My dads old axe that I have split wood with for years 25 years has a crack in the eye and I'm thinking about buying a new one .
Does anyone have any recommendations on what's the best out there ? I've been looking at a council tools 3.5 jersey classic but I've heard that the fiskers splitting axes work really good but I can't get past the non traditional look of it . Im kinda stubborn about changes . I'm open to suggestions, I want something well made and balanced and preferably American made .
I've got a 6 or 8 lb maul that I used a LOT when I had the ranch. Man, that is a lot of work and having to rescue it with a splitting wedge... I recently picked up (3 years ago?) a Fiskars X25 and love it. If I were to do it over, I'd get an X27. I get less tired with the Fiskars and can split about the same wood as the maul (oak, aspen, pine). After seeing some posts here, I might start making "designer" firewood with the mill. :D
Been debated on this forum before I believe (see Fiskars axe?), so just to refresh: Fiskars-plastic handle, lightweight, wedge shape axe/maul head, not USA, not sure about balance point. Council-wooden handle, heavier, traditional head, US made, balance point about 1 1/2" below head(w/ 36" straight handle). I know people who have one or the other, nothing negative to be said about either. Personally I prefer the wooden handle for shock absobtion. Both kinds of handles can be broken.
I won't try to talk you out of stubborn.We have both kinds here,wooden handled and the Fiskars 27.So if I'm feelin' modern I grab the Fiskars if I'm feelin' traditional I grab the wooden handle.I just checked with my wife and she likes the Fiskars,she splits a lot of wood for our cookstove and I'm talking rock maple,beech,and yellow birch.My favorite is the Supersplitter.
My new Fiskers x27 was on the porch from Amazon when I got home tonight . I bought it after reading all the rave reviews on here. It feels good . I did split one piece o cherry in the dark before I came in . Didn't break the handle yet ! ;D
I use both also depending on my mood also.
all I can say is my son has been using the X27 for about 6 months now and it still has a handle in good shape . he is usually very hard on wooden handles . I used to buy sledge/maul handles by the 6 pack .
I'm a traditionalist. My go to is a Gransfors Maul. https://www.gransforsbruk.com/en/product/gransfors-splitting-maul/ If i were to buy new i would go that direction but Liam Hoffman makes some amazing tools as well. They're expensive but look to be of great quality, hand forged in the US and beautiful. http://www.hoffmanblacksmithing.com/axeordering/ I want a Hoffman in a bad way but the sticker is still hard for me to swallow.
Quote from: breederman on January 04, 2017, 06:11:55 PM
My new Fiskers x27 was on the porch from Amazon when I got home tonight . I bought it after reading all the rave reviews on here. It feels good . I did split one piece o cherry in the dark before I came in . Didn't break the handle yet ! ;D
you are going to like it just watch your toes when splitting wood laying down I cut a new pair of shoes and got my toe just enough to make my sock red :o :)
I have a Fiskars X25 and love it. I can split far more wood with it without getting tired than I can with either of my mauls. I only hand split about a cord a year (the rest goes on my hydraulic splitter), but the Fiskars is what got me back into hand splitting at all.
Looks like there are lots of nice options out there but the ones I really like are very expensive I could get the council and the fiskers for less than many of the others . But they would be nice .
Get a nice "Rafting" axe head off of ebay. 4-5lb. Put a nice straight grained hickory handle in it and enjoy splitting with pride and ease.
Read here, http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/recreational_trails/publications/fs_publications/99232823/toc.cfm
It will have a very thick pair of cheeks and split very well. They are not a chopper/faller but for splitting and driving wedges.
Plastic is for garbage bags, not hand tools.
Quote from: Chop Shop on January 06, 2017, 12:01:52 AM...Plastic is for garbage bags, not hand tools.
I've been a big fan of wood handled tool for most of my life (at least the ones with handles made by someone who knows what they are doing - which is usually not the case for a certain mass-market mail order place whose name shall not be mentioned).
However, Logrite converted me with their aluminum-handled peaveys (though those are not impact-related tools). I've also never used a hand-splitting tool that works better for me than the Fiskars splitting axes. I'll look at wooden handles and US made first, but I will take quality and a top-notch design wherever I can get it. Having used the Fiskars splitting axe, I'm not going back to my old tools.
It would be interesting to try a Fiskars head on a good wooden handle, but I suspect it would change the balance significantly. I'm not sure how much of an issue that would be, but it would be an interesting experiment. Maybe someday if I ever brak the handle on my axe, I'll see if I can fit a wooden one on in its place.
there is no hole in the fiskars head to put a wooden handle the fiskars handle is wrapped around the head just brake the handle and take a look :)
Fiskers x27 is my choice the x25 is a bit short it stays in the camper.. If the x27 won't split it the saw will.
fiskers for me , turned a few friends on them too . I've alaways been a fan of old school axes until I got my X25 four years ago and I hand split 8 cords a year.
Well I broke down and got the jersey classic and I'm really happy with it but I'll probably go ahead and get the fiskars sometime before long too .
For 6 years I hand split 4~5 Fed Cord a year with an X27, sledge & wedge. Could mange about a 1/3 cord an hour with the Fiskars in nice splitting ash. I love that axe. Performance wise it compares nicely to the Chopper 1 (anyone remember the Chopper 1?) I used years ago "back when I was your age" ;)
2 years ago I bought (stole might be more accurate) a used hydraulic for not a lot more than some of these specialty axes cost. The hydraulic can manage about 1/3 cord an hour regardless of the wood being nice or difficult to split.
I still get the exercise, my main purpose for cutting wood, but my old joints and bones don't ache from the jarring. I can get up the next day and split more wood instead of spending time recovering from the previous day's abuse.
If you're going to split wood, watch for a good used hydraulic (or even new) splitter. You're young now, in 20 years, you can thank me.
I admire people that split wood by hand not me. I have spent too many years doing maintenance work in one form of another and my old body doesn't like swings things any more. We burn 15 cord a year in my Garn and just getting that ready with a hyd splitter is enough.
We burn 15 cord a year in my Garn and just getting that ready with a hyd splitter is enough.
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Well I live in the south and it only takes me about 6 ricks (face cords) to get through a winter and I might cut a little for camp and the neighbors so maybe I split 3 or 4 cord in a year max or o might get a hydraulic splitter. When I was a kid I cut a lot more but there are not a lot of people who burn wood around here anymore.
I have been debating on buying a Fiskars ax since the reviews on here. I was in the local WalMart the other day and they were clearing out the garden center for "Back to School" supplies. There was a Fiskars splitting ax on the clearance rack for $21.00 dollars. It is now in my truck. I went back yesterday and there was a chopping ax with a $19.00 price tag. It is now under the back seat of my truck. Time will tell how well they work.
Wudman
Fiskars seems to have two different lines of splitting axes. One is the X25/X27 (and is orange &a black). The other is less expensive (and all black, if I remember correctly). I'm not really sure what the difference is.