Buying A Axe for Splitting Oak Firewood

[Slade McCuiston]

Well, my first question would be what kind of oak??

If it's Red Oak, and the rounds don't go any larger than 20-inches I'd say a splitting ax (like the Fiskars, for one) would do the job for you. But if it's one of the White Oaks, especially Bur Oak, you'll want a maul to halve them before switching to the ax. Mauls can commonly be had from 4 to 12 pounds, with 6 or 8 being the best all-'round. If you haven't done any maul swinging go with the 6-pounder; the 8 will work you rather than you working the maul. My 8# maul is old, really old, and the lettering is long gone... I haven't used any of the "box-store" mauls marketed today so I can't help you with any choices. If you know good steel when you see it and feel it, hit some flea markets and pick-up an oldie-but-goodie... and put a new handle on it. Be aware, you'll need a bit of learning time to make either work correctly, and it takes a bit of a technique change going from a maul to an ax... you don't swing them quite the same

Exactly my experience on Red Oak. I dropped a large tree that I (shame on me) didn't measure... but it was over 30"... and the Fiskars just couldn't bust it. Now, I believe the Fiskars is a miracle tool... but that was definitely pushing it. So, I cleaved the rounds in half with a maul... then, the Fiskars shined for the rest of the splitting.

 

[cheeves]

Can anyone recommend a brand name of axe for splitting oak firewood? I was going to get one from tractor supply. Thought I'd check here first to if brand name and type of axe matters any?

After my old fabulous 7# Stanley was stolen this past winter my wife bought me some old mauls on Ebay from a guy in Oregon. Two were real close to my old Stanley. You want them shaped like a skinny A! Sharpen it up and you're good to go.
Almost bought a Fiskar's X27, but haven't yet.

 

[andydodgegeek]

Fiskars x27 for anything under about 16 inches, and a ported 064 Stihl (or other ported 85+cc saw) for ripping the big ones in half.

 

[svk]

Another vote for Fiskars x27. A real game changer in medium to large logs that aren't twisted or exceptionally gnarly.

As mentioned for the really big and or nasty stuff the Fiskars is no better than a maul. Noodle them or pound a maul or wedge through it.

 

[Whitespider]

As mentioned for the really big and or nasty stuff the Fiskars is no better than a maul.

I must disagree, the Fiskars is much worse than a maul for really big and or nasty stuff.
I've halved lots of really big and or nasty stuff with just one, or maybe two, good whacks with the 8# maul that the Fiskars couldn't touch with several swings.
It's about using the correct tool for the job at hand... sometimes the ax (Fiskars or otherwise) is not the correct tool and the maul is. Sometimes ya' just need that added momentum the heavier maul provides to keep it moving into and through the wood.

 

[nathon918]

This is all I have right now for splitting white oak firewood.

ive got one of those too, i can send you mine it has about the same amount of rust as that one, then you can have 2, cutting your splitting time in half... no? .
theyre a good idea, as they dont get stuck in some wood like normal wedges, but they are a :censored: to get started, or you get 1 hit and it flys out of the log:bang: mine still has most of the original paint on it, that tells you how much it gets used...

 

[svk]

I've halved lots of really big and or nasty stuff with just one, or maybe two, good whacks with the 8# maul

If you can halve stuff that I consider big/nasty with two swings from a maul than I will put up as much beer and good food as necessary to get you to come up to my place and help me split

 

[Saddle Mander]

I see a lot of guys suggesting the X27 all the time. I have one and it is great but for ME I much prefer the X25. I use a tall chopping block so maybe that is it but it would be worth handling both if possible before you buy. Then again they are cheap enough you could own both if you initial purchase doesnt suit you. BTW I am 6'1" and I still prefer the 25 to the 27 so its not all about height. I got a buddy thats 6'6" and he likes the 25 as much as the 27 too so its not just me. Either way get the fiskars.

The x25 certainly flies through the air (and round) like it is weightless.

 

[Whitespider]

L O L !

I have one big/nasty sittin' next to the old hog barn that I've beat on with the maul likely over 200 times... every once-in-a-while I drag it out and beat on it a few times, and usually the maul just bounces off. It's a 4-limb crotch from an old gnarly Bur Oak... about 18 inches long, 30 inches diameter at the "crotched limbs" end, 22 at the other end. It's way, way too heavy to put on the splitter, and has a big hunk of metal something embedded in it... I'd noodle it, but the damn thing has already cost me one chain. I suppose I could start slabbing pieces off the sides if I really wanted to... but I've decided I'm gonna' halve that POS if it takes the rest of my natural born. Just flat stubbornness, both me and it... but I'll win one of these days, even if I end up chopping through it an eighth-inch at a time.

 

[CoolCat44]

I have the F27 but I still like my Gransfors better!

Gransfors Bruks Large Splitting Axe - The Canadian Outdoor Equipment Co.


The making of, very interresting :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbCpDsxUHVc

 

[turnkey4099]

I must disagree, the Fiskars is much worse than a maul for really big and or nasty stuff.
I've halved lots of really big and or nasty stuff with just one, or maybe two, good whacks with the 8# maul that the Fiskars couldn't touch with several swings.
It's about using the correct tool for the job at hand... sometimes the ax (Fiskars or otherwise) is not the correct tool and the maul is. Sometimes ya' just need that added momentum the heavier maul provides to keep it moving into and through the wood.

