# Ordered a Fiskars X25 to see what it's all about



## LittleLebowski (Mar 29, 2016)

I know it's a little short, especially for a guy that is 5'11" but I can elevate what I'm splitting and my wife is _tiny _and she's learning how to split wood_. 
_
This is where you guys tell me it was a good purchase


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## Marshy (Mar 29, 2016)

It'll do fine. Just be very careful, the edge on the Fiskars are unforgiving. Many of people have "nicked" themselves and required stitches. Proper positioning and control is key.


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## LittleLebowski (Mar 29, 2016)

Marshy said:


> It'll do fine. Just be very careful, the edge on the Fiskars are unforgiving. Many of people have "nicked" themselves and required stitches. Proper positioning and control is key.



Thanks and noted.


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## LittleLebowski (Mar 30, 2016)

Completely underwhelmed. Got some fresh cut oak logs and it frequently bounced off stuff over 6". 

I know I should have gotten the bigger one for myself but I expected more. I do know how to swing it and how to split logs, my $30 home depot maul works well.

I am leery of buying the bigger X27 as I don't think it will be worth the money over my cheapo home depot maul.


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## Marshy (Mar 30, 2016)

If possible, I would exchange it for the X27. I personally don't see the advantage of having a shorter handle. Trust me when I say this, there is a slightly different knack to it than what most people are use to. I split 100% of my firewood with a X-27 each year, 6-7 full cord, rounds cut 20" long. It splits every reasonable piece of wood I put under it regardless of species (except elm). Reading the wood and knowing where to hit it and being repeatable is very helpful. If I have some pieces that just bounce the head then a few weeks of drying helps the round to split. Its not a wonder tool but, it is as effective and better IMO as a traditional maul.


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## LittleLebowski (Mar 30, 2016)

The wood was felled Sunday and I took care to read the wood and follow the already existing natural crack. 

I can't exchange it. I suppose I just need to find someone local to put a better grind on my cheapo maul. I hate wasting money like this. Maybe I can trade it and some cash for a bigger maul.


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## Marshy (Mar 30, 2016)

Post it for sale on Craigslist or here maybe. Give it a second try...?


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## LittleLebowski (Mar 30, 2016)

Marshy said:


> Post it for sale on Craigslist or here maybe. Give it a second try...?



I gave it a good 20 minutes and a good sweat but I'll try again tomorrow and then if it still disappoints, try to trade it off here.


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## alderman (Mar 31, 2016)

I'm 6'4". I tried the X25 and while I never had a problem using it I found the X27 was a much better fit for me. I gave the X25 to a buddy. 

The Alder and Fir I usually split is easy pickings for the X27. I do some of my splitting with a double bitted axe also. 

After several years of use the edge of the X27 was plenty rough. I really didn't think it mattered much but after a trip to the grinder I found it split a lot easier. 


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## Shagbark (Mar 31, 2016)

X27 is good for straight grained wood like ash and red oak or cherry. Big rounds you have to work the edges to the middle. It is easier on worn out shoulders than an 8lb maul. Just picked up a Stihl PA80 6.6lb Ochsenkopf and compared it to a standard 6lb maul and the X27. More capable than either by comparison, especially knotty twisted rounds. Split them when the other two wouldn't.


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## LittleLebowski (Apr 1, 2016)

I guess I just don't have enough weight on it. I used it some yesterday and it worked fine on smaller stuff.


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## VinceGU05 (Apr 1, 2016)

i used a X27 on the weekend for the first time. cant say i was impressed at all.. it maybe fantastic on the European timber but in aussie gum its struggles.
this is my "home depo" splitter. spent an hour on the edge reshaping it and stone and honing the edge. this thing is dynamite now!!


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## LittleLebowski (Apr 3, 2016)

I like that, I wish VinceGU05 could do that to my Home Depot splitter.


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## LittleLebowski (Apr 5, 2016)

I was leaning towards the Fiskars SS 36" but with my not so impressive experiences with the X25 , I'm browsing other larger mauls/splitting axes.


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## LittleLebowski (Jun 1, 2016)

I take it back, I think maybe it was how the logs were cut that I was trying to split?

Anyway, made this quick video. It was _hot_ out.


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## Homeowner (Jun 5, 2016)

Instead of letting axe weight do the job, with Fiskars you need to do the job.

Way I use Fiskars is that I kind of pull down whole axe instead of pivoting it around end of handle, it seems to work better when left hand keeps pushing it down, that is because Fiskars lacks of weight, I believe. 


