Chinesium just doesn't hold up well in comparison.



Keith

Keith

This is why I’ve been thinking about building a splitting maul instead of buying one I’m just not sure what steel I should make it out of.

Mild steel mostly, just need it hard on the edge and the poll. Mild steel will handle shock better. And for a maul you really don't even need a hardened edge, it's not supposed to be sharp or stay sharp, so I'd just use hardened steel for the poll (striking face) in case you hit steel wedges with it

Just buy a Fiskars, they're a great quality and hold up really well. I bought their splitting axe and I love it so I would assume their mauls are no different.

I use a fiskars for my trapping axe these days. I've always used one of the small Council axes, but they're heavier so I'm trying the fiskars this year, so far so good. For a work axe or for splitting firewood, I like the 4lb Council with a 26" handle (maybe it's 28" IDK).

The wood on the chinese sledge doesn even look right, probably a paper mache compound they came up with.