Recommend me a splitting axe
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PugetDude
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Downwindtracker 2
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This is one I can answer and my answer is a common one on an axe forum. At one time I heated with wood in northern BC. Old wrenches aren't my only fleamarket find.
For slitting fire wood you want a 6# splitting maul . Since splitting requires more accuracy then force, an 8# unless you are both strong and highly practiced wanders too much, wasting swings. That requirement of accuracy also suggest having an axe handle instead of a round sledge handle. It's so much easier to aim. The bit should be file sharp, it's doesn't need stone level of sharp. The flanks should be polished . I use 220 grit. I 'm not sure if it works better but I like elliptical shaped sides
For kindling, a 2 1/4 # boys axe, that's the name of that size, with a 24" handle will do the chores and be much more handy than a hatchet.
Keep warm
Ray
For slitting fire wood you want a 6# splitting maul . Since splitting requires more accuracy then force, an 8# unless you are both strong and highly practiced wanders too much, wasting swings. That requirement of accuracy also suggest having an axe handle instead of a round sledge handle. It's so much easier to aim. The bit should be file sharp, it's doesn't need stone level of sharp. The flanks should be polished . I use 220 grit. I 'm not sure if it works better but I like elliptical shaped sides
For kindling, a 2 1/4 # boys axe, that's the name of that size, with a 24" handle will do the chores and be much more handy than a hatchet.
Keep warm
Ray
Dieselhammer
Well-known member
You need a maul, axes are for felling or making small kindling. Honestly any maul will do, i like hitting flea markets or garage sales and finding a vintage one and you can fit a handle you like to it. Also stick with wood handle even though fiberglass takes more abuse, wood is better on your joints long term.
Legion Prime
Well-known member
Like much else in life it depends. An ax and a maul will do the same job differently, the Fiskars mentioned above is a great choice. We have a maul and an old True Temper ax, I like the ax myself while my brother likes the maul. Also how much wood do you plan to go through? Is the wood stove going to be your primary heat or supplementary? If you plan on going through a cord or two just lighting off the stove when it's convenient then an ax should do you fine. If you're going to use it as your primary heat source and you find yourself going through 4-6+ cords each winter then get yourself a splitter. If you don't at first, when (not if) you do get one you will kick yourself.
Also get yourself a couple wedges as well, they can help make splitting knotty twisted wood less of a chore and can be useful in any bucking or felling you may find yourself doing whether with an axe or a chainsaw. I'd also invest in a hatchet, making kindling with an ax is more a byproduct of splitting I've found while a hatchet will easily turn a chunk of firewood into a week or more worth of kindling in short order. I usually use an old Stanley carpenters hatchet as the wide cheeks make splitting easier as opposed to the thin cheeks on my Plumb shingling hatchet.
Also get yourself a couple wedges as well, they can help make splitting knotty twisted wood less of a chore and can be useful in any bucking or felling you may find yourself doing whether with an axe or a chainsaw. I'd also invest in a hatchet, making kindling with an ax is more a byproduct of splitting I've found while a hatchet will easily turn a chunk of firewood into a week or more worth of kindling in short order. I usually use an old Stanley carpenters hatchet as the wide cheeks make splitting easier as opposed to the thin cheeks on my Plumb shingling hatchet.
AmericanMechanic
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All the fiskars ive seen are junk. Plastic or fiberglass, not rebuildable so they are throw away tools.
If you're going to spend money (fiskars) get a US or German maul with real steel and a real hickory handle.
(The advantage to a cheap maul with fiberglass handle to start out is it may be more forgiving of strikes to the handle).
If you're going to spend money (fiskars) get a US or German maul with real steel and a real hickory handle.
(The advantage to a cheap maul with fiberglass handle to start out is it may be more forgiving of strikes to the handle).
PugetDude
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Try one before you offer a bombastic uniformed opinion...
I was skeptical too, but using one made a believer out of me.
The weight, balance, head geometry and sharp edge make it easier to use than a blunt maul or wedges.
Finesse vs. brute force and ignorance...
3jakes
Well-known member
What Diesel says, mostly.
Been heating w/wood for 40 years.
I use the fiberglass mauls that I won't worry about taking care of.
Just leave them next to the wood pile since I'm never really done since trees never quit falling down. After about 4-5 years the sun rots them, but who cares since they cost me 8-12 bucks, used.
Different trees split differently. You'll need some wedges as well. for the knotty stringy stuff.
