Silverline 6lb log splitting maul review

[guineafowl21]

Hi all,

Thought I'd post a review here, as there doesn't seem to be one on the net.

In a nutshell, this tool is cheap, cheerful and unusable 'out of the box'. The splitting edge is almost literally as blunt as a sledgehammer. What would I expect for the price (13 GBP)? A tool with some faults but one I can use occasionally but not professionally (who uses a maul professionally anyway? Serious work is powered these days.)

This maul, as sold, does nothing but put neat dents in the top of the log, even with a dry, straight-grained peice of ash. I had to spend the best part of an hour with a grinder re-shaping the end - not sharpening, mind you, I mean totally re-profiling it. A forge would have been handy. Also, the hickory handle is varnished so slippery when wet. I've sanded it and applied some boiled linseed oil.

I'm happy with it now, and it works well. Of course a budget tool cannot be expected to be perfect, but please be aware that this maul is not sold fit for purpose, and you'll need to set aside some workshop time to make it functional. (hammer)

 

[Mike.S]

Welcome to the forum and thanks for the review.

I sort of understand that a budget axe would be sold blunt (health and safety for staff handling it etc) but re-shaping sounds drastic. Before and after pics would have been nice. Varnished handles! Done to appeal to the less knowledgable and wisely removed.

 

[guineafowl21]

Cheers Mike.

Yes, as I said, it's not just blunt but completely the wrong shape, unless you have a hankering to emboss Roman numerals into the end grain of logs. As for safety, it did come with a plastic guard (you know, the ones that cause more cuts from fitting them than they prevent when actually fitted).

Sorry, no pics. To give an idea of the as-sold condition, imagine a 30-degree triangle with the tip heavily ground square. Then chamfer that square edge from each side to give a 90-degree 'micro' bevel. Hopeless.

 

[GarF]

I read somewhere that a splitting axe was supposed to be relatively blunt to avoid sticking - in contrast to a chopping or felling type axe. I guess the mode of operation is different. Wedging apart relatively dry timber along the grain rather than slicing fibres across it. My splitting maul is pretty blunt and still tends to jam itself into wetter pieces, particularly if I haven't struck cleanly

 

[Eric The Viking]

Yes, as I said, it's not just blunt but completely the wrong shape, unless you have a hankering to emboss Roman numerals into the end grain of logs...
... imagine a 30-degree triangle with the tip heavily ground square. Then chamfer that square edge from each side to give a 90-degree 'micro' bevel. Hopeless.

That made me smile. Welcome to the forum.

I fear you'll discover it's made of carefully painted Camenbert, too.

I have (had) some Silverline hand tools...

E.

 

[Paul200]

Silverline were the best thing for my business (when I had it). The number of new customers I gained after they bought a Silverline product, used it and then came looking for a real one........

Happy days

 

[Sheffield Tony]

GarF is right. A splitting maul is not meant to be sharp like an axe. If you can the wood is usually best split whilst green, the action of the maul is like a wedge forcing apart.

Mind you, I'd not be surprised if Silverline couldn't even get that right.

 

[blackrodd]

As Silverline has been mentioned, I reluctantly got someone a cheap silverline jigsaw last year for cutting lightings.
Absolutely terrible thing, It vibrated badly and the blade kept falling out, it was really, really, bad.
What drives people to make she ite like this, and to sell it?
I told him to give it to someone he didn't like.
Rodder

 

[AJB Temple]

Very cheap things are cheap for a reason….

 

[Sporky McGuffin]

My experience is that Silverline products aren't worth the paper they're made from.

 

[guineafowl21]

Thanks for all the replies. My reason for leaving the review was that although the tool was cheap, it wasn't even fit for purpose. You expect that as a minimum, even if you don't expect it to outperform an expensive version or last you a lifetime. With some workshop time, however, it has become a joy to use.

This brings me to a wider consideration of tool buying. If money were no object, we would all buy high-end equipment and things would be easy. As it stands, this is not the case and everyone appreciates a bargain. It takes experience and expertise to know when you can buy cheap and 'tart up', and where you must fork out for the best tool.

Paul Sellers' Youtube channel is a case in point: contrary to most 'experts', he advises woodworking newbies to buy cheap chisels to get started, then maybe collect better ones along the way. He even shows you how to do up the cheapo chisels - transforming them into pretty efficient tools - just as I did with the maul. This knowledge is real knowledge.

I know nothing about golf. Yet, I could advise a newcomer to the game to 'buy the best set of clubs you can afford'. I have no idea if this will make a difference but, superficially, I appear to be giving sound advice. A seasoned golfer might say a beginner's technique will not be good enough to be affected by the clubs' quality, and that it would be best to get started with a cheap set anyway in case golf isn't your thing and you're stuck with a fancy, expensive set you never use.

On the other hand, a cheap set of clubs might be so awful that they put you off the game, as you will fail to improve with them. A genuine expert will tell you which is the case. People who say, 'a bad workman blames his tools' are generally not tool users, and misinterpret it to mean 'there are no bad tools, only bad workmen'. There are certainly bad tools.

In conclusion, although the rule is 'buy cheap, buy twice', we workshoppers know that life is more complicated than that. My maul is extant proof that, with a little ingenuity, we can duck under or bend such rules, and get great satisfaction by doing so.

 

[davin]

Just as an aside.
Just got back from a few days in Finland, saw these advertised

http://www.leveraxe.com/

Looks quite interesting, will stick to my Fiskars for the moment though.

Davin

 

[Eric The Viking]

Don't often get a genuinely new take on something like an axe, but that is really clever.

I'd want to see a left-handed version though, first ;-)

 

[CARLO]

I like guineafowl's point of view. I've just bought a ' cheap as chips' Silverline axe online. I expect to do some work on the head and haft at that price so we'll see if it turns out to be a pig or a prince. I'd also be prepared to change the head for a vintage Brades st the price I've paid.

 

[Jacob]

Yes as others have pointed out "maul" is not supposed to be sharp. It's for splitting, not cutting. If it was sharp you'd call it an "axe". If too sharp, in theory the maul would follow its own cut rather than the grain.
Varnished is normal for hickory handles. If not you'd be complaining about them looking a bit scruffy etc. as they pick up marks and may get handled before you buy them. If wet wear rigger gloves - don't blame the tool for the rain!
I've been using a froe for splitting, hitting it with a lump hammer. Works really well but it depends on what you are working on.
I'm all for cheapo tools - don't knock em! I bought a cheapo Silverline floor board cramp which looks like tat but works really well.
You can't go wrong with a cheapo chisel if you sharpen it, but you might prefer a posher one.
Sometimes people get sniffy about cheap tools but often they simply don't know how to use them.

 

[guineafowl21]

Wow, a blast from the past. I’ve still got that maul, but mainly use a PTO cone splitter now!

 

[Jacob]

Wow, a blast from the past. I’ve still got that maul, but mainly use a PTO cone splitter now!

Oops yes just spotted the date! Oh well.

 

[pe2dave]

Just as an aside.
Just got back from a few days in Finland, saw these advertised

http://www.leveraxe.com/

Looks quite interesting, will stick to my Fiskars for the moment though.

Davin

Bad link Davin? Ah no, their website is down.
Video here - odd looking thing!

 

[clogs]

anyone tried these yet......?

 

[Jameshow]

I

anyone tried these yet......?
View attachment 148891

Brought one of those - got stuck!!