TIL my rock hammer grip was all wrong

I was out near Sedona last fall trying to split some sandstone, and a geologist I met there watched me for a minute. He said, 'You're holding it like a claw hammer, you'll wreck your wrist.' He showed me to choke up on the handle and use a short, sharp swing from the elbow, not the shoulder. I tried it and immediately got cleaner breaks with way less effort. Anyone else get a piece of advice that totally changed a basic technique for you?

2 comments

2 Comments

marywells14d ago

Reminds me of when I was learning to split firewood. My uncle saw me trying to swing a maul like a baseball bat, all arms and grunting. He just said to let the weight of the head do the work and drop it straight down. I mean, it felt wrong at first, like I wasn't putting any power into it, but the log just popped right open.

taylor_mitchell8013d ago

My grandpa taught me the same thing up in Vermont. You fight the urge to muscle it down, but once you stop trying so hard, the maul just falls through the wood. It's all about letting the tool do its job. I still have to remind myself every fall when I start stacking wood for the winter.