The Sotz “Monster Mauls” always intrigued me. I don’t know why, I just think they look cool with their huge triangle heads. I remember as a kid looking at my parents Mother Earth News magazines and seeing the mail order Sotz products. A few years ago I scored an original Monster Maul which was their most popular model at 16 lbs. Last weekend I scored their biggest model, the 24 lb Mega Monster! The previous owner had cut the 30” handle down to 28” and the cut wasn’t pretty. I squared up the cut and welded on/added a 8” piece of 1”id schedule 40 pipe. I crimped the end as the handle had been cut at the crimped/indexed area. I always thought 30” was a short handle length, so now it’s a full 36”. Gave it a custom paint job and rubberized grip. I’ll split a few pieces for kicks and do a video, but it’s really just a conversation piece. I named it the “Mango Mauler”.
My FIL has one. It's better used as a door stop, wheel chock, boat anchor, etc, than it is a wood splitter.
Those look great- much better than new! I have the smaller of the three you show there. The handle is bent, which seems to be common. For me it wasn't more effective than a 6# or 8# maul. They sure do look cool though!
The shock to the hands/body thru the metal handle is all I remember when trying one. It must have been one of their lighter ones because I was a lightweight as a kid.
Looks pretty sharp with the extended handle and dressed in yellow I inherited my grandfather's monster maul 5+ years ago when he passed away. I did not have to fight my uncle to get it lol. He hated that thing, mostly because he was forced to use it all the time growing up in the 70s. I actually enjoy using it sparingly, on the easier splitting pieces anyway. My splitter is still my go-to tool for 95% of my split making.
