Wedge and Feather Shims Concrete Marble Granite Rock Stone Splitting Hand Tools (9/16", 10Pcs)

Stone mason with 28 years in the trade so far. This type of feather and wedge set is far superior to the old style ones we used to use, with the bent feathers, and lacking the rubber band. These just work better--they never get bent out of shape, unlike the old style ones that were only good for a brief time and had to be replaced often. Furthermore, the rubber bands last for years and years--keeping each set together. And I work all year, in rain and, snow and hot sun--the rubber lasts. And when the rubber finally does wear out the feather and wedges still work just fine.

I removed linear Rock outcroppings over a 30 ft length and about a 5 ft width down 10 in deep to make a concrete pathway to my basement. These take a lot of abuse. You need a heavy duty hammer drill and order the right size for your drill bit but these will absolutely get the job done. Just drill a linear line of holes and insert the feather and wedges and tap each one like playing a xylophone. You will hear a cracking sound and The Rock will break away. Whether you doing a single Rock, you just keep chipping away and it will eventually break it. It seems to work in all kinds of Rock. I had a limestone and granite mixture. After many dozens of holes, I got the job done and I still have the set to use if I ever need them again. The price is well worth it and they only other alternative is the use of a cracking agent which may not work or Dynamite what you need a license for and could not use near a structure.

Wow! Absolutely fantastic! I had some huge boulders in the way of the footings I am digging for an addition on the house. I was exploring having and excavator with a rock hammer come in at $1500 per day to break them up and move them. First I thought I would try this ancient approach to splitting rocks. The 10 assemblies come in a very unimpressive tiny box with zero instructions. But I had watched several videos online and knew what to do. Drilled holes with 9/16 masonry bit every 5-6 inches along a line where I wanted the rock to split. Blew out the dust with compressed air. Based on the advice of another reviewer, I oiled the wedge/shim assemblies before I inserted them in the holes, aligning the shims to direct the force of the wedge perpendicular to the desired split line. Then I tapped each one lightly with a mini sledge, one tap each, then the next, then in order again. After just a few blows, POP! the rock split just as desired. So simple and effective. The hardest part is drilling the holes with my Bosch Bulldog Extreme rotary hammer. After that is actually a lot fun!

Too bad Trow and Holden wedges and feathers are no longer sold on Amazon. They had a good selection of sizes. Why does size matter? Because you don't need huge wedges to split smaller rocks, and thus don't need to drill large, deep holes, dulling your expensive bits and running down your batteries (for those with cordless drills). A 3/8" wedge will split rocks up to over foot in depth. Go to the Trow and Holden site and read their how-to document to learn more. 9/16" is a bit of overkill unless you're splitting really thick rocks. Here I'll just tell you the three most important things for making these tools last longer. First, drill the hole nearly as deep as the wedge itself so it doesn't bottom-out on the rock and begin to bend. Second, before each using the wedges and shims, make sure they have a thin coating of grease so the wedges will easily slide. Finally, you only need a light hammer that you tap gently on the wedges. Just be patient and let the wedges do their work, then they won't deform the shims and will last longer.

Used to split granite and basalt. I prefer loose feathers with large ears. These units work OK but when the rubber o-ring breaks or comes loose, these feathers have a higher tendency to fall into the drilled holes than traditional, ear feathers. Bring a magnet. Quality ok, build quality ok. Mushrooming does not occur quickly,

I’ve used these once so far and they worked just like the description. I drilled a line of 1/2” holes with a roto hammer, inserted the wedges, and alternated hitting each wedge until the rock cracked. It was a fun weekend project and I’m very satisfied. If you’re clumsy like me you might break a rubber band or two, but my kit came with 2 extra and any o-ring that size would probably work too. Great product!

Works good to split rocks

The units are hard, with even tapers and sturdy O-rings (needed when the stone cracks to keep the pieces together). Light even taps in sequence has easily broken up a sturdy 8" thick concrete slab that resisted a good 60lb electric breaker hammer decisively. The feathers and wedges have some burs on them from being mass produced that catch when you try to slide them, and are not perfectly "flat" on the mating surfaces, but the burs polish off on a stone or with wet-dry paper and they work great any way. I read somewhere that they are a bit fragile - that is because they are brittle hard, but you don't need a big hammer to use them and if you don't hit them sideways they will last. If you need them, they are worth more than the price! ( P.S. - buy the 9/16" drill...)