Leveraxe

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You guys are a skeptical bunch. It aint cheap, but it's cool! No sucker or easy sell here, just a blacksmith who admires a cool hammer and wants to give it a go. My wood pile is mostly Sierra conifers that are well behaved. I like how this axe doesn't bury itself in the split like a maul, the top flange stopping the fall, so it doesn't fly through an easy split and dull itself on the dirty splitting block. It's unconventional, sure, but I like how the downward energy transitions to a lateral prying action. I think it'll do great on my wood. My collection of mauls and wedges will still get used in the dry elm, oak or pinon that I sometimes find. Of course, hardwoods split easier when green, but wood here in the dry west doesn't stay green for long so when I find it it's usually already dry and tough to split.

I watched the video's at the vipukirve website over the Christmas break. A loosened grip at the strike is needed. Some beginners (in the videos) seem to fight the rotating action. I loosen my grip at impact with my 6 and 8 lb mauls just to ease the shock, like you do when blacksmithing with a 3 lb hammer, so I think it'll work for me.

I've been considering getting a fast splitter, like a Super-Split; it's spendy, but 100% made in the USA (except for the engine), which I support. The leveraxe is 1/10 the cost of a SS. It isn't cheap, but small lot custom steel casting is expensive, unless the plant has no environmental regs and dirt cheap labor as in India or China.

Fiskars makes their axes in China now, I think; they are well made, like Chinese made Gerber knives (Fiskars owns them too), but that's how they can sell it in the US at such a low price. I've got an old Portland USA Gerber knife about 30 years ago, for about the same price as the new ones made in China today; 30 yrs of inflation about equals the cost savings of off shore production. If they were still made in the US, it would cost 3 to 4 times as much. I've got an old 1927 Little Giant power hammer; you can get cast steel replacement parts for it, made in USA; they aren't cheap, and the guy making them is just making a living, not getting rich. I've got a cast steel Nimba anvil made in Tacoma, WA; it wasn't cheap either. Labor costs, payroll taxes, and (usually) excessive government regs, environmental compliance, etc. is what makes USA stuff pricy, same goes for Finland I guess.
 
I'm also interested in the head weight, blade length and overall length of the head and handle.

What? You are going to steal this mans invention that he has worked years to develop? I think I smell a skunk here,, You are wanting to build them and sell them cheaper than Finland?
 
What? You are going to steal this mans invention that he has worked years to develop? I think I smell a skunk here,, You are wanting to build them and sell them cheaper than Finland?

Ding Ding Ding... You advance to the lightning round:clap:

I detect a little bit of a fishy aroma too.
 
No, I don't want to market a copy. Jeesh. You guys are a hard lot! Must be from Missouri or sumpin...

I just want to compare its weight with my other axes. I use an 8 lb (chinese) generic maul all the time, needed on dry pinon pine, and sometimes only the the triple wedge method will bust these rounds open (two from Japan, one USA made). I also use an old USA 6 lb maul on the easier stuff.

I do some hobby blacksmithing, and considered making a copy of this axe, just one mind you, for my own use! Use some heavy truck leaf spring for the body, forge it to shape, weld on a socket, build up the mass on one side, etc. But this would take a whole day in the shop, and I know the result wouldn't be nearly so pretty as Heikki's unit.

About 3 years ago they extended a road across the area south of the airport in Reno, and the city cut about 50 big old ~60 year old elms down. They even hauled some off to the dump I was told. They then bulldozed a bunch of logs into some large piles mixed with dirt. The local wood yards don't bother with elm, I guess due to its tough splitting. So a few locals went down and decided to help the city out, you know, save them the trouble of hauling this stuff to the dump. I started started cutting rounds out of the piles, dulling a lot of chain in the process. Dirty bark. This stuff is incredibly heavy when green, 24" OD x 16" rounds weighed like 200 lbs I'd guess. So over a months time I brought home about 8 (heavy) pick-up loads, maybe 6 cords. It's had 2 summers to dry, so last fall I went to split it. I gave up on my usual methods and borrowed a friends old splitter. Sometimes i didn't know what was breaking faster, the wood or the splitter. It is a 30 year old Monkey wards unit, a 3.5" cylinder I think. The sled under the pusher plate kept breaking bolts and galling on the Ibeam. Too short a sled, really. I had to replace the hydraulic pump, the reservoir, rebuild the cylinder, and did some welding/millng on the sled. I finally got it all split but it was a slow process.

So since then I've been looking at splitters, but I'm not too impressed with the stuff at Lowes, too many parts made in China, and they put the axle right where you want to stand on these vertical/horizontal units. I prefer horizontal with a table, that way you bend over just once per piece. So I quarter the big rounds on the ground manually. I prefer US made stuff, but this is hard to find, and when you do find it the prices can be scary, like the flywheel/rack/pinion SuperSplitter (~$3300 for HD model with outfeed table and shipping). It's made in the US, tho, so I'd have to factor that in. It's probably worth it for the speed/time savings over the next 20-30 years.

Having sat on the fence a while, I decided to just stick with my manual methods for the time being since most of what I can get is just conifer and not too challenging. But all this sweating over spending 2-3 grand on a power splitter sort of got me used to the sticker shock, so the leveaxe price doesn't seem so bad to me anymore. Sort of like looking at a new Dodge Ram 2500 w/ a Cummins, considering that sticker shock for awhile, then smiling at the price of a new Ford F150. It's all relative, ya know?

