Splitting Axes

[st@rk]

Finally moved to the countryside and running wood burning stoves as a second form of heating. Looking to split logs into smaller pieces and also make kindling so looking for advice / recommendations on axes and chopping blocks.

So far i understand that the best chopping blocks are around knee height, approximately 400mm squared (16 inch squared) and ideally full of knots to make it more resistant to the inevitable hits it will receive.

What sort of size / style / weight should I be going for? Any help / tips / recommendations are greatly appreciated.

Also any wood store design tips would be very handy!

 

[earlthegoat2]

The Fiskars get rave reviews but I am not a fan after using it for a few days because I prefer the splitting maul.

I have a Husky maul and after modifying it immensely on a belt grinder it is awesome. But if you don't want to spend 2 hours modifying it, the Husqvarna branded one is sweet but it is 90 bucks.

My sister has the Gransfors Bruks splitting axe and after using it for an hour splitting wood for her OWB I can definitely say I prefer the maul. The shape of that Gransfors though did make for a strike that did not want to twist on you after making contact. So that was impressive.

I sell firewood on the side from Hurricane Matthew debris and I split it all by hand. I don't make much money but it is great exercise. I grew up in MI and we had an OWB also.

 

[KRB52]

For the block, get one that was cut from near the base of the tree, it's thicker. Cut it so that it is a comfortable height for you when you impact the piece being split. There are "special splitting axes" available that have things on them that are supposed to help split the wood. I've never tried one, always used either a maul or a wedge and sledge. I would suggest getting one with a heavier head (5-8 lbs) and keep it sharp. Get a couple of extra handles, too and learn how to heft an axe. Sooner or later, you'll have to. Sooner if you are just learning.

 

[lilredex]

Get one of these and keep it sharpened. I recently picked one up at a garage sale for $1, was already nice and sharp, just needed a new handle.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Splitting_maul

My chopping block is about 15" in dia. and about 18" high. Just right for me, I am fairly short.

 

[earlthegoat2]

If you don't want to haft one very often get a synthetic handled one. Not traditional and not as comfortable but very durable.

After you get better you can spoil yourself with that premium wooden handled maul.

 

[Eric29]

I use the Fiskars. I actually use it for hours at a time and split a lot of wood. It works pretty well for me.

 

[3jakes]

A 10 or 12lb. maul & steel tip boots is for splitting.
You need the weight to work for you.
While a wood handle will feel best, it won't last & can't be left out in the weather.
I don't use a chopping block.
I just split them where they lay on the ground.
That's one less time picking up a log.
Takes a lot of bending over to heat with wood.

 

[theoldwizard1]

A maul and a steel wedge. If it is really big rounds, you might want 2 wedges. Dad split wood until he was in his 70s.

MAINTAIN YOUR STEEL STRIKING TOOLS ! I would not believe it it I had not seen the scar, but a friend of a friend was splitting wood with a maul that was very badly mushroom at the top. As he struck the wedge while holding it with his left hand a shard came off and struck him in an ARTERY in his arm. BLOOD FOUNTAIN !. Luckily someone could drive him to the emergency room while he applied direct pressure.


The scar was most of the length of his arm and looked like he had lost a knife fight !

 

[[memphis]]

Fiskars "new" maul,

I bought it last summer... it's a bit soft faced and should not be used for hitting metal into the ground but it splits would great

 

[Wolfman6]

Here you go; Who builds the best splitting ax?

 

[AZ Pete]

I heated exclusively with oak fire wood many years ago. I used an all steel 12# maul, it was the best! It was branded Monster Maul by the manufacturer, very similar to the current Ames 12# all steel maul.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[gregpack]

I always get a kick out of that stuff you see some people split in the West on youtube. I'm not sure what kind of wood but if seems that if you just look at that stuff the right way it'll split itself.

I just split a truckload last week with my brother. He heats with wood. he had just gotten a fiskars splitting axe. The axe would probably be great if you stick to smaller stuff-maybe 14" or smaller. Although the design worked pretty well we were splitting 18" oak on the ground. It needed more mass for our application. Based on my experience with it I'm going to try their 8lb splitting maul. They do have a lifetime warranty, so that might be nice.

I've got a monster maul. IMO, the wedge is too sharply angled- it gets too wide too quickly. It would probably make that easy to split stuff explode, but it just gets stuck in the oak and hickory I try it on.

