My fathers day gift finally arrived today from Baileys. I had put off buying a Fiskars for years now thinking that they couldn't possibly be THAT much better than the other axes/mauls that I had used (all of the hardware store variety). I was certainly incorrect. I figured they would do great on straight grain stuff, but struggle on full length firewood with some knots in it. Yeah, it struggled with it, but not NEARLY as much as I had expected.
I used to love an 8 lb maul, but after I got a few years under my belt (I'm 36 now), about 5 years ago I started favoring a 6 lb maul, and a standard 3.5 lb splitting axe. I broke down and bought a Fiskars knock off at Menards a couple years ago and found that it was a decent compromise between a 6 lb maul, and a 3.5 lb axe, but I really wasn't overly impressed with it so I opted against a Fiskars. Then they announced, and FINALLY released the X27, so I figured what the heck, it would make a good gift from the wife and kids. Boy did it ever. Very nice. I had some red oak out back waiting to be split and stacked. It was from a tree that was logged last winter, and I cut it into 24" firewood last week. I went out and set up 3 or 4 pieces that were 10"~18" across, most of them with at least one decent knot in it, and began to work on them. These were pieces that were big enough that I didn't want to try to split them by hand out in the woods (because I was already tired) but small enough that I could get them in the truck (barely) without having to noodle them with the saw. I was going to use the splitter on them, but this was a great opportunity to try out my new Fiskars! I noticed that what most said about the swing was true in that a straight swing was more effective. That as opposed to hitting the wood at an angle to keep the head from getting stuck. Like others said, most of the time it either split or bounced off, and rarely got stuck. When it did stick, it was pretty easy to rock out, where an axe or maul in that spot would have been a lot more difficult. The wood was hard enough that after 15 min, he head no longer has a razor sharp edge to it. You could no longer cut paper with my head, but it's still about as sharp as a dull pocket knife. All in all I was very happy with the X27. It split as well as a 6 lb maul (maybe a tad better), but didn't wear me out nearly as much. Next time I go cut, I'll take it out along side the knock off, 8 lb maul, and my 3.5 lb axe to get a better side by side comparison. Sorry no vids.
All in all, I'd say if you're like me and had never tried the Fiskars because it A) seemed too good to be true, and B) You've tried enough stuff in life and don't care to drop $50 on something that's only marginally better than you can get at the local store for $30, then let me say this. Give it a try, you'll be glad you did. It's worth the $50. To me, it's not worth $80 or $100 that I see some of those German tools go for, but it certainly is worth $30 more than anything else I could buy at the hardware store.
Looking back, I do NOT regret not buying one of the shorter axes sooner because I don't split much small stuff, and I think I would have had some real issues with the shorter handle, but I'm sure glad that I got the longer one. I have a funny feeling that the 6lb maul and 3.5 lb axe are going to rust away to nothing before I get a chance to use them again.
To all of those who posted all of the "I love my Fiskars" threads, thanks!
I used to love an 8 lb maul, but after I got a few years under my belt (I'm 36 now), about 5 years ago I started favoring a 6 lb maul, and a standard 3.5 lb splitting axe. I broke down and bought a Fiskars knock off at Menards a couple years ago and found that it was a decent compromise between a 6 lb maul, and a 3.5 lb axe, but I really wasn't overly impressed with it so I opted against a Fiskars. Then they announced, and FINALLY released the X27, so I figured what the heck, it would make a good gift from the wife and kids. Boy did it ever. Very nice. I had some red oak out back waiting to be split and stacked. It was from a tree that was logged last winter, and I cut it into 24" firewood last week. I went out and set up 3 or 4 pieces that were 10"~18" across, most of them with at least one decent knot in it, and began to work on them. These were pieces that were big enough that I didn't want to try to split them by hand out in the woods (because I was already tired) but small enough that I could get them in the truck (barely) without having to noodle them with the saw. I was going to use the splitter on them, but this was a great opportunity to try out my new Fiskars! I noticed that what most said about the swing was true in that a straight swing was more effective. That as opposed to hitting the wood at an angle to keep the head from getting stuck. Like others said, most of the time it either split or bounced off, and rarely got stuck. When it did stick, it was pretty easy to rock out, where an axe or maul in that spot would have been a lot more difficult. The wood was hard enough that after 15 min, he head no longer has a razor sharp edge to it. You could no longer cut paper with my head, but it's still about as sharp as a dull pocket knife. All in all I was very happy with the X27. It split as well as a 6 lb maul (maybe a tad better), but didn't wear me out nearly as much. Next time I go cut, I'll take it out along side the knock off, 8 lb maul, and my 3.5 lb axe to get a better side by side comparison. Sorry no vids.
All in all, I'd say if you're like me and had never tried the Fiskars because it A) seemed too good to be true, and B) You've tried enough stuff in life and don't care to drop $50 on something that's only marginally better than you can get at the local store for $30, then let me say this. Give it a try, you'll be glad you did. It's worth the $50. To me, it's not worth $80 or $100 that I see some of those German tools go for, but it certainly is worth $30 more than anything else I could buy at the hardware store.
Looking back, I do NOT regret not buying one of the shorter axes sooner because I don't split much small stuff, and I think I would have had some real issues with the shorter handle, but I'm sure glad that I got the longer one. I have a funny feeling that the 6lb maul and 3.5 lb axe are going to rust away to nothing before I get a chance to use them again.
To all of those who posted all of the "I love my Fiskars" threads, thanks!