Hi D.A.
Regarding plastic versus wood handles.... i bought a splitting maul from B&Q approximately 8 years ago. It now has a longitudinal split in the shaft,. immediately beneath the head and it is shortly going in the rubbish bin. In contrast, I gave my son in law a Gransfors splitting axe about 5 years ago, it broke at the neck of the handle after 3 years of heavy use. The handle was replaced, it looks like new, and will give many years of further service, and no doubt the handle will be replaced repeatedly.
If you are looking at a log splitter rather than splitting kindlers, then you might like to think about the following too. The length of the handle of your axe will affect its efficiency. Long handles mean greater speed of swing but poorer aim, this is important if you twist your wrists when swinging the axe, as you may miss your target. A bulge on the end of the handle may prevent it flying out of your hands it they slip. As a rule, only wooden handles have a knobbly end bit. A curved wooden handle may also improve ergonomics and fit, which may reduce fatigue if you are doing a lot of chopping.
The weight of the axe or splitter is also important. Newton's second law of motion applies to wood chopping. Twice the speed of the axe head quadruples the force of impact. A lighter axe may have more impact than a heavy one if it can be swung faster. Studies have shown that a 3lb (1.4kg) head to be the optimum for performance for cutting, and for a person of average fitness to chop for prolonged periods.
A final thing to consider is whether you want a maul or a splitting axe. The maul does not need to be sharp, but copes better with damp wood or knotty, gnarly stuff whereas the splitting axe is sharp, prefers dry or even grained wood but may get stuck in damp timber.
All the best in your axe-hunt
Hugh
p.s. Do not consider a double-headed axe for log splitting unless you wish to have a forehead like a battle-scarred Viking.
