New toy, kindling cracker XL

Well, of course sitting down yooperdave, it’s easier and more convenient to drink your beer!!

 

I've had the XL for a couple years . Here I am watching my wife make kindling

 

I hope she doesn't miss!

 

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She will miss on occasion, the ring stops her from hitting the cutting edge. I've had to file the edge smooth once or twice. Really the thing works great though, it's pretty durable.

 

I'm surprised these have not been mentioned more on here.

A kindling cracker has been a game changer for me, along with doing top down burns. I'm talking about use for a fireplace. I use it to make kindling and, as other have said, split larger logs into smaller sizes.

My tip to this discussion is get a plastic storage tub/tote. It keeps the split kindling from flying all over the place and keeps the fine shavings so you can use them, in rolled up newspaper as a starter for example. If you use the cracker on a hard surface then put a rug or drop cloth under the tub (not shown in the pic) to absorb the hits to prevent the bottom of the tub from breaking.

 

I have hand split and used a kindling kracker that I made. I always used a dead blow hammer with mine. I have since moved to using the hydro like Backwoods Savage. I do use mine properly horizontal though like a fallen tree lies. I put a home made 4 way on the wedge and split away! You can split a lot of kindling very quickly once you get a system going. I select the larger splits that I am going to rive up and stack them on the side shelf of the splitter. I usually try to use fat or pitchy wood. I have a large plastic tub on the ground. Grab a large split, split it 4 way and keep reducing the size of the splits until I drop them in the tub. I usually do 4 tubs at a time and share with some older friends.