Fiskars X27 What a Piece of Plastic

[Freakingstang]

Sorry, didn't know they came with a 36"
I'll go crawl back under my rock. Lol

Hey John, the X25 is 27 or 28".. I bought that one first and about chopped my leg off a couple of times. I split like you do, chop up the tree and stand the rounds up and start cracking... the X25 is meant to be used with a splitting block I think. you know me, I'm a skinny little **** at 5'9". I prefer the X27 (same head, but 36" handle. It works extremely well if you learn to use it. If you just try to beat it like a maul, you'll likely not like it. I swung a 16lb monster maul for years and a 6lb maul that was dads. I still use the maul and edges on some of that nasty elm, but 98% of my splitting comes from the X27 nowadays. I like it so well, that I bought a spare when tractor supply clearanced them out a few years ago. Sold the X25 to my brother since he's a sawed of ****. Some love the fiskars, some hate them. I love mine, Although, I got a nice 5lb gransfor Bruk felling head from the scrap yard a few weeks back and looking forward to making it work. I want to try that husqvarna splitting axe, if they made one that wasn't for midgets.

 

[gunnusmc03]

When using axes with shorter handles such as the x25 (when ground splitting) you need to bend your knees as you swing down. This prevents the axe head from breaking the horizontal plane.

 

[Freakingstang]

This guy has the best swing I've ever seen.. very effective on red oak... skip to 5:15 to see the good stuff. Although video is funny as it is worth watching.

 

[Freakingstang]

When using axes with shorter handles such as the x25 (when ground splitting) you need to bend your knees as you swing down. This prevents the axe head from breaking the horizontal plane.

bend you knees and break your wrists, that's part of the effectiveness and the "technique" with the fiskars. breaking of the wrists right before impact increases head speed significantly and is what makes it effective in all the stringy and knotty stuff that every here claims it sucks in. That's because they are swinging it like a maul. now, break those wrists with a short handle and when it explodes through the round its headed right for your ankle/shin if if are taller than a midget. if you swing it like a home run HIYAHH swing, then it will be fine, as you aren't doing anything right with the technique that makes it work. if you are doing the HEMAN smack, again like a maul, on a splitting block, you don't have to worry about the axe head breaking the plane and coming at you, or breaking the wood for that matter. a couple light easy swings will prevail when the six or seven HIYAH's just bounce or stick.

 

[Jetterbug]

This guy has the best swing I've ever seen.. very effective on red oak... skip to 5:15 to see the good stuff. Although video is funny as it is worth watching.

Nice! I do think tho, with that wind up, you either need some wood chips under foot, or please get off the ice while splitting

 

[turnkey4099]

I think lots of the "hatred" that people show towards the fiskars is based on expectations.

Yep, they see all the good reports and somehow get the idea that it will replace all the other splitting tools (maul, wedge/sledge) In reality it is and _additional_ splitting tool although in my case it has replaced the maul in a good 60% of the instances it would have been used in the past.

Harry K

 

[Gypo Logger]

This guy has the best swing I've ever seen.. very effective on red oak... skip to 5:15 to see the good stuff. Although video is funny as it is worth watching.

Lol, I watched the whole vid. Funny and entertaining. That guys a killer and sure is strong.

 

[Jake Wise]

I just bought an x27 and I am very impressed. Over the weekend I put up a little less than a cord of white oak. Dad ran the saw while I split. I cut 30" lengths so this was a real test of the the thing and like I said I was impressed. Did it split every piece in one hit,no. But, I swung it all afternoon 2 days in a row and I can still move. Some of the wood got wedged, but for the most part if the x27 didn't get it to split then the maul wouldn't do much better and it was faster to skip the maul and go for the wedges. It will be my primary tool.

