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Splitting Axe


lord_seagrave
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i would go for a maul - you can get one in wickes for <£20 

since i swapped to a maul and not an axe for splitting its much much easier. I still use a hand axe for splitting kindling but for the big stuff i have used a maul for years and havent looked back 

just looked on wickes website and they do 2, a wood maul for £30 and a demolition maul for £20 - get the standard demolition maul 

https://www.wickes.co.uk/Wickes-Fibreglass-Powastrike-Builders-Demolition-Maul/p/190342

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3 hours ago, moondoggy said:

Not sure if you will be doing kindling chopping? But, this week, I have just bought one of these (as just before Christmas, I cut my thumb badly chopping kindling). https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OF_rac8FJVs

The one I bought was very similar off fleabay.

looks simple and easy, plus no missing fingers 👍 

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It all depends on wot ur splitting and the ammounts.

 

I have a roughneck maul which i did quite like and split of lot of timber with it BUT the Fiskars X27 is in a completely different league and is great value for the money.

U can quite literally swing it for hours almost effortlessly, i can fill a 6T dumper with it splitting in about 1hr, my best time was 45-50min but easy splitting timber.rolling down to me nicely

At the moment (my age/fitness) i'll split with that far faster than an electric splitter and even some tractor splitters with the set up i have (raised bench so splitting at waist hieght and all logs on the banking above, so no bending down all the time)

It swings so nice and seems so light i think it is the speed it generates.

I do find it struggles on big beech, but i call big beech 4ft rounds by 18" thick and my roughneck doesnae even look at them either.

I do meant to buy a better top end splitting maul sometime in the future

 

 

Plenty of other very good axes/mauls at the top money and some will be better for some timber than others.

There will be a massive difference between ur cheapy muals and ur top end 1's if u can swing it right in 1st place, if u can't u'll never apprecitate /notice it.( ie not catching shank on log by over swinging and always catching some of ur axe blode outside the timber, absolutley useless driving the axe head into the centre of the log)

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You need to consider the size of logs being split when deciding which tool is best.

I have found, if you are doing a lot of splitting of various diameters, you need a variety of tools.

There is an excellent book called ‘Norwegian Wood’. It covers all you need to know about firewood and the tools you need to process it. The Norwegians are perhaps the world’s leading authority on firewood and produce the most amazing wood stacks. Some are amazing works of art. It also tells you which woods are good for burning and which are poor.

 

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8 hours ago, moondoggy said:

You need to consider the size of logs being split when deciding which tool is best.

I have found, if you are doing a lot of splitting of various diameters, you need a variety of tools.

There is an excellent book called ‘Norwegian Wood’. It covers all you need to know about firewood and the tools you need to process it. The Norwegians are perhaps the world’s leading authority on firewood and produce the most amazing wood stacks. Some are amazing works of art. It also tells you which woods are good for burning and which are poor.

 

I'll second Norwegian Wood, if you've a love of (or even just an interest in!) firewood/stoves, it's a great read.  What I'd give to have a supply of wood, somewhere to store it, and stoves like some described...

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I use a roughneck axe or a maul depending on the wood.  If it's softwood or has any spongyness in it I find the depth of the cutting edge of the axe more effective as the maul can just bed in.

Up until last year my house was entirely heated by wood I sourced, cut and split myself and that combination worked for me for many years.  Personally I wouldn't want one without the other. 

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I have a selection of old wooden handled felling and splitting axes and old small hatchets for kindling. 

I also have a Bahco hatchet for kindling that is the worse axe I have ever handled , got it free when I bought a wood grenade. 

I have a FISKARS X17 which is genuinely fantastic. If the X27 is better it must be a great tool. 

I would love one of the trendy hand made Scandinavian ones mentioned. 

You can never have too many axes 

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It all depends on the quantities of stuff ur splitting  (just 1T a year or tonnes at a time) and the type of stuff ur splitting (length and thinckness of log, wood type/species)

Any axe will split small short logs esp if a nice strainght grainded timber like softwoods, ash or sycamore or sometimes willow.

Its a completely different thing when u get on to bigger rounds and knotter timber.

If u look at almost any video/clip of someone splitting logs (esp cheaper log splitters or axes) look at the timber, is usually nice straight timber so easily split so it makes there axe/machine look great.

I'm due a splitting session soon prob got 3 or 4 6T dumper loads sitting on the bench/banking  needing split

 

I had a roughneck maul and compared to the old felling axes i was using was brilliant BUT compared to the X27 it's rubbish, not tried any of better more expensive splitting mauls yet! But they will have they're uses.