Camping axe for kindling.
Leave that junk in the woods. It's more trouble than it's worth.
Try one before you offer a bombastic uniformed opinion...
I was skeptical too, but using one made a believer out of me.
The weight, balance, head geometry and sharp edge make it easier to use than a blunt maul or wedges.
Finesse vs. brute force and ignorance...
Yeah the Fiskars just look light and flimsy compared to a maul. But like you say they're very effective, and a lot stronger than they look.
Y00PER
Well-known member
My maul has a steel pipe as a handle. It works great as long as you don't miss
joseywales
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I can’t recall what my options were, but I grabbed a Gerber when we had our 5th wheel at a campground for a few years and it worked well.
Downwindtracker 2
Well-known member
Fiskars is an old firm, they have been making axes for a long time. Those Finnlanders have rethought axes. I looked at a small spitting axe for kindling. but couldn't see me paying that much when Canadian Tire had them on sale.
I guess I should go back to working on that Hulks Bruk boys axe. Think Gransfor in a classic Dayton pattern.
I guess I should go back to working on that Hulks Bruk boys axe. Think Gransfor in a classic Dayton pattern.
AldeanFan
Well-known member
I have a chopper 1 axe that I inherited,
Takes some getting used to, but once you get have he hang of it they split line a machine
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Takes some getting used to, but once you get have he hang of it they split line a machine
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Downwindtracker 2
Well-known member
If you have a wood lot and a tractor, make one for your 3-point. In the end, once a year I borrowed one.
Muckin_Slusher
Well-known member
Yeah, right. Fiskars are flimsy junk?
Whatever. At the ice shack I swing my fiskars axes like I'm retarded, get one stuck half way into a twisted white spruce then swing the axe with the block stuck on it around and smash it into the splitting block sideways. Splits the white spruce and doesn't hurt the axe.
Swing like a 'tard and smash the handle? No problem. Try that with your wood handled **** old hand forged axe.
Anyhow, if you want the baddest splitting axe available, get the X27 from fiskars. It seems a little too long at first but once you get the distance right it'll split anything.
Jmonnty
Well-known member
marineengineer
Well-known member
Fiskars for me too. 6-8 cords a year all but the worst twisted pieces i do by hand. The bad pieces go on a pto splitter. If its straight and clean wood its faster for me to do by hand with the fiskars. Get the one with the long handle as the fiskars works better with a fast head speed.
theoldwizard1
Well-known member
The correct tool is a splitting wedge and a maul.
If the piece are "reasonable" length, well dried, not twisted, an ax might work. Green wood splits well when it has been siting at ZERO for about ZERO for several days !
If the piece are "reasonable" length, well dried, not twisted, an ax might work. Green wood splits well when it has been siting at ZERO for about ZERO for several days !
mcbane
Well-known member
I have never seen someone split 36” hardwood with a hand axe or maul. Go with a hydraulic axe if you need to split enough wood to heat your house.
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MO-Iron
Well-known member
I have heated with wood in oak hickory country all my life and have tried many ways to split. Fiskars X27 for the straight stuff and a gas powered splitter for the rest is the best way that I have found. The maul, wedges, monster maul and others have been collecting dust in the barn for years.
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Try one before you offer a bombastic uniformed opinion...
I was skeptical too, but using one made a believer out of me.
The weight, balance, head geometry and sharp edge make it easier to use than a blunt maul or wedges.
Finesse vs. brute force and ignorance...
No doubt about it. Fiskars is the way to go. Wood pops apart with their axes. I have never had a handle problem, but even if I do, they are lifetime warranty. I agree with PD though, Fiskars, thread closed!
mwalsh9152
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I dont hand split much anymore, but when I did, it was a Fiskars X27 and a Fiskars maul. I would use the maul as a wedge too. I have a cheap sledge that was softer metal, so I'll bury the maul into the round, then a few whacks with the sledge to pop the round open.
Barely use them these days after my back convinced me I needed to buy a County Line splitter from TSC
Barely use them these days after my back convinced me I needed to buy a County Line splitter from TSC
upper_tanker
Well-known member
I've split more wood in my short life than I would like to admit. I've used both gas log splitters, as well as axes/mauls/wedges.
