I'm really looking forward to swinging this thing! It's my first splitter, so I won't have much to compare it to, but, it is exciting to me! Anyone have tips for using the fiskars? (I plan to share some pics of the first splits though I've got a lot of work to do to be ready for the next few years) I'm still trying to scrounge wood to split... That is the focus for this weekend!
My only advice is this: you're gonna run out of wood to split real quick, so you'd better find some more!
I've got quite a few people nearby who are cutting out the dead stuff (mostly ponderosa pone and Douglas fir) from their properties. A lot of them just pile it up and burn it at the end of the summer. I've been bugging them to let me take some of it off their hands. I've got one buddy who has given me the green light to take what is down already. I've got more convincing to do with some of the others nearby.
Today I was out splitting wood. I didn't bother pulling out the electric splitter, as I enjoy splitting by hand. For fun I also tried using my old 8 pound maul as well, and found it clumsy. I put it down quickly, and just used the Fiskars. One tip I can offer is that it will dull easily if you miss the wood block and hit a rock. Be careful to never hit anything other than wood with it. Greg
Set up a safe working area. Swing from directly overhead. Let your wrists be soft. Do not try to apply muscle. As the axe is on the downswing, lift/slow your hands slightly to further accelerate the head. It's not unlike a good golf swing. The nice thing about the x27 is it's long enough to make it less easy to come down into your shin by accident. Split on a stump so that impact happens about waist high. There are piece I find I cannot split with it. Cross grain, knots, etc are not worth the abuse to split - I set them aside and cut with my saw instead.
if you don't have any good hard wood at the places you are able to cut get on Craigslist check it 3 times a day, jump on it and get it because the good scores go fast, there is a lot of wood to be had that way, not as easy as having the wood fairy drop it off but most of the time it is cut up
I'll suggest that there are mauls out there in the 5-6 lb range that you might well like better than the light fiskars or the 8-pounder. Problem is that the big-boxes and the corner hardwares sell either crude bludgeons or fiskars, not the good stuff. IMO. I'm thinking of Wetterlings/Council Tools for starters. At 6.6 lb, an Austrian Mueller might well amaze you- potential heirloom besides. There are still many good smiths at work out there.
You are probably right that I might find something heavier than the Fiskars that I would like. But I no longer feel the need to look, so I likely will never find out, unless I find myself using someone else's. Greg
Finally got the first bit of work done with new X27... Pretty easy to work with... but I've got a buttload of work still to do!