Vince has made nice edge to that Home Depot axe, I have exact same axe head in a axe I bought cheap, I guess they make those heads in China and put to different handles, then sell as different brands. 

I did weld over 4 pounds of steel to back of that head, old axe head and some other bits of steel, with good edge and added weight, that thing destroys everything I have had under it. 

Fiskars is nice, but it is too light for harder stuff, they use fresh birch at demos of Fiskars and for that it is great tool, not so great for something challenging if goal is to split rounds to two halves with one strike. 

If one takes small cuts at edge of round, Fiskars is quite nice, at least with Pine and Spruce that works quite nicely, but you guys have much more challenging wood to split, I'm quite sure that with good sharp edge and 10 pounds of weight my cheap axe will do better job than Fiskars on that challenging wood, but I have no way to test that out.


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## skipster (Jun 5, 2016)

I use the x27 ( dont like the x25,not enough leverage on the downswing) all the time,supplying firewood(ironbark and grey box eucalypt) to 9 households.
It needs a different technique to a heavy trad splitter. You dont try and belt it through the centre of the round,(which doesnt work on the timber i split anyway,no matter what type of splitter)
I walk it around the outside of the round,following grain lines and then split the remaining center .
Using a heavier,sharpened splitter will give you more power,but also get you stuck in the middle of a knotty round,and after an hour of waving the thing around,you will be more tired than if you use the fiskars
another thing I like about the fiskars is that you can leave it in the back of the truck on a blistering hot day,and the handle wont loosen
I can see the benefits of the traditional splitters though,they certainly are cheaper,and the handles are replaceable,plus on certain wood they may have the advantage,however the x27 works for me


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## johnhunts (Aug 4, 2016)

vinceGU05 ^^^ I use X27 cant fault it have to swing the head faster to get going split yellow box & red stringy like dry ash with 5lb splitter  imo
John


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## CR888 (Aug 4, 2016)

I have a X27, a limited edition fiskars 365(same as X25) and same 8lb maul as Vince. The X27 works really well in straight rounds with no knots. About 50% of the stuff I use for firewood needs hydraulics or to be cut up with a saw. TheX25 is near useless for splitting but OK for making kindling. Be carefull raising a chopping round above ground & trying to split with a X25... you may cut a leg in half.


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## ken morgan (Sep 20, 2016)

yah I bought into the hype about 2 years ago and bought the x-17 and the x25. Sold both to a friend last week....I have a really, really old (at least 50 years) year old Japanese straight handled splitting maul, its head weighs in at 3.8kgs or 8.?? lbs that I got off an old coot that probably shot Americans at Guadalcanal or Okinawa..... I bought it right after the fiskars purchase. A little time with a file and a stone and it is twice the splitter the fiskars was....

I originally split about a cord with the fiskars and then picked up the Japanese splitting maul. played with them both and no matter what I did the unsharpened maul out split the fiskars. after about 4 cords total by hand I said screw it and built a hydraulic log splitter. 49 is not the new 16 that is for sure, my back was screaming for several months after the paul bunyan period of my wood stove. I still split some small stuff with the Japanese maul but only as a curiosity.

I dated the Japanese maul by the kanji stamp it is marked as the early years of the showa period, which puts it at pre-WW2 to early Korean by Japanese calculations


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## alderman (Sep 20, 2016)

I gave away the x25 to a buddy and got the x27 after finding the x25 wasn't a good fit for my 6'4" height. He's much shorter and now we are both happy. 
BTW an occasional sharpening makes a difference on how well it works. 


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## ken morgan (Sep 21, 2016)

well I am a midget at 5'8" and the fiskars just did not cut it for me


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## Hoolio (Sep 21, 2016)

X27 is heaps faster and easier in easy to split straight grained wood. Anything harder I like a straight edged maul, as in the two cutting/splitting faces are straight not hollowed out. They either split or bounce, your not getting the head stuck all the time.


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## ken morgan (Sep 21, 2016)

Hoolio said:


> X27 is heaps faster and easier in easy to split straight grained wood. Anything harder I like a straight edged maul, as in the two cutting/splitting faces are straight not hollowed out. They either split or bounce, your not getting the head stuck all the time.



as long as you can pull it out in time isn't that all that matters?


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## CR888 (Sep 21, 2016)

kenmorgan said:


> as long as you can pull it out in time isn't that all that matters?