One other thing I noticed on the fiskars was it was easy to sharpen, which I like. I have heard people on here bad mouth them because of their supposed poor metallurgy, but I don't thing those people have any idea what their talking about. Just because something is made of soft metal doesn't mean it is poor metal, it means that it is soft metal. The tool is obviously designed to be kept sharp, so would you rather have a tool you have take home to the bench grinder or one you can spend 3 minutes sharpening on a stone and then go back to work?

 

[benp]

This guy has the best swing I've ever seen.. very effective on red oak... skip to 5:15 to see the good stuff. Although video is funny as it is worth watching.

I tell you what,

I applaud the enthusiasm of this guy, the Thor's Hammer guy, and the other one in a video splitting by his pickup.

These guys go after it, they don't quit.

The Zombies show up, I want to be in their group.

Well, the last guy that gingerly balanced the 200lb round on the scale, I'd want to be on his right.

Damn that's a hell of a swing with that maul.

 

[zogger]

This guy has the best swing I've ever seen.. very effective on red oak... skip to 5:15 to see the good stuff. Although video is funny as it is worth watching.

If he were to put an edge on that AOS it would work better. You can see it is pretty dull. His roundhouse swing is cool. No way I could pick up a round like he did, have to bust it in quarters in the woods or noodle it.

Looks like my chev bogger. I have a block heater though, and it is the diesel.

 

[lone wolf]

This guy has the best swing I've ever seen.. very effective on red oak... skip to 5:15 to see the good stuff. Although video is funny as it is worth watching.

Yup!

 

[Upidstay]

I love my X27. Worth every nickel. Does it split as well as a 30lb maul?? How the heck would I know? I'm not dumb enough to try a 30 lb-er. I like my back.

What it DOES do is split as well as my 12lb maul, but it only weighs 6lbs. I loaned it to three friends, they all bought their own after raving about it. The only one that didn't bought an X25 instead because he's only 5'6. I know a lady who bought one too. Her husband has a bad back, so she does the splitting. She loves it. Talked to her at a local hardware store and talked her into it. Saw her a month later and she was ready to kiss me she was so happy.

Will it split 40" oak rounds? No. Duh. That's why I have a chain saw, maul, etc.

 

[Idahonative]

The thing I just don't understand is why a few people possess such hatred for the Fiskars. If it doesn't work as well for you or the types of wood you split, that's fine. But clearly it works really well for a lot of people.

The "hatred" is a very small percentage and I think most of those are the traditionalists who just don't like anything that doesn't have a wood handle. They would turn their noses up at any tool that had a synthetic handle. I agree with you, "it clearly works well for a lot of people." I dug up a thread from September of last year on this subject:

http://www.arboristsite.com/community/threads/new-husqvarna-hand-tools.262491/page-2

Read my post (#40). At that time, the x27 had 1,602 five star reviews on Amazon. It now has 1,937. Like I said then, you have to take reviews with a grain of salt but these are overwhelming numbers....numbers that can't be ignored. Oh, and the price is going up. Costs $48 four months ago. Costs $54.99 now (15% increase).

 

[svk]

I love my X27. Worth every nickel.

I loaned it to three friends, they all bought their own after raving about it. The only one that didn't bought an X25 instead because he's only 5'6. I know a lady who bought one too. Her husband has a bad back, so she does the splitting. She loves it. Talked to her at a local hardware store and talked her into it. Saw her a month later and she was ready to kiss me she was so happy.

The first weekend that I had my Fiskars I split up a part of a big aspen and an entire big birch. My best friend, who is also the cheapest person I know tried it. He liked it so much he bought one two days later. This guy won't spend an extra nickel on anything yet he dropped 45 bones on one basically immediately. That's a very strong statement at least to me.