Very well said. There is no tool that will do everything. A basic arsenal for wood splitting is:

X27 or other quality splitting ax
6-8 lb maul
Wedge/sledge
Hookeroon

Harry K

 

[BillLion]

Very well said. There is no tool that will do everything. A basic arsenal for wood splitting is:

X27 or other quality splitting ax
6-8 lb maul
Wedge/sledge
Hookeroon

Harry K

Agreed. I have piles of sugar maple and red maple to cut and split in my yard. Yesterday my 8 lb maul worked much easier on the sugar maple than the Fiskars, but the Fiskars went through the red maple like butter even though the wood humbled my maul.

Fiskars IS amazing, but not for all types of wood.

 

[Whitespider]

Yesterday my 8 lb maul worked much easier on the sugar maple than the Fiskars...

I learned the same thing.
The Fiskars splittin' ax ain't the correct tool for splittin' hard maple...

 

[davbell22602]

So will Fiskars work on white oak? Isn't oak a harder wood than hard maple?

Sent from my XT881 using Tapatalk 2

 

[zogger]

So will Fiskars work on white oak? Isn't oak a harder wood than hard maple?

Sent from my XT881 using Tapatalk 2

Splitting by hand, you will wind up using splitting axe, sharp maul, sledgehammer and wedges. All of the above. It goes tree by tree. Even within the same species you can have individual trees that are radically different in split-ability.

So..just get the tools and be done with it. On a budget, mauls/wedges and sledghammers can be scored at the scrap yard/yardsales/ craigslist, etc. then use a grinder and files to get them in shape. Fiskars axes not so much, not yet anyway, not that I have seen yet on the used market.

 

[farmboy53]

Works great

chopper 1 usa splitting maul

http://img0113.popscreencdn.com/162369761_chopper-1-usa-axe-maul-log-splitter-tool-w-32-wooden-.jpg

https://www.google.com/search?q=cho...u&sa=X&ei=58hBUriTNoTj2QXbyoDYDg&ved=0CCkQsxg

 

[trailmaker]

I own many splitting axes and mauls. Gransfors, Wetterlings, many no name 6 & 8 pound mauls, 12 pound mega maul, all Fiskars models, True Temper "super splitter" and lots of others. My favorite when using a splitting block is the original Fiskars "Super Splitter". They still pop up on ebay occasionally. My favorite for splitting rounds on the ground is the True Temper "Super Splitter" which has the same head design as the axe in 7sleepers link. Like 7sleeper I sharpened mine and changed the profile slightly (I used a hand file). I also "polished" the sides to reduce friction.

 

[Whitespider]

So will Fiskars work on white oak? Isn't oak a harder wood than hard maple?

"Hard" isn't what makes wood difficult to split... if it has clean, straight grain even the "hardest" will normally split nicely.

Many elms are difficult to split because the grain twists, curves, turns and interlocks forcing you to rip and tear the fibers to split it... they're sort'a like one big-azz crotch.
Hard maple is a bit stringy (crooked grained), but they also tend to lose a lot of branches and limbs as the grow, leaving a lot of knots internally that the grain has to grow around... causing it to twist, turn and interlock.
The grain of White Oaks isn't as straight as Red oaks, and some (such as Bur Oak) also get many knots... sometimes White oak can be worse to split than many elm.
Red Oak, on the other hand, tends to grow relatively straight and clean... often the split surface will be near mirror flat.

But any individual tree can grow-up to be very difficult to split, especially those exposed to a lot of wind and storms. Out here on the eastern edge of the Great Plains even the ash (supposedly, according to many, a dream to split) can get all stringy and tough to split... every ash I've cut out here has required the hydraulic splittin' machine for at least some of it (well... 'cause i ain't gonna' wedge and sledge, I'm too friggin' old and wore-out for that).

 

[nathon918]

L O L !

I have one big/nasty sittin' next to the old hog barn that I've beat on with the maul likely over 200 times... every once-in-a-while I drag it out and beat on it a few times, and usually the maul just bounces off. It's a 4-limb crotch from an old gnarly Bur Oak... about 18 inches long, 30 inches diameter at the "crotched limbs" end, 22 at the other end. It's way, way too heavy to put on the splitter, and has a big hunk of metal something embedded in it... I'd noodle it, but the damn thing has already cost me one chain. I suppose I could start slabbing pieces off the sides if I really wanted to... but I've decided I'm gonna' halve that POS if it takes the rest of my natural born. Just flat stubbornness, both me and it... but I'll win one of these days, even if I end up chopping through it an eighth-inch at a time.

"too heavy to put on the splitter"
what happened to youre worlds greatest splitter with the beam that flips over around the log???

 

[Whitespider]

I guess you'd have to see exactly how that thing "flips over around the log" nathon.
We're talking about a crotch piece with metal in it, 30-inches at one end, a bit over 20-inches at the other. I'd need to get it set to follow the grain on one part of the crotch, and control it, and keep it from squirting out... it ain't a "log", it's a big nasty hunk of twisted, gnarled wood.