action about 20 years ago and use it quite a bit on this rock pile of a farm I live on. The auction story is the best part though. I bought the thing for $2 and the auctioneer looked at me and said over his speaker "that sledge hammer just retired". Guess he thought a skinny 22 year old wouldn't use it. I got red faced and told that fella that it was a rock maul not a sledge hammer and that I probably swing a hammer more in a day than his oversize butt (used different verbiage, but to the same point) ever has in a lifetime. That auctioneer has never made another snide remark to anyone else that I have seen.
I put a fiberglass sledge handle in mine after the wood broke and have gotten many years of use with it. The new handle seems to take a little of the shock from transferring to the hands and don't weather like wood.

Our one auctioneer always says " he will never use it" once he puts the hammer down.

So thats what its called. Dad had one that we used as a regular wood maul. Droves wedges but not good for splitting unless it was one of those stringy pieces that had a good crack but still held together by fibers.
Heavy son of a gun.

Was told it had come out of the mill, US Steel Fairfield works, where it was used to bust up clinkers.

I’ve got one that I’ve used for years laying stone. We call them a stone axe here.

Nice buy

I’ve got one that weighs in at ten or twelve pounds but the edge is 90 degrees of the one in the picture.

I swung one as a scrawny 15 y.o. My 6'7" Dad could turn large rocks into small rocks in no time.

Got one here somewhere 16 pound rock hammer. Spent my share of time busting limestone out of footers.

Just wear your safety glasses. I've taken a lot of shards of rock to the eye and they hurt. Unfortunately I have frequently not heeded the always wear safety glasses rule.

Keith

Thanks.

I didn't know it was a rock maul either, actually, but I participated in the auction with my neighbor. The auctioneer announced it as a wood splitting maul and my neighbor laughed & told me it is a rock maul. It sounded exactly what I need and so I bid against 2 other people & succeeded in getting it on the cheap. It's good quality, though I may put a stronger longer handle on it.
This 12 lb maul is 30" long. My other ~hammer style maul is 35.5" & is also 12#, but lacks the rounded 'rock maul' feature.