I do admit the X27 struggles with big beech rings, but they are quite knotty and 3-4ft dai and 18" thick so pretty big rings really to be hand splitting but it does get there. When u put the woof grenade in it just gets stuck in the middle and does nothing

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On 17/01/2019 at 17:10, scotslad said:

It all depends on the quantities of stuff ur splitting  (just 1T a year or tonnes at a time) and the type of stuff ur splitting (length and thinckness of log, wood type/species)

Any axe will split small short logs esp if a nice strainght grainded timber like softwoods, ash or sycamore or sometimes willow.

Its a completely different thing when u get on to bigger rounds and knotter timber.

If u look at almost any video/clip of someone splitting logs (esp cheaper log splitters or axes) look at the timber, is usually nice straight timber so easily split so it makes there axe/machine look great.

I'm due a splitting session soon prob got 3 or 4 6T dumper loads sitting on the bench/banking  needing split

 

I had a roughneck maul and compared to the old felling axes i was using was brilliant BUT compared to the X27 it's rubbish, not tried any of better more expensive splitting mauls yet! But they will have they're uses.

I do admit the X27 struggles with big beech rings, but they are quite knotty and 3-4ft dai and 18" thick so pretty big rings really to be hand splitting but it does get there. When u put the woof grenade in it just gets stuck in the middle and does nothing

We had this kind of quantity to do last year. And after a bit of sweat and obscenities especially with knotty timber 400 quid was spent on a 10t hydraulic splitter for the tractor. I do the chainsaw work now and dad does the splitting. 👍

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Took delivery of my new X27 this afternoon, having ordered it from https://www.ffx.co.uk/tools/product/Fiskars-Fsk122503-6411501225030-X27-Splitting-Axe-Xxl?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIvujrl7Tp3wIVEInICh12LAzDEAQYCSABEgLpUPD_BwE

Bearing in mind I have got nothing to compare it to, I have to say I’m pretty astonished at how easily it splits conifer logs (about 10” in diameter). I only did about 20 minutes, but it was effortless, and deeply satisfying. It’s a shame it looks so plasticky though 😞

Anyway, I’m only sorry I’ve got so few logs to chop. If anyone wants a hand - I would be delighted to pop round with my new toy! :lol:

LS

 

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On 12 January 2019 at 21:47, Muddy Funker said:

Roughneck, from screwfix.

Get the kit with comes with maul, hatchet and wood grenade (wedge)

Cheap and works, had mine 2 years with lots of use still works.

That's the one, mine is 5 years old and still going strong,

 

the wood grenade got binned, it was biz, lol lol

 

flynny

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On ‎12‎/‎01‎/‎2019 at 19:25, Mice! said:

I bought one of these a few years ago, nothing special fibre glass handle i think.

question, should it be sharpened like an axe?

also bought a splitting wedge, never really used either much.

No, keep it blunt,more trauma = splitting force,sharp = stuck.same with kindling axe.

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3 hours ago, flynny said:

the wood grenade got binned...

In the past I just used a normal felling axe, but this autumn I bought a Roughneck wood grenade to split some very tough timber with twisted grain and many knots.   It did a wonderful job, for at least half an hour, and then the tip snapped off.    A subsequent web search revealed that my experience was not unique.  

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The original OP  was for an axe to split logs

Do'nt think it was angled at some expensive log splitting machines on the back of tractors

Best hand axe you can get ( if possible ) is an old one with an hickory shank   The metel is by far more superior to modern steel

I have two and must've  been  handed down through generarations and do the job perfect

Go round some sales or car booties and you'll pick one or two up cheap as chips

Let's face it the young generation would'nt know what it's for or how to use one, let alone any other hand tool  unless it has a key pad and a battery

Edited by sabel25
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1 hour ago, sabel25 said:

The original OP  was for an axe to slit logs

Do'nt think it was angled at some expensive log splitting machines on the back of tractors

Best hand axe you can get ( if possible ) is an old one with an hickory shank   The metel is by far more superior to modern steel

I have two and must've  been  handed down through generarations and do the job perfect

Go round some sales or car booties and you'll pick one or two up cheap as chips

Let's face it the young generation would'nt know what it's for or how to use one, let alone any other hand tool  unless it has a key pad and a battery

I’ll definitely keep an eye out for the real thing. I love old tools - must be why I hang around on PW so much!

A little hand axe for kindling would be just the job...

LS

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For kindling ur almost as well just with a wee cheapy axe and keep it sharp as chances are u'll be dealing with altready split fairly short straight grained timber most likely soft wood so ur not going to need an expensive axe.

But I have thought about treating myself to a small fiskars but to be honest my small axes do pretty well dunno if i'd notice any benefit (althou thats wot i thought before i got my big fiskars too)

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