If you can't go the gas powered route and you are looking for a manual tool, I suggest one of these.
https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200621546_200621546
Although I'm never dumb enough to use it on the twisted-grain wood, it splits whatever I want to split with relatively low effort. It also makes for a badass sledge, should you choose to be lazy enough to grab this instead of walking the extra 10 steps for the proper tool, like I often do.
If you can't go the gas powered route and you are looking for a manual tool, I suggest one of these.
https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200621546_200621546
Although I'm never dumb enough to use it on the twisted-grain wood, it splits whatever I want to split with relatively low effort. It also makes for a badass sledge, should you choose to be lazy enough to grab this instead of walking the extra 10 steps for the proper tool, like I often do.
If you are any good at GJ you will over complicate things like I did and find an old splitting maul in the shed, find the logo and search endlessly until you know the age and all the details about the company whom manufactured it. Then you will spend way too much time restoring it, driving around to find a proper hickory handle, learning he correct method for fitting a new handle on the maul.....then obsessing about the need for more tools from that manufacturer of the same era as the 120 year old maul you are now using.
Yes I agree, but you sir are different to many posting in this thread, you appreciate a high quality hand forged axe bit serviceable for over a century that is hung with a perfectly carved out piece of specifically grained hardwood. For many here a composite handled mass produced low quality cast Fiskars bit is as good as it gets. Hell I got an X27/X25 and there pretty darn good to be honest. But they have no 'feel', no personality no history and are not a tool you'll proudly pass on through the generations. I nice Kelly, Plumb, Keesteel Keech, Hultafors, HB or GB would be a nice start for the OP. Start with an old high quality hand forged 4-1/2lb phantom beveled head clean it up & sharpen it by hand. And then you'll start to apprecielate a good ax, learn something & have a tool that will always be worthy of owning. I won't say a fiskars is junk as they are not... they split well, have a tough handle that's can get wet and have a warranty. But....
dr_clyde
Well-known member
I understand appreciating a nice tool, but I can split twice as much wood with the Fiskars as an old school maul.
I get it. I have a few old mauls that are very old, and still work just the same as they did 100 years ago.
But, if I have a mess of wood to split, I'm gonna grab the Fiskars every time, because it just plain works better.
I grew up heating with wood. I have split many, many cord of wood by hand. ****, my old man didn't get a log splitter until I moved out. I wish I had one of those Fiskars when I was a teenager.
Let's be honest, a maul is a hunk of steel on a stick. There's only a limited few ways to make that different than 100 years ago.
You can swing that fiskars axe with way less effort, and due to the geometry of the forging on the head, it works just as good as a maul with twice the weight. Force = mass x acceleration. I don't have to work as hard to get more done.
theoldwizard1
Well-known member
At age 70+, my Dad would split at least 4 face cords of "seasoned, mixed hardwood" (red oak and maple) every year with a maul and a wedge,
Downwindtracker 2
Well-known member
A story about splitting mauls at hunting camp. Normally I like to drop firewood that doesn't require splitting to fit inside the tin airtight, but this time Shane's and my camp had a big spruce dropped beside us. Doing up firewood for a couple of weeks of fall camping in northern BC, the quicker it's over the quicker you can get on with the real program, hunting Elk. We cooperated bucking up. then went at out piles, I'm older and in worse shape than Shane. I used a maul, he used a axe. I was done in half his time. Next year he had a maul.
The thing with splitting axes is that they are lighter weight, thus more accurate .
The thing with splitting axes is that they are lighter weight, thus more accurate .
Rabid Badger
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Give it up, man. The idea that a tool could be improved by centuries of technology, engineering and creativity is laughable at best. Just listen to all the people in this thread that have never laid a hand on the tool they're disparaging. True experts, every one.
Simplytodd
Well-known member
I love my Fiskars X27 splitting axe. I have split three large red oaks with it now. It has worked great. Not sure if the axes carry the lifetime warranty or not but when I warrantied a pair of hedge shears with them the process was easy and I ended up with a new pair that had a improved design.
I think you might be misunderstanding the purpose of my post and the response that followed. I was in no way belittling current offerings by any company, I was simply stating how I went out of my way and probably wasted much time sourcing tools to split wood. I was making fun of myself, but honestly had a lot more fun during the research and sourcing stages of my adventure then any off the shelf product could have provided.
theoldwizard1
Well-known member
I have to add this follow up.
The matching tool to a maul is a splitting wedge. Almost like a maul without a handle, but not quite as heavy. Any piece of "steel" that gets struck, repeatedly, with another piece, especially when those blows are not perfect center and square, face to face. is going to "mushroom" the edges.
