I'll be darned if I know what brand he is, but I've had good luck with an twelve year-old named Zac. Since he started splitting wood, I haven't had anything stick - for me. I remember a lot of stuck axes, malls and wedges before I incorporated him into my work routine. And he works for food and Gameboys (he can be pretty noisy at times though).

Seriously though, I bought a mall from the big orange box store. It has built in iron flairs on the sides. They seem to make a big difference. It's like a cross between a heavy ax and a mall. I've seen others that have spring loaded versions of the metal protrusions on the side, but haven't used them so don't know their efficiency.

Well thats good news! I will have to get one. Today I received a catalog from Bailey's logging supply and hopefully they have them in stock.

Not 20 minutes ago my Wood Blaster from Northern Tool arrived via UPS. I went out to the back and got my sledge and 4 pieces of whole tree (round), about 10 inches, green as hell and with knots - these were the leftovers after I had split the rest. I was waiting till the end of the summer and maybe having to rent a log splitter.

Not! I planted the Wood Blaster with a slight tap of the sledge and it took me about 10 minutes to split all four pieces. The most difficult one was a deformed one with a knot and it took me three swings.

This is a 'good'un!

I just ordered one from Northern Tool Company - its actually called the 'Wood Blaster'. I saw the 'Wood Grenades' in Lehman's catalog and was all set to order one - it looks like a large plum bob with jagged edges on it's four corners. Then I got to reading reviews of the 'Wood Blaster' and it was considered superior to the Wood Grenade. It seems that the tips of the Wood Grenade broke off too easy. The Wood Blaster from Northern looks (in profile) like the head of a large spear, with a wedge on two of the sides.

A wood grenade? I have never even heard of it, but if there is an easier way of splitting wood, I am all ears. I am currently using an 8 pound maul and a single bit ax for the smaller sized wood. I had a huge madrone tree blow down last December; my 3' chainsaw bar is not long enough to saw through it. Madrone is a hardwood and is tough to split, so I cut a bolt, lay it on its side and saw through it to make 2 pieces. Then I stand it upright and split up the 2 pieces. Much easier on the old back.

Anybody ever used a wood grenade? I've been looking at them and they are guaranteed not to get stuck when splitting wood. I have some conventional wedges and they are always getting stuck.