angry inch
ArboristSite Operative
Well actually it was Wal-Mart and I got an x27. We will see what all the hype is about. I got a sharp 8 pounder that is a work horse hard to believe this chopping axe looking thing will split alongside that?
i went to jonestown and i drank the koolaid
- Thread starter angry inch
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Just keep in mind that it is a splitting AX. It is not a replacement for a 6 or 8 lb maul. Both have a place in your arsenal. The X27 shines for clear grain wood. I have teh X27, a 6lb maul and either an 8 or 10 lb sledge and wedges. All get used when I am splitting and I wouldn't give up any of them.
Harry K
My bet is that you'd like your maul much more if it had an efficient head shape. Seems all the big box and corner-hardware mauls are dull and much too thick near the edge- cheap to make.
As received, my 8 lb maul was much less capable of splitting wood than the 6 lb mauls I had. At the (dull) edge, the angle between the faces was ~45 deg. Real POS. After about an hour with a disc grinder, flattening its faces all the way, it's a totally different story. (Copied shape of Mueller 3 kg.)
Same story with the (2) 6 lb mauls here. They're now productive.
Save your money. Get a Wetterlings, Oxhead (also sold by Stihl), Gransfors, Mueller or such, carefully forged of quality steel & properly heat-treated. Much better shape than the cheapies, too. A Mueller really opened my eyes.
I'd love to know what sort of scrap steel Fiskars are made from.
As received, my 8 lb maul was much less capable of splitting wood than the 6 lb mauls I had. At the (dull) edge, the angle between the faces was ~45 deg. Real POS. After about an hour with a disc grinder, flattening its faces all the way, it's a totally different story. (Copied shape of Mueller 3 kg.)
Same story with the (2) 6 lb mauls here. They're now productive.
Save your money. Get a Wetterlings, Oxhead (also sold by Stihl), Gransfors, Mueller or such, carefully forged of quality steel & properly heat-treated. Much better shape than the cheapies, too. A Mueller really opened my eyes.
I'd love to know what sort of scrap steel Fiskars are made from.
woodchuck357
Addicted to ArboristSite
NOT a fiskars fan
but only spend about 15 minutes reshaping a maul or wedge. I like a slightly convex face to separate wood fibers, hollow ground(convex) face sticks. I don't believe a splitting tool needs high quality steel, but calling the fiskars an ax is an insult to cutting tools!
Wedges work best if they are ground to a flat face. Open mind, closed wallet. :msp_rolleyes:
but only spend about 15 minutes reshaping a maul or wedge. I like a slightly convex face to separate wood fibers, hollow ground(convex) face sticks. I don't believe a splitting tool needs high quality steel, but calling the fiskars an ax is an insult to cutting tools!
Wedges work best if they are ground to a flat face. Open mind, closed wallet. :msp_rolleyes:
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Eastern North Dakota?? Ha! My bet is you won't be near as impressed with it as many on this site are. I've been to ND more than once, I know what the wind and weather does to those trees... 'bout the only thing that splits easy growing in those conditions is frozen Box Elder.
I have the X27... it's a good tool... but it sure the heck don't replace the maul, it only compliments it. When I do use muscle power to split (straight-grained) firewood I still use the 8# maul to halve or quarter the rounds and switch to the Fiskars to finish up. The X27 just can't generate enough raw power to blast apart bigger, tougher rounds... kinetic energy be damned, if it was all about kinetic energy we wouldn't need .45, .50 and .60 caliber elephant rifles, would we? When the game gets big and ornery, kinetic energy always gets tossed aside for momentum, anything less is foolhardy. I find the same applies to splitting wood, use the right tool for the job... after-all... you wouldn't rely on the kinetic energy of a 6-oz tack hammer to drive 24p ring-shank pole barn nails would you?
I have the X27... it's a good tool... but it sure the heck don't replace the maul, it only compliments it. When I do use muscle power to split (straight-grained) firewood I still use the 8# maul to halve or quarter the rounds and switch to the Fiskars to finish up. The X27 just can't generate enough raw power to blast apart bigger, tougher rounds... kinetic energy be damned, if it was all about kinetic energy we wouldn't need .45, .50 and .60 caliber elephant rifles, would we? When the game gets big and ornery, kinetic energy always gets tossed aside for momentum, anything less is foolhardy. I find the same applies to splitting wood, use the right tool for the job... after-all... you wouldn't rely on the kinetic energy of a 6-oz tack hammer to drive 24p ring-shank pole barn nails would you?
baroil92
Tree butcher emeritus
I hear that. Some of the ash up here is so gnarly it makes the whole frame on my splitter twist as it passes through, and if you can find a straight trunk, you'd better make lumber out of it!
