I also liked the technique how he sharpened his axe prior to the race.
beer and firewood splitting
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MechanicMatt
Cut Split Stack Burn
Did you guys see that lady was driving a mustang? Yeah Im a car nut too......
stihly dan
Addicted to ArboristSite
If Tom used a tire he would have been faster.
Right away. I owned a 87' and 90' GT at one time and can spot a fox body from miles.
MechanicMatt
Cut Split Stack Burn
Me too Steve 85 86 89x2 92 2000 and two fox t-birds
Someday...93' cobra
blacklocst
ArboristSite Guru
Not taking any thing away from Tom Clark, that guy could really make splits fly , but the two guys with the hydraulic splitter looked like the keystone cops and that splitter was slower than molasses running uphill.
zogger
Tree Freak
Somewhat. They were milking it out though, fast on the levers, no wasted space on the beam, etc.
benp
Addicted to ArboristSite
Yes, that is exactly it, that little flick at the last second. He was a blacksmith, that is his home made axe, obviously sharp......technique is vital using a splitting axe. Mauls rely on heavy weight, splitting axes on speed AND technique.
So far (hear them horns tootin in the background?) as far as I know, I am the onliest dude here to replicate the match splitting long ways trick.
I am NOT a big guy, I am slight, and short, I HAVE to rely on speed, accuracy, reading the wood, etc to split wood by hand. Of course, some times I can get tarded, blowing my elbow out this summer was 100% tard on my part.
Dang Zog. Nice.
All I have to my credit is splitting a piece of quasi froze red oak last year or the year before with a handle hit. Blew right apart. I raffed.
Gotta love the fiskars handle. No way I could own any of the fancy splitting axes, I would consistently wreck handles between overstrikes and pry baring to get the split apart.
I agree. They were efficient and running tight on the splitter. At least everyone kept their superficial ganglions out of harms way. That was a quasi set up for nubby fingers.
Also, that splitter was 70's - 80's technology. They used what they had. Not the fancy stuff we have available today.
This was on the phony baloney reality show That's Incrediable , that guy swings a man axe but this contrived compatition was nothing more than a skit.
zogger
Tree Freak
Well, there are at least two guys here who actually knew him back then, perhaps they will see this and comment.
I was not there. The crowd liked it, the eye witnesses, and to be fair, two guys and a splitter against one guy. think about if it had been one guy with the splitter against him.
I will contend, a reasonably proficient dude with a sharp splitting axe in clean straight wood could very easily beat one guy with an off the shelf entry level hydraulic splitter, at least for a short duration, say 1/4 to 1/3rd cord, perhaps even beyond that, given his condition as "real good athlete" level.
I was not there. The crowd liked it, the eye witnesses, and to be fair, two guys and a splitter against one guy. think about if it had been one guy with the splitter against him.
I will contend, a reasonably proficient dude with a sharp splitting axe in clean straight wood could very easily beat one guy with an off the shelf entry level hydraulic splitter, at least for a short duration, say 1/4 to 1/3rd cord, perhaps even beyond that, given his condition as "real good athlete" level.
To be completely fair he should have had another guy setting logs for him.
blacklocst
ArboristSite Guru
Ya think so? It was a year or two ago that I last saw the video. I might have to got back and watch it again.
After 8 hours, I would put my money on the splitter.
I doubt that Tom Clark was splitting this elm tree:
or this one:
But, on the other hand, I was rather impressed at his work. Regardless, I have never heard of a professional wood splitter. I suppose I was a "professional" when I split my own firewood and heated my house with it. Nobody ever paid me a dime to split wood by hand, and practically nobody pays me anything today to split it with a power splitter.
or this one:
But, on the other hand, I was rather impressed at his work. Regardless, I have never heard of a professional wood splitter. I suppose I was a "professional" when I split my own firewood and heated my house with it. Nobody ever paid me a dime to split wood by hand, and practically nobody pays me anything today to split it with a power splitter.
zogger
Tree Freak
I doubt that Tom Clark was splitting this elm tree:
or this one:
But, on the other hand, I was rather impressed at his work. Regardless, I have never heard of a professional wood splitter. I suppose I was a "professional" when I split my own firewood and heated my house with it. Nobody ever paid me a dime to split wood by hand, and practically nobody pays me anything today to split it with a power splitter.
