It just so happens that I spent the last three evenings chopping wood. A couple cords worth. Despite my sore lower back and shoulders, something seems right about chopping wood by hand.
I have a limbing type axe, an 8lb splitting maul, and a large wedge with 12lb sledge hammer.
Unless you're working with large logs that aren't as dry as they should be, just get a regular axe, not just for felling and just for spiltting. A slimmer profile from above, smooth taper, round profile for the cutting edge. Mine was designed for felling and limbing, not splitting, although it is still somewhat wide. It is light enough that swinging it up doesn't tire me out too quick and it allows for that satisfying downstroke while maintaining accuracy.
On the downside, with a slim profile, it can sometimes wedge itself into the log handle deep and be a pain in the ass to get out.
The splitting maul is great; it's just a fatter model. If you're splitting anything bigger (18-24"+ diameter) it would come in handy. The weight of it is the best part, because gravity does the work for you. It is also the worst part, because you have to do more work against gravity.
A hammer and wedge is excessive, unless you're splitting giant green logs. I speak from personal experience that it is an exercise in idiocy.
Check out
www.leevalley.com and search for axes. (currency check prevents a direct link). I was at one of their locations the other day and found myself drooling over some of thier selections, they sell all the hand tools you'd need to build a log home starting with living trees. Under the "Iltis Oxhead" line, I would go for something halfway between the "A" splitting axe and the "B" felling axe.
(I do have a modern splitter too. The "mechanical" splitter is out of commision because the plate where the hydraulic jack mounts has sheared off, I don't have a welder, and my farmer friend who will fix it (and who has the tractor to power the hydraulics) is out of the province.)