Splitting wood by hand

[JRobyn]

I can't say. Most of our firewood since the tornado almost 5 years ago now has been blow-downs. :fiery:

 

[RitchElbe]

simple Agent Smart.. I have more than one Nephew who either helps me split or wants to borrow one ... and what kind of modern age person questions a male who has more than 1 of the same tool. It's the Law of nature!! you make my common sense tingle....You ask were to purchase,,,yet you say you went to their page, which is where you purchase them. As for the spare parts, I've never had to replace anything on mine..after all the years in use..I've ran it on oak, pine, poplar, gum, only trouble I had was sour wood or twisted ever greens.. as long as the wood is dry it did the job..further more.. I see a lot of the videos of people splitting.. and they are doing it wrong from the get go.. these fools trying to split a round that is 30 inches across and 24 inches in length...are wasting time and energy.. any well seasoned done it all their life taught in the old ways..knows... you work your way around the edge spiraling in.. that way you get more done fast... work smarter not harder. You kind remind me of a few customers I have that always complain because the wood doesn't look exactly has pictured by other firewood sellers were the take a picture of perfectly split 3 sides cherry just as it hits the bright red stage on the end from drying. IT DOESN'T matter.. wood is wood is wood..and it will be ash before the week is out..now if u want that magazine cover look...I'll fix it right up and seal it when the color is right just so u can show it off...but if the wood doesn't need splitting ( ie: limbs etc ) I'm not splitting it. and for the record.. I have a log splitter as well..home build two way.. when I need get a lot done fast...I use it.. but mostly I split by hand cause it helps with the arthritis... perhaps you will learn a thing or two from my reply...because really... you should have known the answers before asking... admins..if I seem harsh....then I am...its the old ways...

 

[PhysAssist]

simple Agent Smart.. I have more than one Nephew who either helps me split or wants to borrow one ... and what kind of modern age person questions a male who has more than 1 of the same tool. It's the Law of nature!! you make my common sense tingle....You ask were to purchase,,,yet you say you went to their page, which is where you purchase them. As for the spare parts, I've never had to replace anything on mine..after all the years in use..I've ran it on oak, pine, poplar, gum, only trouble I had was sour wood or twisted ever greens.. as long as the wood is dry it did the job..further more.. I see a lot of the videos of people splitting.. and they are doing it wrong from the get go.. these fools trying to split a round that is 30 inches across and 24 inches in length...are wasting time and energy.. any well seasoned done it all their life taught in the old ways..knows... you work your way around the edge spiraling in.. that way you get more done fast... work smarter not harder. You kind remind me of a few customers I have that always complain because the wood doesn't look exactly has pictured by other firewood sellers were the take a picture of perfectly split 3 sides cherry just as it hits the bright red stage on the end from drying. IT DOESN'T matter.. wood is wood is wood..and it will be ash before the week is out..now if u want that magazine cover look...I'll fix it right up and seal it when the color is right just so u can show it off...but if the wood doesn't need splitting ( ie: limbs etc ) I'm not splitting it. and for the record.. I have a log splitter as well..home build two way.. when I need get a lot done fast...I use it.. but mostly I split by hand cause it helps with the arthritis... perhaps you will learn a thing or two from my reply...because really... you should have known the answers before asking... admins..if I seem harsh....then I am...its the old ways...

Hi Rich,

By announcing my fault of being an obligatory smarty pants, I meant the equivalent of saying just kidding.

But now, I'm no longer kidding, I'm just plain envious.

My nephew are pretty decent kids, but while I learned woodsmanship and how to heat wood from my uncle and mentoring cousins as a kid, they have no interest in such archaic pursuits, and have <zero interest in either helping or splitting wood the,selves.

As to owning multiples of a tool, for me (and I may be an exception), yes, I have probably >10 hammers, but they are of purpose specific types (or if they are duplicates, they are kept in the various locations of their primary use e.g, some in basement, some in truck, some in barn/shop).

And again, I was just kidding, I could not possibly care less even if you owned 100 chopper 1's.

I didn't ask where I could buy one, I asked where you bought yours.

And I typed that before I went to the website, and only after I came back typed the rest, but it is still an appropriate question.

But it isn't disengenuous to ask, as in your scathing reply, you admit that you have owned it for "all the years of use", indicating that you MIGHT have purchased it in the time it was sold in the big box stores.

I wasn't commenting on your favorite axe and its effectiveness when I mentioned the video, I was commenting on the technique of the yokel in the video, (and just maybe, on their choice of videos to use to sell it).

I agree with your comments on splitting technique, and my firewood ends up pretty ugly because we burn EVERY piece of burnable wood and most of the bark too.

In fact, for me, one the best things about using my splitter is the ability to split the really really difficult crotches and knotty pieces.

Thanks for replying because despite the very paranoid and judmental tone and words of your response, there was really some good information in it- especially regarding the longevity of the components of the lever system (although that could also possibly be in some sense related to spreading the wear across 3 axes.)

The other thing I learned is that you seem to be kinda grouchy, defensive, and paranoid, even though I started my post with a disclaimer of being a smart ***** AND asked questions that I think most of us would think of.

