Splitting Wedge or Checker

We have in the collection many lumber wedges, but these splitting wedges are somewhat rare. The one pictured here is a wedge marked ASP SYMOL.

Catalogue No: XXXX-XXX-1101,
San Lorenzo Valley Museum Collection

It was manufactured in San Francisco by Anderson Steel Products, Inc. [or Co.] between 1942 and 1968. The president of the company was William Duncan Anderson, who was born in Scotland. After his untimely death in 1945, his son Douglas Rennie Anderson took the company reins. Douglas had only recently returned from a WWII prisoner of war camp in Germany.

The marking SYMOL was marketed as "SYMOL Grade Forged Tools."

MacRae's Blue Book, 1967

Western Metalworking, 1948

Catalogue No: XXXX-XXX-1101,
San Lorenzo Valley Museum Collection

This type of splitting wedge was also know as a checker in northern California. It was used to split redwood lengthwise, for posts, beams, ties, or for log cabin siding for example. The forged wedge would start the split after which wood wedges would be used to open it and finally a glut, a very large wooden wedge, would be driven in with a mallet to complete the split.

In the lumber industry, the term wood check is a wood crack that occurs lengthwise along the grain of a timber. 

Another such wedge (below) from the collection, that was on loan to Big Basin Redwoods State Park docent program survived the CZU Fire in 2021. It was stored in the old lodge, which was destroyed.