Fiskars X27 Splitting Axe Tendonitis?

If the lighter x27 splits the majority of what you're splitting, why wear yourself out swinging anything heavier?

I use my x27 almost exclusively.

 

I wish straight grained was a majority. It’s not.

 

Problem is...if my axe sticks, I'm beatin' it on through with my sledge. The x27 isn't tough enough to take that forever. It's been 2 or 3 years or so now, it's still taking it.

 

Good work.

 

I think the axe head itself is tough enough it is the handle that will evetually give out.

 

Well, iffin it breaks, I'll buy another. Been beatin' on it for 5 yrs or so. The x25 I had, and must've left somewhere, has got a chip out of it from the beatings. The isocore's made to beat on, but it's just too damm heavy these days.

 

Glad to here that you too suffered from swinging that axe. I was enjoying using it until I got into some stringy white oak. Now I find myself reaching for the maul. Only after swinging that thing about ten times. I cut most if my wood about 18-20 inches. Dont get me wrong, i like to swing the x27 but I guess it has it's limitations.

 

In the sawyer forum I posted about running a bunch of shiplap pine.

Off the mill I edge it with a homemade track saw, then i hit the second edge with a the table saw, finally a dado stack on the TS for the actual "Lap"

I have noticed even these movements have developed some (self diagnosed) tendonitis, especially running boards for 2-3 hours on end.

 

I guess it tendonitis with me, I suppose. I retired at 62.5 yrs and really got serious about cutting and splitting wood. So, I spent several months, off and on, cutting wood and hand splitting. I have always used an ax mostly. I just enjoy hand splitting with a big double bitted ax, and only go to a splitting maul when I have to.

Anyway, after a few months my hands started bothering me, and when I would wake in the morning, I couldn't make a fist. My hands would really feel tight, and it got worse. Sometimes they would hurt of an evening. I tried all kinds of creams, etc., which some would give temporary relief. I eventually went to the doctor and had x=rays, and also tests for carpel tunnel. I had neither arthritis, nor carpel tunnel.

I laid off of splitting wood, except or the stick or two, I needed every day, for the stove. The trouble was everything I did, I was using my hands to grip something. During that time, I also drove a bunch of sharpened wood posts in the ground, with an old-fashioned post mall, and the shock of that probably added to the damage.

Anyway, it's been about a year, and I am doing much better. I just had to heel up, but it sure took a while. Now, I have been nursing a shoulder because I pulled on a wrench too hard one day. I am 64.5 years old now.

One thing I do now, though to protect myself is, I don't tear myself up, on hard splitting wood. If it doesn't split fairly easily, I just fire up the chainsaw and noodle it.

 

I'm betting the fence post mallet had a Lot to do with it. I got a bout of tendonitis on the inside of my right elbow this winter. It was from too much loading of my truck with poles using a pulp hook.
I've been using a pulp hook since I was 9 years old. BUT, I was doing good and having Fun. This year putting out 2 cord loads on my truck. Mine was a case of overuse of 1 particular tendon from loading poles with a pulp hook .
So I took 3 days off then did some 1 cord loads and I used my hand tongs more. It has been healing up. Some days if I push it it bothers me some. But not like it was.
It was a bummer because I really enjoy loading my trucks by hand.
I'll be 62 in June.
But I have done a lot of this work throughout my life. 6 years of driving truck really got me out of shape.
Almost everything I do takes hand strength and they aren't half as strong as they used to be. I really noticed that today up on the deck of tops I'm bucking up, loading and selling.
Used to be when walking on bouncy, rolly shaky footing I would use my saw as a counter balance. I could hold my falling saw by the pistol grip and point the bar in the way I wanted to balance. I can't do that with my 572 Husky with 28" bar nowadays. I used to do it with my 394s with 36" and it was easy.

 

After using the x27 and the fiskars 8lb maul alot i noticed the x27 is definitely rougher on my wrists and hands

 

I'm real lucky I get to pick and choose what I get now. There's so much wood around here that is literally just wasted and thrown in the dump it's heartbreaking. I wish y'all could get some of it. I just find this wasteful attitude abhorrent. The tree companies here are just dying to get rid of the wood and there just aren't enough wood burners around here to can or are willing to take that much wood. Most people get a 1/2 cord delivered for the entire winter.