 

[derosa]

I used a 25.00 fiberglass handled one from farm and tractor, split 12-15 cords a year with it, my brother in law just got it along with the house, worked fine and should keep on working. Half the time I didn't bother with a chopping block unless the ground was wet and soft, just split as is. Keep the axe sharp and most logs that need to be halved or quartered will do so in one good hit or two respectively. Bigger I just learned to whack large chunks off the sides till it was small enough to half. There will always be nuisance pieces but half the time you're better off throwing them in the woods or by the summer fire pit.

 

[earlthegoat2]

The USS Bismarck in that Wanglystar video was an Ochsenkopf OX-35 but Stihl brands it also as their Woodcutter Splitting Maul.

 

[Buckgnarly]

For kindling, nothing beats this....
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000HAEI1A/?tag=atomicindus08-20

I also have a nice Fiskers, but you cannot beat the added weight of the fireside friend.

 

[Lelandwelds]

Dont laugh but have you tried filling a 12" or 13" worn out tire with wood and then split? It doesnt fly around when you hit it.

 

[Aqua-Andy]

Fiskars wins it for the splitting ax category. If you are going to burn wood to heat your house I would highly consider a hydraulic splitter.

 

[earlthegoat2]

The tire trick has been around since tires....

 

[four.cycle]

"...always used either a maul or a wedge and sledge..."

^ Or a combination of all three. I think my mauls are 6-pounders.

Chopping block: about knee-high. Anything solid works. Around here, chop it all to pieces when you're done splitting, because it will be rotted out on the bottom next season.

Hickory or Ash handles. "Athletic tape" wrapped on the handle helps.

Sometimes a couple cheap bucking wedges come in handy when you're working with big stuff.

Never wear soft shoes when splitting wood. Never let anybody stand within 50 feet of your work area when you're splitting wood. Never split wood within 50 feet of a window or one of your vehicles.

 

[beakie]

Fiskars X32 or whatever size you like, best of both worlds for splitting.
light, well ballanced, lasts a long long time, hardly ever gets "stuck".

1. a maul is great for tough/knotty woods, but ***** *** when it's clean/green/cold wood... it's just wasted energy swinging around 2x or 3x the weight needed to do the job.

2. an axe is great for what a maul is not, but will get stuck in tough/knotty woods and you waste time & energy trying to get it out.

3. kindling is best left to a hatchet... but it's a learned skill to become proficient with one. easy to lose a finger getting brave with one, but once good it's easy to knock out plenty of kindling when need be.

4. a good height is whatevet works for you. some say on the ground, others like knee height or even higher.
me I like about 15" high, give or take whats available.

5. learn how to swing, it can make a huge difference in how much of a workout you get, how tiring it is, how sore you get, etc.

6. if you are chopping A LOT of wood, get yourself a hydraulic splitter. find a neighbour/friend who also has wood to split, and "split" on a machine.

 

[gdpolk]

I like to use a tree stump that is sawed off about 3-4" below my knees for my base. I have a couple of splitting mauls. One is a Kelly and the other is a HUGE monster maul. Keep it SHARP; it should be able to cut curls. This will make it bite and track better before the wood hits the cheeks of the maul and wedges the wood apart resulting in a much more efficient use of the tool. I use the monster maul for knotty or twisted grain because it slams through with more authority but for easier to split, straight grained woods I find the lighter maul to be less tiring and just as good. Learn proper technique and it'll save a lot of frustration.

 

[larry_g]

A lot of advise given but no one has asked the OP what wood is he splitting. So OP what wood are you working with and where in the world might this be? To the guy that said in the west wood must near fall apart, please come to my place and I'll put you on some that will change your mind. We have white oak that has grain running in all directions. Valley firs that are limbs/knots from trunk to top. 3'-4' in diameter. Maples that are just hard. I heat with wood and split most with a maul and wedges until a few years ago when I bought a 38 ton splitter. I've had a few pieces that have stopped it. They get cut with the saw. I've also cut some straight grained 2' or so firs that will split with a good hit, so I'm of the opinion that to some extent the wood your breaking up will dictate the splitting method you use.

5. learn how to swing, it can make a huge difference in how much of a workout you get, how tiring it is, how sore you get, etc.

My grandpa said you have to be smarter than the wood to split it. One thing most beginners do is hit the round dead center, wrong. Hit it near the edge and if that doesn't split it then the second hit is on the opposite edge. You also read the round to see if it already has a split in it to use and to know where the knots are so you split between them, not through them.

For the chopping block any big piece of wood will work. I personally prefer one that is not quite square. If the top surface is at a bit of an angle then if you have a round that is cut at a bit of an angle you can turn it till it will stand and not fall over.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[theoldwizard1]

Green wood split real easy at -10F !