I AM sorry if my post raised some issues with your "common sense" or spider sense or whatever, but perhaps you could learn to be a little more open in anwering and not blame your bad manners on "the old ways" because I think that maybe the oldest way is the Golden Rule, which I learned as "Do unto others as you would have done unto you."

God bless and keep you and yours.
Thomas

 

[dieselcrawler]

On own 2 of the chopper 1's.... one is stole from my dad 10 years ago, the other was in the barn when we bought the farm 3 years ago... nice to have a spare. The springs on the little arms break, grab the other one and keep splitting. It they both break, it's time for me to take a break!

 

[PhysAssist]

On own 2 of the chopper 1's.... one is stole from my dad 10 years ago, the other was in the barn when we bought the farm 3 years ago... nice to have a spare. The springs on the little arms break, grab the other one and keep splitting. It they both break, it's time for me to take a break!

Hi DC,

Nice find and as long as your dad doesn't mind, no one else can.

BTW, I don't anyone to feel like I'm giving them the 3rd (or 4th or whatever) degree about their tool choices, I was just making conversation amd trying to learn.

Have you had the springs or any of the other findings break?

You sound like the voice of experience, and we have all seen the wood you pull and process.

I want to apologize to everyone here, and especially Rich, I honestly did not mean to cause controversy or offend anone.

Thomas

 

[dieselcrawler]

Dad hasn't missed it, hardly used when I got it. At 71, living in a super-insulated house, and currently battling cancer, I doubt he ever will...

 

[Creamer]

Maybe I am just real old-fashioned but I use a 12# triangular shaped splitting maul with a steel handle. A lot of impact force and the triangular shape gives good splitting action. Of course I do not split anything under 8" and I do not splinter it into shavings. I expect to get a piece with every stroke.

My preference is dry - the wood is more brittle and does not absorb energy as softer green wood. I also think it splits easier when it is cold - preferably below freezing. Maybe it is just the ground being harder and so there is more impact when it is cold and the less energy absorption.

Some wood is easier to split than others. Elm I find very stringy and much more difficult to finish the split. That is one reason I like the 3+" wide head - once that goes through it is pretty well split.

If I was splitting smaller then I would prefer to swing something lighter as this thing is overkill once you get a slab split off the main chunk.

I also laugh when I see somebody swinging into the core wood when they try to split. The soft core wood absorbs energy real well. I swing for the edges. If my maul goes through on the edge it is wide enough that the chunk is split.

Many people have a splitter but I am not sure if they are less work unless you are splitting very fine. It is easier for me to stand the round and end and hit it where it is at than getting it moved to a splitter. only if you have a set-up like Sawyer Rob would the splitter be easier.

 

[94BULLITT]

Maybe I am just real old-fashioned but I use a 12# triangular shaped splitting maul with a steel handle. A lot of impact force and the triangular shape gives good splitting action. Of course I do not split anything under 8" and I do not splinter it into shavings. I expect to get a piece with every stroke.

My preference is dry - the wood is more brittle and does not absorb energy as softer green wood. I also think it splits easier when it is cold - preferably below freezing. Maybe it is just the ground being harder and so there is more impact when it is cold and the less energy absorption.

Some wood is easier to split than others. Elm I find very stringy and much more difficult to finish the split. That is one reason I like the 3+" wide head - once that goes through it is pretty well split.

If I was splitting smaller then I would prefer to swing something lighter as this thing is overkill once you get a slab split off the main chunk.

I also laugh when I see somebody swinging into the core wood when they try to split. The soft core wood absorbs energy real well. I swing for the edges. If my maul goes through on the edge it is wide enough that the chunk is split.

Many people have a splitter but I am not sure if they are less work unless you are splitting very fine. It is easier for me to stand the round and end and hit it where it is at than getting it moved to a splitter. only if you have a set-up like Sawyer Rob would the splitter be easier.

I've used a 12lb maul a good bit. I can split more with an 8lb maul and just about anything I could with a 12lb. Those 12lb mauls with steel hanldes are hard on the operator. My preference is a 4lb maul.

 

[PhysAssist]

Dad hasn't missed it, hardly used when I got it. At 71, living in a super-insulated house, and currently battling cancer, I doubt he ever will...

That's too young, God bless him, and we'll keep him in our prayers.

 

[RitchElbe]

Funny... how the kidders no seem to notice other kidders... Perhaps it's all my years growing up in a military family and serving myself..were the luxury of small talk and answering something in a loooong drawn out waste of words reply just doesn't fly with me. I'm a 45 year old VET with joints and RA of a 92 year old taking care of both homestead and two handicapped parents.. my time on the web is short there for a go straight to the point. This entire post caught my eye as I was looking at my post from yesterday.. Physassist no need to apologize to me.. in fact I respect people more when they stand their ground on a matter. IF you were near I would send the youngins over.. to ex: how much they enjoy the chores.. the oldest developed a weird allergy to wood...we hope it is a short term thing.. but the next day after learning there he was.. mask on, gloves and long sleeves.. watching learning working and getting stronger and stronger for when he joins the high school FB steam.. see.. My self and his Pop believe when you are doing something take time to explain the reason for doing it ( heat ( once while harvesting, 2nd while stacking, 3rd while burning, exercise, get the free wood while you can , toughen one's self up etc ) what it leads to ( more free time as a reward, doing all you can in one day means that you are not out there on a cold wet day.. in the years to come it will give you skills with your hands, enhanced attention to detail of what you are doing and your surroundings for safety ) and finally when they are our age that can pass that knowledge on ( we have yet to share that a woman respects a hard worker more than a couch tater ) but when they get older...they will learn.... hate to read your Pops is battling cancer.. lost several Fam members to it already... by chance has he tried pure black berry juice to combat the ache of age and the illness?

