Hand splitting

[Wildeman]

OK I know most of you know this. I after several years of hand spitting with my Gransfors splitting axe got an old tire and attached it to my chopping block. I had been meaning to do it for a while. Holy crap, I do believe I can hand split faster this way than with a gas splitter. Anyone else feel this way?

 

[sliderulacuracy]

OK I know most of you know this. I after several years of hand spitting with my Gransfors splitting axe got an old tire and attached it to my chopping block. I had been meaning to do it for a while. Holy crap, I do believe I can hand split faster this way than with a gas splitter. Anyone else feel this way?

Yes, I think that is true for the smaller stuff, but if it is too big to pick up and put in tire , well that doesn't count anyways.

 

[husky455rancher]

Maybe it’s faster but I’m too damn lazy and beat up to do it that way anymore. I do not recover like I once did.I like using machines to do the hard stuff.

 

[SS396driver]

There are times I'll split with the Fisker's like red oak. Even big rounds split quickly but get some twisted hickory or elm its time for the timberwolf

 

[husky455rancher]

There are times I'll split with the Fisker's like red oak. Even big rounds split quickly but get some twisted hickory or elm its time for the timberwolf

I bought a fiskars a few years back to see what all the fuss was about. I’ve only used it a very little bit. It is pretty impressive for what it is but it dosent take me too long to say screw this and grab the splitter, and this was before I had the new Wolfe ridge splitter.

 

[fields_mj]

I've always been able to split faster by hand than with a hydraulic splitter except for a few really knotty pieces of hickory. Having said that, my rotator cuff told me a few years ago that I should go buy a used hydraulic splitter..... so I listened. I still swing my X27 quite a bit for stuff that just needs split once, but the splitter has been a life saver, or at least a shoulder saver.

 

[Marine5068]

Maybe it’s faster but I’m too damn lazy and beat up to do it that way anymore. I do not recover like I once did.I like using machines to do the hard stuff.

Me too.
I've lifted and moved more heavy things like wood and steel than most guys ever see, so 15 years back I decided to do the heavy firewood stuff with a good splitter and do the smaller stuff and kindling by axe for speed.
The older you get, the more you've done and the less you have to prove I guess.

 

[fields_mj]

For me, I've been investing in more equipment because of my dad. He's in his 70's now. Growing up, he was the hardest working man I'd ever met. By the time he was in his 50's, he had worked his body hard enough that it was starting to fail him. At that time, it wasn't a big deal for me to spend 10 hrs cutting, splitting, and loading and/or stacking between 4 and 6 tons of hickory on a warm summer day. About a decade later I was starting to notice a few more aches and pains than what I was used to. Then one day, while carrying a rather large (well over 100 lbs) round of hickory to the trailer, I stepped in a hole. Luckily for me, I was able to off load the round and go down without injury. I was by myself, and a mile from the nearest possible person. That could have become a very expensive load of firewood. It forced me to take a serious look at the abuse that I was putting my body through, the risks I was taking (even though I wear all of my PPE), and what the likely results were going to be over the following few decades. By the next season I had a tractor with a loader. 2 seasons later my shoulder let m know it was time to purchase a hydraulic splitter. I mostly cut/burn hickory, and almost all of it is over 12". It's very rare that I bring home anything that doesn't need to be split at least once (ie 6" or under). I still swing my X27 a fair amount, especially when its much below 20 deg. I enjoy it and Hickory splits pretty easy with an axe when its good and frozen. I'll even pick up my 8 lb maul and swing it 2 or 3 times if I have a stubborn piece, but my splitter does the lions share of the work and my shoulders are just fine with that

 

[Northerner]

I find if it takes more than 1 or 2 swings per split, then you’re better off going with the hydraulic splitter.
Having said that, I use my fiskers quit a bit. Frozen green poplar is a piece of cake for a fiskers.


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[Scottnc]

I hand split for a lot of years until Dupuytren's syndrome proved antithesis to adage, "use it or loose it". The saying became, "keep using it and loose it". I stopped hand splitting a couple years ago when even wearing weed wacker gloves would not adequately isolate my hands and bought a used commercial 20 ton gas splitter. I'm 68.

 

[LuDookie]

OK I know most of you know this. I after several years of hand spitting with my Gransfors splitting axe got an old tire and attached it to my chopping block. I had been meaning to do it for a while. Holy crap, I do believe I can hand split faster this way than with a gas splitter. Anyone else feel this way?

Are you putting the rounds inside the tire so that they stay standing up while you split multiple rounds? I’ve done this. It works great and is fast in Colorado where I was splitting pine and aspen. Nowadays in Texas, I’m dealing with wood where a Fiskars X27 won’t phase a 3 inch cookie. In the case of softer wood, it is quicker than using a splitter. Using a splitter in my experience isn’t very quick at all, but it’s the only option.

 

[esshup]

I've got some 20" -24" dia pin oak all bucked to 16" lengths. No way would I consider splitting it by hand.

 

[SweetMK]

Soil conditions will also dictate whether a hydraulic or manual splitter is best,,

If you have highly organic soil, the soil will act like a "spring" under the block,,
a LOT of the swing energy will be lost to the soil, and the hand splitting will be less effective.

If you have poor soil, the block will resist moving better, making hand splitting more effective.

 

[Woodchuckels]

Soil conditions will also dictate whether a hydraulic or manual splitter is best,,

If you have highly organic soil, the soil will act like a "spring" under the block,,
a LOT of the swing energy will be lost to the soil, and the hand splitting will be less effective.

If you have poor soil, the block will resist moving better, making hand splitting more effective.

I buried a 20"x 24" long piece of hedge in the ground leaving an inch or so out of the ground in my splitting area. I don't have to pickup any rounds and you can mow over it instead of always moving it. However I split most of my stuff where I cut'em on the ground.

 

[Jere39]

I'm still splitting by hand, mostly with the x27 Fiskars. All dead Red Oak. As the rounds get too big for me to lift onto a chopping block, I halve or even quarter them with an old Sears chopping maul with a handle saver. I do that mostly to keep the Fiskars out of the earth and or rocks if and when one of those big rounds pops easier than I expected.

 

[SweetMK]

When I use this,, it seems I always have to beat on it with a 16 pound sledge to get it through the wood.,,



Maybe I am using the wrong technique??

 

[Woodchuckels]

When I use this,, it seems I always have to beat on it with a 16 pound sledge to get it through the wood.,,

View attachment 965359

Maybe I am using the wrong technique??

I wouldnt be beating on that axe. I would find something at a garage sale to use.

 

[SweetMK]

I wouldnt be beating on that axe. I would find something at a garage sale to use.

Sorry, that was a joke,, I have had that on the mantle for 30 years,, and only recently found what it is worth.
I bought it at a yard sale in Wilmington Mass in 1980. IIRC, I paid $5 for it.

 

[SweetMK]

Well, I sorta told a fib yesterday,, I said I had A Plumb Champion axe,,

I went to the shed today, and when I moved the tiller to change the oil in it,,
THERE on the wall was ANOTHER Plumb Champion,,,

I guess I gotta keep looking,, there might be another!! LOL!

 

[Woodchuckels]

Well, I sorta told a fib yesterday,, I said I had A Plumb Champion axe,,

I went to the shed today, and when I moved the tiller to change the oil in it,,
THERE on the wall was ANOTHER Plumb Champion,,,

I guess I gotta keep looking,, there might be another!! LOL!

That ain't fair!