Patent ID: 7428900

Claim:
A method for splitting a concrete workpiece; the method comprising: using a block splitter to engage a surface of a concrete workpiece and split the workpiece along a splitting line during a splitting operation to form at least one concrete block with an irregular front face; and during the splitting operation, engaging a surface of the workpiece with a multiplicity of peaks to chip and roughen at least one edge of the at least one block generally along the front face of the block adjacent the splitting line; the multiplicity of peaks the including peaks extending over a distance parallel to the splitting line along a majority of a length of the edge along the front face and peaks extending over a distance away from the splitting line, the multiplicity of peaks having tips that lie generally on a plane that is at an angle that is greater than or equal to about 5 degrees and less than or equal to about 20 degrees relative to horizontal, the plane containing the tips of the peaks being further from the workpiece the further the plane is from the block splitter, and the peaks have a height that is greater than or equal to about 0.125 inch and less than or equal to about 0.375 inch, the multiplicity of peaks being joined together to form a plurality of ridges and being positioned to engage the workpiece surface so that the majority of the length of the edge along the front face of the resulting block is chipped and roughened and the edge of the block at the intersection of the workpiece surface with the front face of the block is rounded.