So does that leveraxe head weigh ~4 lbs like a Fiskars, or more like the usual 6 lb small maul?
 
Demo Leveraxe

I'm very interested in testing this unique axe. The idea is brilliant. I would love to try it out and give my honest comment/opinion regarding to this ax.
 
I'm very interested in testing this unique axe. The idea is brilliant. I would love to try it out and give my honest comment/opinion regarding to this ax.

Once you have been an active member for a year, you may be allowed to participate. The reason we have done this.. One newbie got the axe and failed to pass it on. A possee was sent in to retrieve the axe.
 
No, I don't want to market a copy.



I do some hobby blacksmithing, and considered making a copy of this axe, just one mind you, for my own use! Use some heavy truck leaf spring for the body, forge it to shape, weld on a socket, build up the mass on one side, etc. But this would take a whole day in the shop, and I know the result wouldn't be nearly so pretty as Heikki's unit.


Which one is it???
 
Missing LEVERAXE

It is very obvious that somebody has fallen in love with the LEVERAXE. That is why is seems to be confiscated again.
Of course it is understandable, but not fair for the others.
Best Regards
Heikki :confused::cry:
 
Even if it split EVERYTHING with ONE SWING I would not buy it.

It is too expensive. I have a $30 splitting axe and it works great. I also built a hydro splitter for less than twice the price of that twisteraxe thingy. I have yet to find a piece of wood that I can't split. The "safety factor" is null. That thing would do more damage to a leg than a normal axe because it is covered in points!!!! He says you are supposed to let go at the last moment....That is the last thing I would want to do with an axe.....if it misses/deflects you are toast. No way I would pay almost 300 clams for an axe anyway....

Hope the twistersplitter helps SOMEBODY catch fish... sorry to hear it is missing
 
Not-missing Leveraxe

It is very obvious that somebody has fallen in love with the LEVERAXE. That is why is seems to be confiscated again.
Of course it is understandable, but not fair for the others.
Best Regards
Heikki :confused::cry:

Cool your armpits. I got the Leveraxe. Where do you want me to send it next?
 
maybe send it to the GTG in Grantsburg.....

got till Saturday... I would kinda like to see it in person....
 
I tried it

Hi,

I originally read most posts on this site before trying the leveraxe, and even before trying the axe I found many inconsistancies in the postings.

Many complain that it cannot do all jobs, yet then brag about how many and what axes they own. This axe, as any other tool, is designed for a specific purpose. Hammers are the same way, ranging from a small Tinker Toy hammer to a large sledge hammer. Each is designed for a specific purpose.

This axe is not a felling axe, nor is it a splitting maul. It is designed to split wood into small segments, as FINLAND states.

Some of the postings also show the user does not know how to properly use the axe. That is expected, many do not know how to drive a car or use a chainsaw either. But not to rip on anyone. I have used this axe and I would like to give an evaluation from my point of view.

I personally met Heikki and used the axe with him. He demonstrated proper technique and form, and then gave a wood splitting demonstration.

I used the axe and found it a little different in that I wanted to grip the handle too firmly. This is a reflection of using axes and splitting mauls and being wary of the axe glancing off the wood and hitting the ground (dangerous for feet). Once I held the handle looser, I found the axe worked quite well. It is light, strokes downward were effortless and the wood split as advertised. Of course, if hitting in the center of the log, it did not fling pieces, but when following the explained technique, it worked amazingly well.

I found the axe easy to use, less work to use, and fun to use. Something about how the axe head rotates and flings the split wood to the side, all with a motion that cannot be seen, just something felt... it is fun.

No, I did not buy the axe. I have an axe at home, and as much as I was impressed with the axe, I have a wife who would not be impressed with the price tag... so it waits for more firewood to justify it.

I split mainly birch, but also some other woods. I split wood up to 16 inches or so long, and even larger in diameter. Some of the knots were over 4 inches and several pieces had multiple knots with twisted grain. Technique is important. As with your normal axe/maul, you try to relieve the pressure in the wood by splitting between the knots. Once the wood is opened, the wood splits like straight grained wood. Hard to explain if you do not know how to split wood (work smart, not hard) and only try brute force to split wood instead of examining the wood and hitting the weak points.

So, I am impressed with the axe for splitting wood. Not large logs, but splitting wood up to 16 inches or maybe a bit larger, I did not try it on longer chunks. Diameter is not an issue as the splits are from the side.

Safety is inherent in the design, I understand the principle and it seemed to work quite well.

Summary: This axe does what it is designed for. It is not designed to compete with an 8 lb maul splitting 25 inch long chuncks, but try to use that maul to compete with this axe and you lose. Only downside: price. It is easier to use than heavier mauls or normal axes, splits wood faster than them or electric log splitters, and gives some exercise.

Please ask questions, I will try to respond directly.

No, I do not own one nor have I been given any money for this review. Just my thoughts.
 
The price

It's a good axe. I like it. Let me know when the price drops 90% and I'll consider buying it.

I am sorry to say this, but do not even dream about it. The price may drop a little bit during the time being when I have found a proper manufacture in US, but so far I cannot effect to the price. Finland is possibly the most expensive country in Europe. We have rather good social security, salaries and high standard of living. This all costs money, even if you make LEVERAXES.
After a few months testing I expect you to be able to write a little wider about the LEVERAXE.
Who wants to be the next tester?
Over 4,5 years on the market. NO ACCIDENT. NO PROBLEM trees.

Enjoy your summer.
Regards Heikki :givebeer:--- :cheers:--- thank you
 

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