Splitting/Chopping Tool Review Thread

[Cycledude]

After reading lots of Internet reviews I bought the Fiskars X27, the lifetime free replacement warranty was a big seller for me even though I have never broke a maul handle.
Is it the best splitting maul out there ? Maybe maybe not but it sure works great for me ! So far I've only split a little over a cord with it but I'm very satisfied.
Bought mine from Home Depot, $56 and free shipping.

 

[svk]

Finally got my 6# bash back from my friend's house this week. I'll put that up against the Fiskars and Husky as I finish off my wood processing year.

 

[Philbert]

Here is a rewiew of the 8 pound version by an A.S. member:



Philbert

 

[SteveSS]

Mine was no where near as sharp as the one in that video. I had to put a little work into getting an edge on mine.

 

[svk]

Here is a rewiew of the 8 pound version by an A.S. member:



Philbert

Nice video @maul ratt

How does this compare to the Big Ox maul you reviewed a year or so ago?

 

[Fordhighboy1]

Well boys I got a husqvarna S2800 and a 5 lb woodlandPRO axe for christmas. Now to go put them to enough use to give propper reviews though the little i have used the s2800 i feel it is better for me than the x27.

 

[Ronaldo]

Well boys I got a husqvarna S2800 and a 5 lb woodlandPRO axe for christmas. Now to go put them to enough use to give propper reviews though the little i have used the s2800 i feel it is better for me than the x27.

Nice Christmas gifts.

 

[Fordhighboy1]

Nice Christmas gifts.

They are, i also got 5 new woodlandpro saw chains of various link counts.

 

[backhoelover]

Here's the only recent picture I've got. My 8 lb maul is broken and the head is MIA in my garage. I think its under the radial arm saw table which is almost buried in wood scraps (which will be used for kindling this winter). I've got a new handle to put on once I unearth it.

This picture was from the Leveraxe test thread, the LA is the traveling one and not mine.

Left to right: True Temper Splitting Axe, True Temper 6# maul, and x27.

1) Splitting axe is a nice tool on straight grained stuff and easy to swing. Has it's limitations on tougher wood. True Temper factory handle is a little rough, could use some sanding and a coat of BLO but I don't use it much.
2)The maul works OK. Better on knotty stuff than the Fiskars but doesn't work nearly as well on green wood, tends to just stick in the round.
3) BEST SPLITTING TOOL EVER MADE BAR NONE.....Just kidding but do most of my work with this. Best all-around splitting tool I have used *up to this point*. Works great on most ash, aspen, maple, and birch which is 95% of what I cut.
4) (Not Pictured) 8 Lb maul, brand unknown. Looks just like the 6 but the head is blue. Performance similar to #2 but the extra weight tires you our faster. Works a little better on difficult pieces than #2 or #3.
5) (Not Pictured) "Kindling Axe". Basically a splitting axe like #1 with about 1/2 of the handle cut off. This is used to reduce splits to kindling, basically one handed operation on the axe and one setting wood on the chopping block. Not sure if others used something like this or not.
View attachment 380627

With that being said, I'd like to try out the "Big Ox" and also the higher end mid weight splitting tools.

can some one give me some info on the axe that is on the right never seen one of them also can you tell me what it is used for

TIA Jacob

 

[backhoelover]

 

[svk]

can some one give me some info on the axe that is on the right never seen one of them also can you tell me what it is used for

TIA Jacob

That's the leveraxe. Search the site, we have a long thread about it.

 

[backhoelover]

k ty

 

[gunnusmc03]

It's the 2nd iteration of the leveraxe

 

[svk]

Tested out the 6# Wilton Bash maul against the S2800 and X27 today. I've owned this since late summer but it was forgotten at my friend's house so I hadn't used it at all yet.

Granted I was only splitting one species but here are my thoughts after running them head to head.

The Wilton is a well built tool with a nice poll for driving wedges or whatever you might need to pound on. The handle is supposedly unbreakable. There appears to be some rubber insulation between the handle and head as there is a slight amount of wiggling if you have the axe stationary and put pressure on the handle i.e. when wiggling it out of a round. The factory edge was rounded off a little bit so a couple passes on the grinder had her looking good.

