Yeah, steep is right, Rudedog! But neat at the same time.... Wonder how it could be made cheaper.... hmmmmm... and improved upon.... hmmmmm......
Its definitely an awesome tool, especially if it lasts through years of abuse (we are hoarders, not you average weekend wood warrior!) Steep price, but I could definitely see fishingpol , Stinny ,and Scotty Overkill to name a few, whom could whip up something similar in a flash!
I like the design of it and it is not something you see everyday. I can just think of an old steel wedge, pointy edge up welded to a small frame. This one is a looker as it is.
You could probably get that function by just embedding the head of an old go-devil in a piece of 2x6 lumber. A little careful carving to get a good fit and it would be ready to use.
there is a long back story to this product, which I have followed for about a year now. A young girl, Ayla from New Zealand. of about 14 designed this so she would have a safer way to split kindling. after some people learned about it she was given several awards. she then started to manufacture it. the pricing with limited production was in the 200 dollar range. now she has secured NT to distribute and was able to lower the cost. yes, any of us could COPY it cheaper but none of us designed, manufactured and marketed it. sorry about the rant but on several other forums the answer is always I can build it cheaper, it is not always about cheaper. she has it manufactured locally to her and creates jobs for her country. wheras here in the USA we would outsource it to China and pocket the profit, then we wonder why there are no manufacturing jobs here.
the tool is a 2 piece casting which is built to last, passed on to your children. quality costs money. could it be made cheaper yes, then you can throw it away when it breaks.
Even a home made welded up jobber, with time and material would have you at $99 in no time. Great story, great design.
Well, I found a $20 off coupon for NT and ordered one. I don't expect delivery until end of July or early August due to it being listed as a pre order item. I'll let you all know how I like it.
I'm glad you found it interesting and are willing to try it. I didn't know about the story behind it. Thanks ironpony. By the way Northern Tool is having a fantastic sale on tarps. I ordered 10 of the green ones. Always lots of uses for new tarps. I rather have the green ones over the blue ones any day. I have one of those memberships that gives a lot of specials and free shipping on a lot of things.
glad to hear it, if you get a chance check out her story. I am going to buy one and I burn pellets, might be useful for the wood fired oven though.
Well, I have to say that even though it is a little pricey I really like it. Very safe and works well with my Estwing B3-3LB Drilling Hammer. I can hold the wood from the side and pound on it with the hand sledge and it splits nicely. Much safer than the splitting axe but also a little on the pricey side. It works exactly as shown in the YouTube video. I would never use my little splitting maul in the house for kindling, but this unit is error proof and I could use it right next to the stove.I'm glad I bought it.
thanks for the review, I am glad you are happy. I have followed this for a while and am glad they kept it quality not profit. they were in the 200 dollar range before they brought on a large distributor.
Sorry for the bump but I was looking for some reviews of the cracker and found this thread. Wanted to this post.