My hand split wood just bought me today two brand new Kenda mud tires for my k10 chebby, with enough left over for rear brake shoes and some other do dads.
Am I a professional hand splitter?
As to the elm, man, I split a lot back in the day with a regular axe, it sucked!!! That DE disease was offing huge trees all over and no one wanted them, but..move in someplace right before winter and no wood, you do what ya gotta do...Cut that huge nasty hard twisty mutha with a crosscut! And a bunch more that were only 1-3 foot, but that one monster was five foot diameter.... I did it, but man..most work for BTUs evah....have a buncha elm now, but the longest is 12 inches.
I have HUGE MAMBO respect for our ancestors who had no gas powered nuthin'..
zogger
Tree Freak
Here is the other Tom Clark vid, more detail on technique, the axe, etc
Chris-PA
Where the Wild Things Are
Splitting matches is old hat - I wish I could find the pictures from this old thread when I split a fly, but I seem to have lost them. http://www.arboristsite.com/community/threads/splitting-axe-vs-fly.231234/
They've gotta be on a drive somewhere. Too many recycled old PC's - I'll find them eventually.
EDIT: Found it!
Thats like saying hand sawing is faster than using a chainsaw.
That's like saying apples are the same as oranges.
Back when, I sold hydros.
Never did like being bathed in the exhaust, nor jackazzing one into the woods to bust up big rounds. Saws I had back then weren't really enthusiastic about noodling big stuff. (Learned gradually.) So I put some hours on a Bradlees' special 6 lb maul- blunt trauma tool.
Having seen how well a REAL (sharp & properly shaped) maul can work, for some years they've been my tool of choice for splitting all sorts of wood. Heaviest usable size IMO is 3 kg (6.6 lb) maul- great for busting up nasty oak, ash, cherry, black birch. For most run-of-the-mill NE hardwoods, 2.5 kg (5.5 lb) Wetterlings or 6 lb Council Tools mauls get it done.
Council Tools 6 lb maul, $25 delivered from Bailey's, is a welcome addition. Very good metallurgy (alloy, forging, heat treatment), required very little work with sanding drum in a dremel around the edge to make it lethal. Its poll shows no evidence of its use.
Sometimes a resistant knot at the far end of a split will yield to a quick hit on a bandsaw. Later.
Bad knots visible externally, or forks get a bit of noodling before getting hit with a maul. After sitting in the "Group W" pile.
Oh yeah, I use an axe for splitting, but only for wee stuff, and some kindling. I do none of this as work, rather than as sport. It's fun.
Never did like being bathed in the exhaust, nor jackazzing one into the woods to bust up big rounds. Saws I had back then weren't really enthusiastic about noodling big stuff. (Learned gradually.) So I put some hours on a Bradlees' special 6 lb maul- blunt trauma tool.
Having seen how well a REAL (sharp & properly shaped) maul can work, for some years they've been my tool of choice for splitting all sorts of wood. Heaviest usable size IMO is 3 kg (6.6 lb) maul- great for busting up nasty oak, ash, cherry, black birch. For most run-of-the-mill NE hardwoods, 2.5 kg (5.5 lb) Wetterlings or 6 lb Council Tools mauls get it done.
Council Tools 6 lb maul, $25 delivered from Bailey's, is a welcome addition. Very good metallurgy (alloy, forging, heat treatment), required very little work with sanding drum in a dremel around the edge to make it lethal. Its poll shows no evidence of its use.
Sometimes a resistant knot at the far end of a split will yield to a quick hit on a bandsaw. Later.
Bad knots visible externally, or forks get a bit of noodling before getting hit with a maul. After sitting in the "Group W" pile.
Oh yeah, I use an axe for splitting, but only for wee stuff, and some kindling. I do none of this as work, rather than as sport. It's fun.
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