 

[larry_g]

Green wood split real easy at -10F !

Not here, at -10f I'm inside sitting by the fire.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[four.cycle]

To the guy that said in the west wood must near fall apart, please come to my place and I'll put you on some that will change your mind.

Anyone like to try some nice dry Pacific Madrone?

Larry's mentioned some other good tips above - technique stuff. Learning where to hit the piece of wood and at what angle makes all the difference in the world.

 

[Ole Slewfoot]

I grew up in a wood heated house. each summer the routine was for a month, go out in the morning and cut down a tree, mostly oak, madrone, or manzanita, but it up, and haul to the woodpile.
Eat a hearty lunch.
And go split it, mostly with a maul, or later a hydraulic badass. Wood you can split with an axe burns too quick to be worth the work?
Chopping block, about knee high, ~24", no point in going bigger, but it will work fine.
Learn to do it ambidextrous, less fatigue and uneven muscle growth.

 

[rick carpenter]

You don't need to go with new unless you just want to or need one right now. There are plenty of good vintage axes and mauls around. Look for Collins, pre-Mexico Kelley (from what I've read), Keen Kutter, True Temper, Plumb, among others. I have a double bit Plumb, where one skinny profile bit is for cutting and the other fatter profile is for splitting, and a Luddell maul. If you buy vintage, I recommend replacing the handles. That is enjoyable work, plus you might not want to trust an old wooden handle. I've re-hafted hammers and my sledge hammers & axe & maul. Don't be scared to start off with just a rusted head that needs plenty of loving from a brass wheel either... BTDT.

For new, Council Tools has a good rep for reasonably priced tools. I would not buy a new $wedish axe but wouldn't hesitate to pay a little more than usual for used.

Google the USFS publication "An Ax to Grind", it's a good read with good info.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Fiskars X32 or whatever size you like, best of both worlds for splitting.
light, well ballanced, lasts a long long time, hardly ever gets "stuck".

1. a maul is great for tough/knotty woods, but ***** *** when it's clean/green/cold wood... it's just wasted energy swinging around 2x or 3x the weight needed to do the job.

2. an axe is great for what a maul is not, but will get stuck in tough/knotty woods and you waste time & energy trying to get it out.

3. kindling is best left to a hatchet... but it's a learned skill to become proficient with one. easy to lose a finger getting brave with one, but once good it's easy to knock out plenty of kindling when need be.

4. a good height is whatevet works for you. some say on the ground, others like knee height or even higher.
me I like about 15" high, give or take whats available.

5. learn how to swing, it can make a huge difference in how much of a workout you get, how tiring it is, how sore you get, etc.

6. if you are chopping A LOT of wood, get yourself a hydraulic splitter. find a neighbour/friend who also has wood to split, and "split" on a machine.

A really good post and I'd like to add to it.

An axe, maul, sledge/wedge, you might find it's best to have all of them on hand when you rendering trees into burnable size pieces. The hatchet or small axe does work on kindling, depending what you're splitting.

Height for the block is dependent on you. The taller you are, you find the taller block you want. A nice sized **** of a utility pole works nicely. Since it's soaked with creosote, it can sit outside for years and still be a great block season after season.

When you figure out your swing, stick with it and tell everyone around you to stay out of the way. Sometimes the kids or wife doesn't quite understand the damage of the swinging axe.

I love cutting wood but I prefer to split it with a splitter. Stick in the ear plugs and fire it up.

 

[scarrylarry]

Finally moved to the countryside and running wood burning stoves as a second form of heating. Looking to split logs into smaller pieces and also make kindling so looking for advice / recommendations on axes and chopping blocks.

So far i understand that the best chopping blocks are around knee height, approximately 400mm squared (16 inch squared) and ideally full of knots to make it more resistant to the inevitable hits it will receive.

What sort of size / style / weight should I be going for? Any help / tips / recommendations are greatly appreciated.

Also any wood store design tips would be very handy!

Good replies here 1 I would also check out ArboristSite.com a mother load of information there !
scarrylarry

 

[Captain Spaulding]

I heated my house exclusively with wood for many years, and 90% of it was split by hand by me.

I always had 4 tools with me when splitting:

A Monster Maul. Heavy as heck, but less work than lighter tools.

A standard wood splitter. Sometimes the sharper blade and higher speed worked better.

An ax.

A sledge with wedges.

