The Traveling Leveraxe/Leveraxe 2 Thread

[svk]

Received the LA back today. Judging by the wear on the paint you guys definitely put it through the paces.

A few over strikes were noticeable on the nylon collar. Also someone put it into something other than wood as evidenced by chips in the blade. The edge is still pretty good though as the head is pretty tough stainless steel.

The one troubling thing is that the head is quite loose again. It appears that as the head continues to dry and loosen up during use, the wood fibers may start to be crushed at the contact point, exacerbating the problem. I'll swell the head in water before I use it again.

 

[zogger]

Ya, too bad, and especially for the asking loot, that the handle isn't something exotic, maybe carbon fiber.

 

[Idahonative]

As with many things, simple and effective design usually wins out. With a splitting tool, moving parts aren't desirable. With that design, there will be pressure spots that take a beating over time. Simple is indeed better in this application.

Finland is not a sponsor on this forum, yet tries to get some free publicity to help sell his product (on multiple threads). What happened is it completely back fired on him. His arrogance towards other members is surprising since these are the people he is trying to sell his product to. But his total lack of respect for the forums staff is unbelievable. Staff tells him to not post again and what does he do? Yep, he turns right around and posts again.

Aside from my opinion that it is of poor design, I personally would never give this tool a chance strictly on developing a negative opinion of the person who is marketing it. Just my opinion.

 

[ziggo_2]

i think the loose head is just a matter of how it is attached to the handle. its just a poor way to attatch the handle and i think it will always be a problem. im guessing the leveraxe 1 doesnt have this problem, but i have no experiance with it to back up that claim

 

[Philbert]

Is the handle tapered? Can you slide the head down, wrap some tape or thin flashing around it, and slide handle back into place?

Philbert

 

[svk]

Is the handle tapered? Can you slide the head down, wrap some tape or thin flashing around it, and slide handle back into place?

Philbert

Sure, that would work.

I'm going to swell it for a couple days and see how well it holds. I do have the spare handle also.

 

[MechanicMatt]

Ya know steve, that thing has a wooden handle........I'm a bit surprised more folks didn't take a liking to it. And I gotta agree, finland sure could be a stuborn ole sob.

 

[svk]

Threw it into a bucket of hot water last night. I've never used hot water before but several people on here mentioned it so what the heck, worth a try.

Within 20 minutes the head was tight. Soaked for about 16 hours total. It feels like someone added a pound to the weight of the head so it must have pulled in quite a bit of moisture.

I should have some fresh frozen willow logs tomorrow to see what this thinks about frozen wood.

 

[Philbert]

If it is a wooden handle, couldn't you just drive in one of those small metal wedges used for axe heads? This soaking the handle thing has gotten old, and I have never even done it!

Philbert

 

[svk]

Well that's definitely on the list. I'm not sure how long the other guys soaked for. If you soak it for a half hour I'm not surprised it dried out in a few days. Most tools that I soak overnight last a few months at the least. Time will tell.

 

[zogger]

Well that's definitely on the list. I'm not sure how long the other guys soaked for. If you soak it for a half hour I'm not surprised it dried out in a few days. Most tools that I soak overnight last a few months at the least. Time will tell.

I wonder if you soaked it in something else you could get it to swell and stay swelled, not dry out? Some sort of wood preservative or perhaps use really hot water and stir in a lot of water soluble wood glue?

It just seems silly to have to keep doing it that way, seems some sort of modern chemistry should work.

 

[svk]

Not knowing enough about how that might work, I'd be worried that the glue would seal the end shut and make future efforts to swell it unsuccessful.

I'd think a standard wedge would solve the problem for good. But I don't want to mess with someone else's tool until I see how this works.

 

[svk]

Handle held tight but the Leveraxe didn't care for frozen curly willow. Tag team with LA and my $1 DBA. The double bit kept sticking so I used the LA to crack the wood and the DBA to open it up once cracked.

Seemed to take forever to split the couple straight rounds I got from tree. I noodled the rest.

 

[zogger]

Handle held tight but the Leveraxe didn't care for frozen curly willow. Tag team with LA and my $1 DBA. The double bit kept sticking so I used the LA to crack the wood and the DBA to open it up once cracked.

Seemed to take forever to split the couple straight rounds I got from tree. I noodled the rest.
View attachment 393856

Oh well, did you save one to try with the fiskars?

 

[svk]

Oh well, did you save one to try with the fiskars?

Nope they are all down the road. Wouldn't have been much of a challenge though.

 

[Idahonative]

Handle held tight but the Leveraxe didn't care for frozen curly willow. Tag team with LA and my $1 DBA. The double bit kept sticking so I used the LA to crack the wood and the DBA to open it up once cracked.

Seemed to take forever to split the couple straight rounds I got from tree. I noodled the rest.
View attachment 393856

I think there's been enough information presented to safely say the Leveraxe is DOA.

 

[zogger]

I think there's been enough information presented to safely say the Leveraxe is DOA.

That lightweight one is..lightweight. I still like the design idea though, but as shipped, short straight grained and some practice. Can't say as I would like it 250-350 bucks worth though.

 

[svk]

I think there's been enough information presented to safely say the Leveraxe is DOA.

The LA really shines in shorter, straight grained wood as described in earlier reviews before the banter picked up in this thread. But for tougher species or longer rounds, not so much.

I agree the price is an issue.

To echo the thoughts of others, I think the heavier original LA would have been a little better.

 

[Idahonative]

The LA really shines in shorter, straight grained wood as described in earlier reviews before the banter picked up in this thread. But for tougher species or longer rounds, not so much.

I agree the price is an issue.

To echo the thoughts of others, I think the heavier original LA would have been a little better.

And that is why I'm scratching my head. A five dollar yard sale axe will "really shine in shorter, straight grained wood". Just about anything will shine in short, straight grained wood so why would anyone even consider purchasing this axe at such a ridiculous price?

 

[svk]

And that is why I'm scratching my head. A five dollar yard sale axe will "really shine in shorter, straight grained wood". Just about anything will shine in short, straight grained wood so why would anyone even consider purchasing this axe at such a ridiculous price?

The price IS a big issue. I personally wouldn't spend that much on any splitting tool unless had a motor and hydraulic cylinder attached.

The difference between this and a regular axe is that the motion of the LA stops at the top of the wood whereas the axe travels through and sometimes get stuck in the chopping block. So you can split much faster because you don't need to pull the axe out of the wood every time. If a guy did kindling all day long or had to feed a little potbelly stove this would be a very handy tool.