 

[svk]

The "hatred" is a very small percentage and I think most of those are the traditionalists who just don't like anything that doesn't have a wood handle. They would turn their noses up at any tool that had a synthetic handle. I agree with you, "it clearly works well for a lot of people." I dug up a thread from September of last year on this subject:

http://www.arboristsite.com/community/threads/new-husqvarna-hand-tools.262491/page-2

Read my post (#40). At that time, the x27 had 1,602 five star reviews on Amazon. It now has 1,937. Like I said then, you have to take reviews with a grain of salt but these are overwhelming numbers....numbers that can't be ignored. Oh, and the price is going up. Costs $48 four months ago. Costs $54.99 now (15% increase).

LMAO I remember that thread well. Probably not my or Spike's finest hour on here LOL

 

[turnkey4099]

I just bought an x27 and I am very impressed. Over the weekend I put up a little less than a cord of white oak. Dad ran the saw while I split. I cut 30" lengths so this was a real test of the the thing and like I said I was impressed. Did it split every piece in one hit,no. But, I swung it all afternoon 2 days in a row and I can still move. Some of the wood got wedged, but for the most part if the x27 didn't get it to split then the maul wouldn't do much better and it was faster to skip the maul and go for the wedges. It will be my primary tool.

One other thing I noticed on the fiskars was it was easy to sharpen, which I like. I have heard people on here bad mouth them because of their supposed poor metallurgy, but I don't thing those people have any idea what their talking about. Just because something is made of soft metal doesn't mean it is poor metal, it means that it is soft metal. The tool is obviously designed to be kept sharp, so would you rather have a tool you have take home to the bench grinder or one you can spend 3 minutes sharpening on a stone and then go back to work?

Fully agree. It is designed by Swedes and tested/modified/retested, etc. over at least 50 years. Guess those guys think Swedes don't know what they are doing . Show me a knife, ax, whatever made out of really hard metal and I will show you an item that also 'really hard' to resharpen.

Harry K

 

[svk]

Fully agree. It is designed by Swedes and tested/modified/retested, etc. over at least 50 years. Guess those guys think Swedes don't know what they are doing . Show me a knife, ax, whatever made out of really hard metal and I will show you an item that also 'really hard' to resharpen.

Harry K

Swedes????

Finns!

 

[woodchuck357]

I think a lot of the negative post are reaction to the outrageous posts about how great they are.
They do work well on some wood, but are no better than most axes of the same weight.
What I don't understand is why folks don't seem to notice the terrible vibrations from the handle, and the claims of "balance". A lighter handle in relation to head weight is no advantage, except in the minds of some users.
For most of the ground work I do, I wear 5 pound weights on my wrists and 10 pound ankle weights and that includes splitting wood. Adding three to five pounds to the head of a splitting tool does not decrease the speed of my strikes. For my evaluation of any tool I don't use the wrist weights.
In fairness, most of my splitting mauls and axes have a total length of 42 inches, which adds quite a bit to the speed of my normal strikes.
I have used the spike driver swing of the young man in the video, in time he may learn a better recovery and be able to deliver strikes in quicker sucession. I have also used the up and down strike many seem to prefer, but mostly use something sorta in between.
The metal is of little importance in a splitting tool that is not also used for chopping or striking wedges.
That it is a single use tool reduces the chances of it going to the woods with me.
I almost never noodle rounds to make firewood; most fisker lovers seem to noodle often.

 

[Philbert]

A lighter handle in relation to head weight is no advantage, except in the minds of some users.

That's not correct at all.

The total weight of the tool is reduced, for the same size/weight head, which means less weight lifted cumulatively.
The force of the tool is focused at the 'point of operation' - a heavier handle gets you nothing where the edge hits the wood.
Weight at the end of the handle aids in developing momentum - think about swinging a ball at the end of a rope versus swinging a stick of the same total weight: more momentum at the ball than at the end of the stick.

In fairness, most of my splitting mauls and axes have a total length of 42 inches, which adds quite a bit to the speed of my normal strikes.

You need to compare mauls with the same length handles. I don't know of a 42" Fiskars, but I am sure that you can find a 36" axe with a similar weight head.

Philbert

 

[mn woodcutter]

This is a dead horse