Splitting wood by hand

[tcreeley]

I only split if I have to- my stove likes them big! I use a wooden handled maul- 6 or 8 lb is good. I chip and go around in a circle taking wedges off. I like the wood to be green or dead dry- nothing between. I got lazy some years ago and buy wood now. I ask for round, they deliver split!
That's nice little kindling in the video- good for a cook stove.

 

[crazyal]

I haven't split wood in decades, was one of my choirs when I was a youth. I always did it on days that were well below freezing so the wood would be frozen. Now that I burn wood again and have a hydraulic splitter the only splitting I do is to make kindling to make starting a fire a breeze. I would like to get something better than the cheap axe that I use now. It has to be light enough for one handed operation and short enough to split while kneeling. Since I can pick and choose which pieces of wood I'll split into kindling I usually pick the straight grain, no limbs wood. But that's not always the best wood to start a fire with. Lots of times yellow birch will not split cleanly. The small fibers often start quickly but it's hard to split into kindling. Any ideas which Fiskar would work well? They have so many different lengths and both splitting and chopping models. I assume chopping is for felling trees.

 

[s219]

Do not get the Fiskars X27 splitting axe if you want a workout!
It takes all the work out of splitting firewood, the Fiskars X27 splitting AX is awesome.
Harvesting firewood just got a little better.
Thanks for everyone's help in selecting the right splitting AX.
sherpa

That's a funny way to put it. But it really does breeze right through most wood.

 

[Larro Darro]

Glad you got a good ax Sherpa. I still split by hand, but only enough for my grill at home and our old cook stove at the creek camp. But for years I sold firewood. We cut long tall oaks, and it was faster and easier to split by hand. Not to mention quieter.
I still use my grandfather's old splitting ax. I have bought a few felling axes over the years, but never thought I could find a better splitting ax. If I had more to do I would check out one of the newfangled ones.

 

[Jstpssng]

She any good at chopping wood??:laughing: How's Maine....used to visit often. love Stonington. Our daughter went to school in Farmington several years back. :thumbsup:

She probably would be... she has her own gardening business. Yet she will tell you that's what her husband is for.
Farmington is in a nice area. (Is your daughter a teacher now?) I don't know how much sight seeing you did, but Mt Blue State Park has a very nice campground and hiking trails.

 

[tjse9006]

I used an 8 pound maul for years, but a while back I was at a hardware store and saw a big red 20 pound triangle shaped maul and bought it. Works great, most of the time I just lift it and drop it.

 

[MacLawn]

Well boys, I got it! Me Fiskars X27! When rainy season is over in GA, I'll give her a try.

 

[sherpa]

When rainy season is over in GA, I'll give her a try.

We could not wait until the rain stopped.
We (my wife and I) ran out of wood to split.
I am not talking about a few pieces, we split and stacked a couple of months heating wood in two days with the new Fiskars X27!
What an awesome splitting AX.
You will love it MacLawn, give us a report.
sherpa

 

[RedNecker]

I split wood by hand for several years. I had an accident & messed up my shoulders. I purchased a $300 5000 psi electric log splitter from Lowes. It has a small hydraulic pump system. I have used it to split about 10 cords of oak & hickory. Still works good. Logs up to 12" X 16".

 

[MacLawn]

Sherp, I'll give y'all a report when I can, but man, this rain is unbelievable! I mean everyday! When you think it might let up, bang! There it comes again! Oh well, we were very dry for a few years, so this should bring the ground water back up. I'll try to split a few I have laying around.

 

[jymbee]

...So when I see these videos demonstrating a new splitter, and they're popping little 8-12" diameter oak rounds, 14" long, it just doesn't seem like a very good test of the tool. Of course you can bust a tiny little oak round in one stroke. You can do that with darn near anything! Bust a few 24"x20" rounds with your tool and I'll start being impressed.

Absolutely-- couldn't agree more. There's tons of how-to videos out there showing various wood splitting techniques and machines. Some pretty clever, many just plain silly-- or at worst, dangerous.

 

[jerrybob]

She probably would be... she has her own gardening business. Yet she will tell you that's what her husband is for.
Farmington is in a nice area. (Is your daughter a teacher now?) I don't know how much sight seeing you did, but Mt Blue State Park has a very nice campground and hiking trails.

Yea....she's been teaching for several years in Calif. I visited Mt. Blue....many years ago...it was beautiful. Remember seeing lots of moose up around Rangely Lake area. Good memories!!