I would not believe this if I did not see the evidence with my own eye. A friend of a friend was splitting wood using an old NOT MAINTAINED (the sides of the striking face were heavily mushroomed) wedge. Things were going fine, until a glancing blow broke off a shard which file up and pierced his arm. Not only did it pierce his arm it SLICED OPEN AN ARTERY ! Yep, a geyser of blood
!
He made it to the hospital. It took several hours of surgery to harvest a vein and sew it in place of the sliced open artery. The scars on his arm were bery "impressive" !
If you are using a splitting wedge, keep those sides of the striking face "cleaned up" !
The matching tool to a maul is a splitting wedge. Almost like a maul without a handle, but not quite as heavy. Any piece of "steel" that gets struck, repeatedly, with another piece, especially when those blows are not perfect center and square, face to face. is going to "mushroom" the edges.
I would not believe this if I did not see the evidence with my own eye. A friend of a friend was splitting wood using an old NOT MAINTAINED (the sides of the striking face were heavily mushroomed) wedge. Things were going fine, until a glancing blow broke off a shard which file up and pierced his arm. Not only did it pierce his arm it SLICED OPEN AN ARTERY ! Yep, a geyser of blood
!He made it to the hospital. It took several hours of surgery to harvest a vein and sew it in place of the sliced open artery. The scars on his arm were bery "impressive" !
If you are using a splitting wedge, keep those sides of the striking face "cleaned up" !
Rabid Badger
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I think you might be misunderstanding the purpose of my post and the response that followed. I was in no way belittling current offerings by any company, I was simply stating how I went out of my way and probably wasted much time sourcing tools to split wood. I was making fun of myself, but honestly had a lot more fun during the research and sourcing stages of my adventure then any off the shelf product could have provided.
Nah, you weren't the one I was talking about. Considering I'm in the middle of trying to aquire a complete set of matching vintage SK ratchets I wouldn't have much room to talk.
The Fiskars are....forged not cast. At what reasoning do you think that those can't be passed down? Do they disintegrate after X amount of years? I look for efficiency in tools especially those that require alot of effort in the work.
If the Fiskars design and features make it a better working product than a 100 year old axe then I'll pick it anyday
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I have done and do a lot of wood splitting, both hardwood and softwood. The best tools for splitting firewood is wedges and mauls. Axes have too narrow cheeks and the beard is not shaped optimally. Use axes and hatchets for felling, trimming and woodworking.
Brand equivalents (kinda)
Gransfors Burk = Snap On
S.A. Wetterlings = SK, Williams
Hultafors Burk = Wright, Proto
Husquvarna = now this is interesting, they used to be made by Wetterlings and now they are made by Hultafors Burk. Their price point is 50% of the same product. They could be in the tool truck equivalent thread. Excellent quality.
Best of luck, if you need anything let me know.
Griff
Brand equivalents (kinda)
Gransfors Burk = Snap On
S.A. Wetterlings = SK, Williams
Hultafors Burk = Wright, Proto
Husquvarna = now this is interesting, they used to be made by Wetterlings and now they are made by Hultafors Burk. Their price point is 50% of the same product. They could be in the tool truck equivalent thread. Excellent quality.
Best of luck, if you need anything let me know.
Griff
I cut Australian hardwood with my 20+ axes/hatchets and do NOT own a maul. Your problem is you were using the wrong tool for you to begin with. That's why the lighter X27 appears so impressive. Impact/strike force is fairly simple equation that goes something like this mass(weight) X velocity (speed) = impact force. So trying to swing a 12lb clumsy maul with a short handle won't really do much despite what folks 'think' & 'presume' when choosing a splitting tool. What makes the X27 split well is not really to do with bit design but more its handle length and head weight. In combination this creates speed but this is not unique to Fiskars, many designs going back a long time utilise this principle. I don't condone using an axe poll to hit anything besides plastic or wood but the X27 is factory advised to only hit plastic/wood and risks fracture if used to drive a metal wedge. The fiskars DO work pretty good, but are they what I grab when I go to the woodpile...HELL NO, but on occaision I do use it and find it splits well but is harder to land precise accurate strikes (that could be just me). The Teflon coating rubbish is a sales gimmick as it is worn off in short order, I don't think it had any effect when new either. If your into to composites the Husqvarna S-2800 is worth a look too.
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