Performance wise in this splitting medium, I would rank it as equal to the Fiskars but it took noticeably more effort to achieve that performance. So while I will definitely keep this around for wedge duty or when I need a tool that can be pounded through difficult rounds, I wouldn't go out and buy one to replace my current lineup either.

Again the S2800 performed above the level of the other tools. It just splits with more authority and takes fewer swings to get the job done.

 

[zogger]

There's something about all these axes that bugs me, from an ergonomics and physics angle. If you look at most of them, the bottom outside edge is exaggerated, which to me, misses the aim of what is happening when steel meets wood the way humans work. The very farthest away edge, at the top, is the area with the most speed and kinetic energy during the arc of the swing. So why have the bottom edge hit first, and why exaggerate the weight there? nuts! It's the wrong place. It loses the advantage of the swing speed, and wastes the follow up follow through inertia. The outside, top edge should be exaggerated so it hits first and is "weighted" there,, *or*, they need to have a small tilt, approximately between 5 and 10 degrees, similar in theory to how a kukri chopping knife is tilted. With the tilt, then balance the blade exactly, no bias either way as the entire edge is presented at the same time.

 

[MustangMike]

I will have to give that Husky Axe a try, cause I just love the X27. It is the best hand tool for splitting that I have used in 40 years, but I will have to give those new ones a try. Too bad Spike60 did not have his GTG this year, I bet it would have been there.

 

[svk]

I will have to give that Husky Axe a try, cause I just love the X27. It is the best hand tool for splitting that I have used in 40 years, but I will have to give those new ones a try. Too bad Spike60 did not have his GTG this year, I bet it would have been there.

I'm curious what a tall, long armed guy like you would think about the S2800. The shorter handle does take some getting used to but boy does it split the wood.

We could always make the handle longer. I hear @Ambull01 mighy have a wheelbarrow handle we could use LOL

 

[benp]

Mine was no where near as sharp as the one in that video. I had to put a little work into getting an edge on mine.

That is how all of the edges were when I checked them out at the Acme Tools here. They all needed a bit of work for a good edge.

I'm curious what a tall, long armed guy like you would think about the S2800. The shorter handle does take some getting used to but boy does it split the wood.

We could always make the handle longer. I hear @Ambull01 mighy have a wheelbarrow handle we could use LOL

You and me both.

 

[Logger nate]

There's something about all these axes that bugs me, from an ergonomics and physics angle. If you look at most of them, the bottom outside edge is exaggerated, which to me, misses the aim of what is happening when steel meets wood the way humans work. The very farthest away edge, at the top, is the area with the most speed and kinetic energy during the arc of the swing. So why have the bottom edge hit first, and why exaggerate the weight there? nuts! It's the wrong place. It loses the advantage of the swing speed, and wastes the follow up follow through inertia. The outside, top edge should be exaggerated so it hits first and is "weighted" there,, *or*, they need to have a small tilt, approximately between 5 and 10 degrees, similar in theory to how a kukri chopping knife is tilted. With the tilt, then balance the blade exactly, no bias either way as the entire edge is presented at the same time.

Maybe that's why husky axe works well, short handle so far corner hits first? Hard to believe it's better than x27, sure like mine, might have to try the husky.

 

[Marshy]

Tested out the 6# Wilton Bash maul against the S2800 and X27 today. I've owned this since late summer but it was forgotten at my friend's house so I hadn't used it at all yet.

Granted I was only splitting one species but here are my thoughts after running them head to head.

The Wilton is a well built tool with a nice poll for driving wedges or whatever you might need to pound on. The handle is supposedly unbreakable. There appears to be some rubber insulation between the handle and head as there is a slight amount of wiggling if you have the axe stationary and put pressure on the handle i.e. when wiggling it out of a round. The factory edge was rounded off a little bit so a couple passes on the grinder had her looking good.

Performance wise in this splitting medium, I would rank it as equal to the Fiskars but it took noticeably more effort to achieve that performance. So while I will definitely keep this around for wedge duty or when I need a tool that can be pounded through difficult rounds, I wouldn't go out and buy one to replace my current lineup either.

Again the S2800 performed above the level of the other tools. It just splits with more authority and takes fewer swings to get the job done.
View attachment 473823

That Wikton Bash looks similar to the Fiskars splitting maul but with a shorter handle. @zogger, were waiting on your review of the Fiskars maul... What's it going to take, need us to come cut some rounds for ya?