 

[dieselcrawler]

Thanks for keeping dad in your thoughts. Positive thinking is a very powerful force.

He has always eaten healthy, and used homeopathic methods of healing.

 

[PhysAssist]

Thanks for keeping dad in your thoughts. Positive thinking is a very powerful force.

He has always eaten healthy, and used homeopathic methods of healing.

Hi DC,

De nada (it's nothing).

I lost my old man last August, a few months after he was dx with renal (kidney) cancer, then got a diabetic foot infection and eded up in the hospital, where the antibitotics given to kill the foot infection, also killed his remaining kidney function, so he went home on hospice and passed a couple of days later.

I didn't always see eye to eye with him or his methods and behavior, but I always respected him and his commitment to the service of God, country, and all the various and sundry he considered to be his family and friends, and I do miss him, and regret times we missed being together.

Hi again Rich,

Thank you for your service!

It sounds like you have solid ideas about what it means to be a man and to raise one.

Take care,
Thomas

 

[motownbrowne]

Here's hoping your Dad pulls through, Greg.

I have used one of those all steel affairs plenty in my life. Actually I still own one and it's doing it's job very well: my BIL asked to borrow a splitting maul maybe a year and a half ago. I figure there's two ways this can end up, one, he breaks my decent 6lb American maul, or two he never returns what I give him, at least not for a long time. So...I gave him the steel affair. He can't break it, and if he never gives it back I'm totally happy with that.

Here's a couple pics of some Ash I split last fall. Ash is pretty easy splitting wood, which makes the job more fun. I generally spilt right on the ground, but in most cases I don't even stand the rounds up. I swing the maul kind of like a golf club and rely on hitting it with a sharp edge moving fast enough to split the round rather than send it flying. It's fun for me and very fast.

Before:


After:

These rounds (with a few exceptions) have not been handled. I skidded the log here with the tractor, picked it up with the forks, bucked it into rounds and spilt them where they lay. I basically didn't bend over more that six or eight times to do this. I was working quickly, but the reason I took the photos was so I could see the time stamps on them. From rounds to splits (and I split them small) took (drumroll please.....) 18 minutes. This was with my Gransfors Bruks, but I could do the same thing with the X27.

 

[dmccarty]

Question is, do you find it easier to split wood when green, after a season, or when it's clearly dry?

I think it depends on the species. Usually I think green is best, and it dries much faster after splitting.
...

What MotownBrowne said. It depends. Red oak seems to be the easiest wood I have to split and the second best to burn. I do have some hickory that is the best to burn but it will flat out wear you out splitting. I have what I think is a white oak species that rots quickly, it gets sponge like if wet but if you let it dry a bit, it is easy to split and burns ok. I have had some of what I think is the white oak that was older but not wet that was a real PITA to split. Most of the wood I burn has been taken down by momma nature so it can be iffy in burn quality and it makes it hard to figure out what species of wood I am messing with. Red oak is easy. The rest can be a best guess.

Still splitting with my original Fiskar. :thumbsup:

Later,
Dan

 

[turnkey4099]

I kept seeing reports on the x25 but couldn't see me buying such a short tool. X27 came out and I bought inthe same year. What a tool! First coupld splits and I said "this cannot be doing what I am seeing" Been using it on 8-12 cords/yr ever sincemostly black locust - fairlyi easy splitting and willow.

I have a splitter but it only sees the rejects (knots/forks, etc) from the manual splitting sessions. That splitting and stacking is what keeps me going, coming up on 81 and try to put in at least an hour a day when weather permits. Just finished a few hours ago the pile of willow rounds from last years harvest - going tomorrow to the wood patch to clean up the spots where I burned brush piles dueing the winter.

Harry K

 

[PhysAssist]

I kept seeing reports on the x25 but couldn't see me buying such a short tool. X27 came out and I bought inthe same year. What a tool! First coupld splits and I said "this cannot be doing what I am seeing" Been using it on 8-12 cords/yr ever sincemostly black locust - fairlyi easy splitting and willow.

I have a splitter but it only sees the rejects (knots/forks, etc) from the manual splitting sessions. That splitting and stacking is what keeps me going, coming up on 81 and try to put in at least an hour a day when weather permits. Just finished a few hours ago the pile of willow rounds from last years harvest - going tomorrow to the wood patch to clean up the spots where I burned brush piles dueing the winter.

Harry K

Hi Harry,

Well, I guess that you are our new role model!

Good on ya!

God bless,
Tho,as