 

[kubota4me]

I've got a 37 ton hydraulic splitter and have never looked back. I've had back surgery once and continue to be plagued with herniated discs so no way am I going to hand split. I love my gas splitter. To each his own. I get my exercise running on a treadmill and lifting barbells the proper way, rather than fighting with that fibrous old elm that never would split like the wood from the original poster.

 

[westcliffe01]

I too split wood by hand for a couple of years after I started using wood for my primary heat source here in MI. Usually went through 3-4 cord a winter. Then I had a couple of close calls with splitting my shins open with the Fiskars (they are pretty sharp and lots of energy) and I thought about it and realized that even a single accident would cost way more than a hydraulic splitter. I was splitting elm at the time and it took at least 4 hits to even make an impression on one of those rounds. Probably 16 hits to get through each round. Awful stringy stuff, it has terrific peel strength.

So I got the hydraulic splitter and shortly after that I got to know a guy who ran a lumber mill and he processed all the tree tops through a firewood processor. Since then I get a big dump truck load of wood every year for $500 which I allow to season for at least 18 months and the last few winters have been so pathetic I have not even used a 1/3 of the wood I have on hand. So the hydraulic splitter has been on loan to a farmer friend who exclusively heats with wood and never seems to get around to getting his firewood sorted prior to winter...

With the pending move to CO and only softwood for burning, I will probably be putting hours on the splitter again. One can get a permit for $25 to gather beetle kill for your annual heating needs.

 

[94BULLITT]

Sears has the X27 on sale for $35.49. I got one to try out.

Fiskars 36" X27 Splitting Axe - Lawn & Garden - Outdoor Tools & Supplies - Hand Gardening Tools

 

[milkman636]

As a northerner I can't imagine splitting wood by hand in the summer. For about 20 years from my teens into my early 30's I split and stacked 3-4 full cords a year by hand using the classic wood handled 6 & 8 lb. splitting mauls. The tough knotty stuff that I couldn't bust open with a maul got a dose of wedges powered by a 10 lb. sledge. Those were trees I learned to avoid cutting down. It was great winter work when it was below freezing. The wood split much easier then and I didn't sweat so bad. Felling and bucking was best done in winter too when the sap wasn't flowing and there were no leaves or insects to deal with. Another advantage of harvesting when the ground was frozen is that I never had to worry about sticking the tractor or trailer.

 

[94BULLITT]

As a northerner I can't imagine splitting wood by hand in the summer. For about 20 years from my teens into my early 30's I split and stacked 3-4 full cords a year by hand using the classic wood handled 6 & 8 lb. splitting mauls. The tough knotty stuff that I couldn't bust open with a maul got a dose of wedges powered by a 10 lb. sledge. Those were trees I learned to avoid cutting down. It was great winter work when it was below freezing. The wood split much easier then and I didn't sweat so bad. Felling and bucking was best done in winter too when the sap wasn't flowing and there were no leaves or insects to deal with. Another advantage of harvesting when the ground was frozen is that I never had to worry about sticking the tractor or trailer.

When you split wood in the summer your clothes look like you jumped in a pool with them on.

 

[tcreeley]

About 17 miles away I came across one of these on the edge of a field in front of an old farmhouse and barn. I thought it was an old trip hammer at first- that's why I stopped. Interesting way to split wood. In this video- the motor I suspect is underpowered for what he is trying to do with it.

 

[PhysAssist]

I read on another forum alot of praise for the new Fiskars with the longer handle, X27 or something.
More power to ya for hand splitting, the only handle I'm using is attached to a hyd. valve.:laughing:

Ditto for all the Fiskars axes!

We have the 2 sizes of splitting axes and both made it possible to split stuff, I was unable to get split with a wood grenade and 8 pound sledge.

Bad shoulders and old age moved me to buy a hydr. splitter.

Thomas

 

[PhysAssist]

OK, I got me a Fiskars X27 on the way.
Actually it is ready to be picked up at Sears.
I ordered it on line and got a deal at $35.
I got a order confirmation as soon as I ordered it and 5 mins later I got my pickup order.
They are giving me one out of the store stock, I will pick it up tomorrow!
sherpa

Dude, you got a great deal there!

Be careful, they are sharp as heck!

Do get one of the fiskars roller sharpeners, it keeps that hollow ground blade in tiptop sharpness without any fuss or bother. We touch ours up before each use. They run about $9.00.

Split in good health (and safety)

Thomas