Some woods work better with one over the other. Even some chunks of wood from the same tree like one over the others. The ax is nice to clean up when you are splitting stringy wood like white oak or ash.

The 10% of the wood I didn't split by hand was done by a neighbors hydraulic splitter. Any log that resisted me too much just got kicked aside to the pile to wait for the splitter.

Keep in mind that some wood splits better green and some better dry. Some better when cold.

Don't plan to split wood by hand all day. It's a lot of work. Half an hour or an hour at a time is plenty.

 

[st@rk]

Thanks for all the replies - great tips especially from Larry.

Had a brief hunt around for used axes; plenty available but none of any decent quality - sign of the times I guess. So I picked myself up two Fiskars; X11 and X21. Both are made for splitting and have a bit of weight but not too much so I'll see how I get on with them. Very impressed with the quality so should last me a long time.

In terms of wood I'm checking out what I can get at the moment; I'm in northern Scotland so wood is not in short supply - the limiting factor is my knowledge and what would be best to go for. It'll get delivered on the back of a tractor trailer so I'll only be splitting down small-ish rounds to a suitable size. I'll be doing my own kindling so the X11 should be good for that.

I've found a suitable chopping block in the garden so will pull it out at the weekend and set it up. How do most of you hold kindling work still as it gets smaller and smaller? Any techniques that will keep my fingers attached will be much appreciated!!!

Next on the to do list will be a log store...any design tips again much appreciated.

 

[ctb]

Green wood split real easy at -10F !

You should try it at -40F. Even the most gnarly, knotted up, twisted grain wood splits easily. And you don't feel the cold if you don't slow down!

 

[Bretny]

I recently got a fiskars splitting axe. Il never touch a splitting maul ever again. You can litteraly split a streight grain log while its laying down, 90* from how you would normally split a log. Its actualy faster and easier than useing my 30T 4 way log splitter.

Also i should note that if the wood has knots theres no way im splitting it by hand with any hand tool. Thats what they make log splitters for. if you want to wack away at the same log multiple times go for it but il use better means.

 

[1NRO]

I don't own one but am inclined to believe the hype.

https://leverax.com/

 

[zak77]

All i ever used for 30 years was a heavy maul and some wedges but now i use a hydraulic log splitter. I tried a fiberglass handled maul and felt it flexed too much when the wood was struck not transferring the power to the wood. I like a good hickory handled maul. I've tried chopping blocks but i get sick and tired of having to bend over after hit plus i dont find they add any more support than just the ground.

I guess your equipment and technique comes down to the size of the wood you're burning. The leveraxe looks like it's made to make kindling, not split a 14" round of red oak that's 24" long, which my splitter does with ease.

 

[Crazyjake8493]

I used a few different splitting mauls until I got the Fiskars splitting axe. Best tool I've ever used for splitting. Well balanced, lighter than most mauls but just as much power, easier to swing all day. I still keep one maul to use as a sledge for beating wedges in on knotty pieces.

 

[Jhoff310]

I heat with wood and I use a variety of mauls and splitting axes. I have a fiskars X27, a few fiberglass handled jobs and 2 home made mauls. The homemade mauls consist of a 12lb wedge head and steel pipe handle. I used to use sledge and wedges, but stopped using them. I got tired of them getting stuck, and having to burn them out.

 

[rlitman]

I heat with wood and I use a variety of mauls and splitting axes. I have a fiskars X27, a few fiberglass handled jobs and 2 home made mauls. The homemade mauls consist of a 12lb wedge head and steel pipe handle. I used to use sledge and wedges, but stopped using them. I got tired of them getting stuck, and having to burn them out.

Its easy for one wedge to get stuck. If you have a couple of extras though, it's easy to extricate it too.

 

[Coach James]

I have a Fiskars 3? lb maul that I use on small diameter pieces. For larger ones, I use an 8lb maul that I found somewhere I don't remember. The head was rusted, but the handle was okay. I cleaned the head a little, tuned the edge a bit and have been using it for 10+ years now.

For a chopping block, I just use a section of one of the trees I'm cutting up. Once it gets inn too bad a shape to keep using, I use a different tree section and split the old block up to go in the fire.

For kindling, I just use small twigs and strips of wood. I found several sections of fat lighter on our property when we moved in. Something else that works well too: Paper towels tubes stuffed full of dryer lint. Fill them until they are compacted very hard and they work great to start a fire.

Coach

 

[Semi-hole mechanic]

Split wood for years with an 8lb poly handled maul. Split everything from elm to red oak and even black locust.