I've been splitting with an X27 for a couple months now with no problems but getting done to quickly. Well to all you old maul swingers, watch your ankles. Was helping cut and split with my dad the other weekend for my laid up uncle and I got tired of the slow hydraulic splitter, so I pulled out the X27. I was going through the pretty dry oak rounds quickly when my dad thought he should try. Now don't think he is a beginner. He's burned wood my whole life and never owned a power splitter. He swung it once like a 10 lb. maul and his eyes got real big when it just popped that round and sent the splits flying. I explained to him he didn't need to try and kill it like with his old dull maul. Well he just couldn't figure it out. Stopped him twice to tell him to settle down. 8 stitches later I think he got it, poor guy. It went through the round, through the splitting round, through his jeans, leather boot tongue, sock, cut his ankle clean and just nicked a tendon. YIKES! He was very impressed. Still thinking I'll get him one for Christmas. So watch yourselves if you've been splitting the same way for the last 30 years.
Well, sucks he got hurt! I know I have stated over and over to watch it and split inside an old tire, and change stance from maul style to fiskars axe style. Legs apart evenly, straight over your head, straight down. Legs are out of the way then if you get a violent overswing. If you have a low splitting block, at worse it will stick in that block..or even split the block! but the tire stops all that noise, plus holds the round or big chunk in place or follow up swings. If you are maul style swinging off to the side, chances are you have one foot ahead of the other and the axe head is inline with a foot/leg, and stuff like that cut foot can happen. I saw that within a few swings when I got my supersplitter. I was like "yikes"!! Had to readjust reality fast. You get that first blow through the wood, that should be enough to see it ain't a maul.
It just really doesn't come across in the videos how much less effort is involved. You can see it in the video time frame scale, but you aren't feeling it, just isn't the same. Best anyone can do on the net is give strong safety and technique advice.
In real good wood, don't even need a full swing, can half swing and just pop them. It's like being able to use a little kindling hatchet swing, just two handed, but be busting up real firewood splits. poppoppop. I just lean over and more or less just tap the round.
I'm a neogeezer now and absolutely want to learn new and better techniques, in anything I do, such as I have learned here with proper felling. Doesn't hurt my ego at all to learn I have been doing something wrong for years, I'd rather a slightly hurt ego than a slightly or worse hurt body! And I don't care if it would be someone ten years old teaching me something either. If someone is good, doesn't matter the age, just pay attention.