All the ancients here know that I love axes. Indeed I still split with axe, maul, sledge and wedge. But having destroyed our last splitter through overuse after a decade, we dropped the hammer on an 11 ton vertical. Why? Well, I split for 9 straight hours today. I just can't swing an 8 pound sledge for that long any more. For those who split wood the round shown here is 16" high and over a foot diameter. On one day I split enough fuel for two months heating and cooking.