Add a handle to the metal wedge and you get a hatchet.
I would take a hatchet. It is the right tool for the job.
My knife is a Mora and I wouldn't use it for splitting wood
And let's remember, thinner branches that do not need much splitting.

Actually, one time I had a longer piece of dead wood, and didn't even bother to saw it in half.
I put it in the fire, and fire did the work of cutting it in half.