Timber Tuff TMW-11 Manual Slide Wedge Hammer Wood Log Steel Splitter Tool, Green

This is an awesome tool. One of the best $40 I've ever spent.Pros: super freaking easy to use, saves a ton of time just but not having to pick up a wedge that fell off or a log that wont stand straight, and is nice and compact so you can even keep it in your truck unlike a motor splitter.Cons: the slide stop nut it kinda in a bad way since it cant be stored on it so better put it in your safest pocket, the silicone grip slid right off making it totally useless and I had to glue it back on, it could really use an extra handle that makes it cross shaped for leverage (a welder can solve that issue), and even with the grip glued back on it's not great for firm grasp so get some grip tape to wrap up and down the shaft so you dont strain your hand.

I had two very large oak trees cut down, I figured if the tree company cut them into 24" pieces, I would split them for my outdoor fire pit.Well, at first, GREAT exercise and worked up a sweat...ALL GOOD. Then it came apart. When It gets stuck and it will get stuck in the wood, i hammered it UP and the weld inside the handle didn't hold and came apart. So I bought a another one thinking it was so effective I needed it to finish the 2 trees worth of splitting. Again, it got stuck and thsi time I DID NOT hammer it UP, and one year later the second one is still working fine. FYI > I use the broken first one to help UNSTICK the second one when the second one sticks.GREAT EXERCISE, makes you feel THOR-like LOL

I'm not giving up on my hydraulic wood splitter, but I'm keeping this on the porch to split those pieces of firewood that don't fit well in the wood stove. I bought one of these for my vacation cabin, where I don't want to leave a hydraulic splitter and don't need too much wood, but after testing it and being satisfied, I immediately bought a second one to leave at my farm home for the porch where we store our wood in winter.There is a allen wrench tightened screw on the side that locks the handle in the closed position. It is a bit of a nuisance because when it is opened to make the tool usable, it is rather loose and can easily get lost. I think they should have engineered something simple that did the same thing, like a push button or something, that stays out of the way and can't get loose. A minor complaint. You can just remove it and stick it in your odd bits drawer and you will probably never miss it. If I designed this tool, I would have added a flange below the rubber coated part of the handle to keep your hand in proper position, so you can push against that rather than relying on a super tight grip. I might modify mine with the welder to make that. Another minor issue, it might not seem important to others, just an issue for a better design.The first wood I split was some very tough black locust wood. It took about two whacks to embed the wedge into the top and 3 more whacks to split it. Once split, the halves were quartered with one or two whacks. On easier wood, it would take less effort. I consider this acceptable. Using a splitting maul, it is quite possible I would have wasted more time, especially if I had to switch to a wedge and sledge hammer to finish it. People with lots of axe experience might not find this more efficient, but I had some rotator cuff damage a couple years ago and I was trying to find some solution that didn't put my arm in a position where it reintroduces the injury.A side benefit: this is exercise. I imagine it gives some benefits others find in shake weights and free weights. This would be fine for a half hour of splitting. I think for more than that, I'd find it more efficient to drag out the hydraulic splitter.Some day I might even buy a third one to keep on my UTV firewood minitruck.

Prior to 18 months ago I never had a fireplace or wood stove so my log splitting experience is shorter than many other people. However, I've split several cords of wood (mostly oak and hickory) with a wedge (I have various styles) and sledge hammer so I'm not a total newbie. I've never been interested in using a maul so have no experience with that.This type of manual log splitter is sold by several stores and I read as many reviews as I could find about the different offerings. It appeared that the splitters were very similar so I went with the Timber Tuff since the price on Amazon was the lowest I could find. I was slightly concerned about the few negative reviews about the Timber Tuff but now that I've used it I can say that the positive reviews are correct.The first thing I did was file the wedge to a sharper edge (dull out of the box). I then removed the screw that keeps the wedge section secure during transportation. It it only in the way when using the splitter. I tried the splitter on 12-14" oak. One blow and the wedge was secured into the wood. Several strikes later the log was split. I mostly just let gravity do its thing and it took around ten hits to split the wood. I then split the halves in quarters and that took only a few strikes. I split another 30 log pieces and the Timber Tuff was easy to use and worked very well. I noticed that after 30 minutes use the slide hammer was slightly less smooth as it went up/down the rod. I sprayed a bit of WD40 lithium grease and the hammer section slid better than when I first used it.In summary, I find the Timber Tuff splitter to be sturdy, and it efficiently and easily splits logs. It is not the fastest way to split wood but it is much lower impact on the body than swinging a sledge or maul. This is a great addition to my lumberjack tools.UPDATE June 2015 - After 2.5 years of ownership my log splitter has broken. While using the sliding handle/hammer in reverse to dislodge the stuck wedge the welded piece on the end of the shaft broke off. As at least one other reviewer has written, I can now see that the weld was mediocre quality so no surprise it broke. I've split approximately 50 log pieces before the tool broke, which is not much. I don't have Herculean strength nor do I abuse my tools. So while I initially judged this to be a nice tool, with more real experience I have adjusted my rating to 3 stars. The tool works well but breaks too easily.

I wear these slippers every day. I love them!

I'll need to give it a work out when the temperature goes down. Above freezing on cherry wood it's a real workout. It's also a little hard if you've got any joint pain in the hands, elbows, shoulders to deal with. Better than an axe though. Certainly worth the price.

It was not big enough for my job

The first thing to get used to and manage is how noisy it is when hammer meets anvil to split. Works very well but on behalf of other campers ensure your work is done during the day.

It work perfect thank you amazon i love being a prime member