I had one older lady who asked to buy wood from me and I said I don't sell it but I asked her how much she wanted (so I could direct her accordingly) and she was like "Oh maybe like half a garbage can" so I ended up just giving it to her and delivering it and stacking it. She said she just wanted a little bit for Christmas time.....and I couldn't say no to that. She offered me a bottle of wine and I politely declined.

If I get to buck the rounds I know I'll be happy with almost perfectly uniform lengths. Anything I don't want I usually don't have to take. Every once in a while I'll take a load with some undesirables (for me) and I'll usually be able to unload them to a neighbor who doesn't mind and/or has a splitter. I try real hard not to bring rounds to the dump but I will if they are rotten or super crazy knotty. I also split 90% of my stuff with the x27 and will only whip out the splitter if I need to.

I love my x27 and don't get any tendinitis at all. I swing straight up and down - I hold the axe in front of me, lined up to where I want to strike, lift with both hands usually spread slightly apart, and come straight down. And I typically swing about 50-75% strength and focus on accuracy instead of power.

One truckload at a time (about 1/3 of a cord). Used to take tree service 10yard truck dumps but they were cut all over the place and I had way too many shorties. I like 'em 16".

 

How thin of a stump do could a person get away with, so you wouldn't have to lift or roll it high?

Just thick enough not to break or split itself?

 

,
I use a big Elm round on the porch for a splitting stump, to make kindling and reduce splits down farther to fit in the stove as needed. It's not cut exactly square, so it's on a slight slope. This works well for finding the sweet spot trying to get a small split to stand up, long enough to split it again. I have thought about adding a tire to it, to hold the splits from flying off of the stump.

However, I don't use a splitting stump, for splitting wood in general because it hurts my back to have to bend over pick up every round before splitting it. I just split it, in the woods on the ground, wherever it lays. The most I will normally do is just hook the ax or maul on the end of the round and pull to stand it up, but sometimes, if it's easy splitting wood, I don't even stand it up, and just hit it where it lays. At any rate, bending over and picking up the heavy full rounds, hurts my back and that's what I try to avoid the most, whenever possible.

 

Haven't had tendonitis caused by splitting but have had it from other things. I use a block under the rounds but always try to make sure the top of the round is below my waist. I also strive to split with my ax dead center to my body. Tendonitis takes a long time to heal and even though I always want to keep working I have been trying to teach myself to stop if I feel the least bit of pain. Takes a lot longer to heal being in my 60's then it did when I was in my 20's or 30's.

I have also been splitting the large wood into what I call "bite size pieces" with my log splitter that are easier to handle with the ax. If I hit a round more than 2 or 3 times I leave it for the splitter to bring it down to size.

Gloves are also important as I find the Fiskars handles too slippery. Don't like the ax moving in my hands when it comes in contact with the wood. They also provide some cushioning.

Splitting a log is much like martial arts. I picture the ax hitting the block, the round just happens to be in the way.

 

This year I have split 12 ish cord by hand. The Isocore maul is my weapon of choice.
I too split on the ground, over my right shoulder, or the piece laying down via a golf swing.
Most everything is fairly easy splitting...I have enough wood on hand that fighting with tough rounds isnt on the agenda. If there is enough tough stuff, and they're not too big to lift, the splitter gets them. Cutting in the woods means I leave a bit more there too. 6 cord have been 15" or less (for the friend with the baby wood stove), and 18" for me. Till today, the ash cut to 20".

I think I ease off at the moment of impact, a little. I don't like hitting the submerged rocks.

So far with the isocore, zero issues. I don't use anything else but that maul. I guess the possibility of having issues drives me to put up as much as I can now, in anticipation of taking a year off, or doing less each year.

Funny enough, now that im splitting by hand, im bending over much less. Im only tossing or picking up splits. My back is greatful.
Sca

 

Picked myself up a Log Ox and my back has been grateful. Less bending. Helps the legs do the work and not the back.

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0875/7460/products/LogOX-Hauler-Tool-LogOX.jpg?v=1650135687