Keep it clean folks....axes are the subject here right.


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## foeke (Sep 21, 2016)

We use a x25 for my midget wife (5,4ft 165cm dutch midget) and prefer a x27 grown man (6,4 195cm) and there is the x46 for when you want to make you back forget that you hit your thumb. X27 Is almost best for every occasion. 

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## ken morgan (Sep 21, 2016)

CR888 said:


> Keep it clean folks....axes are the subject here right.


yes it is very important to keep your axe clean  a sharp edge that has been taken care of and properly tempered will always cut the wood...ask JB....


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## Hoolio (Sep 21, 2016)

Don't know if I'd call a 5'8" man or a 5'4" woman midgets! Ha. My mates pretty close to 5foot n he prefers the x27 over the x25.


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## foeke (Sep 22, 2016)

Dutch midget. Average in the rest of the world. She's part indonesian. Big pro on the x27 is the extra weight. I wouldn't have guessed the length would work for someone who's 5ft.

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## Hoolio (Sep 22, 2016)

Oh ok I should of caught on, my wife's part Dutch too. 
Yeh I thought it would be a bit long for him, his father inlaw has an x25 that he would swap him but he likes the x27.


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## ken morgan (Sep 22, 2016)

so is the consensus that I should try the X27? they do not sell it on base here.....they be discriminating against us short folk...thats what it is. (FWIW most military members fall into 2 categories.....those that scrape the clouds and greet god when they wake up.....and us trolls and urchins


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## Marshy (Sep 22, 2016)

I could never suggest the short x25 but I'm about 6'1" so maybe that's the factor but I can't believe anyone can get more splitting power with a shorter handle and same axe head. X27 FTW


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## Hoolio (Sep 23, 2016)

Yeh man, x27. It's s nice tool, won't be too long handle for you, I'm only 5'11" and the x25 is way too short for my liking.


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## CR888 (Sep 23, 2016)

Generally.speaking the longer handle of the X27 will generate more speed at the axe head. Multiply velocity by the weight of the axe head and you get the impact force generated.


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## dancan (Sep 24, 2016)

I'm 5'9" , I split on the ground in a tire mostly , the x25 works for me , great tool , I also have the Isocore maul , it's an awesome splitter as well .
YMMV


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## Goose7279 (Oct 26, 2016)

Definately try the x 27 i use it to split wood to sell it is a beast i have bought gransfors wetterlings hultafors ox head and none hold a candle to the x27 i have splitting mauls that cost 185 bucks and my 50 dollar x27 smokes them in every catagory except looks i also have the isocore for bigger stuff but it rarely gets used i split stuff thats 24 and 28 inches with the x 27 im 6'5 300lbs also look at the john neeman finnish maul for giggles beautiful maul but what is it made of gypsy tears


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## bfrazier (Jun 25, 2018)

I carefully read this forum wondering what is it that people like so much about the Fiskars mauls, and Ken seems to be the lone dissenting voice amidst a lot of Fiskars fans and maul sharpeners. Now, I know it's a personal preference, depends on maybe your size, level of energy and the task at hand but:

1. I've always heard NOT to over sharpen your maul - it's job is to split where the wood is weak, not cut into whatever direction you head - and I for one believe that. Mine comes to a n edge, but not sharp like an axe.

2. I have an old maul, 8 pounds, sounds much like Ken's, long hickory handle, and it blows through wood. If it boils down to force X speed X weight +/- good placement how is the Fiskar's any different?

So surely someone can illuminate me. Thanks in advance. (Let 'er rip, and tell me what I'm missing folks!)

Bob


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## Goose7279 (Jun 25, 2018)

bfrazier said:


> I carefully read this forum wondering what is it that people like so much about the Fiskars mauls, and Ken seems to be the lone dissenting voice amidst a lot of Fiskars fans and maul sharpeners. Now, I know it's a personal preference, depends on maybe your size, level of energy and the task at hand but:
> 
> 1. I've always heard NOT to over sharpen your maul - it's job is to split where the wood is weak, not cut into whatever direction you head - and I for one believe that. Mine comes to a n edge, but not sharp like an axe.
> 
> ...


It boils down to one thing Bob, geometry. Cutting edge, head design,how your force is applied to get the most efficent use of it. The fiskars weigh about half of what your maul does and that allows for more accuracy and allows you to get more speed also it being sharp allows easier entry into the wood and the geometry is just right not so wide that it is inefficient because it wont penetrate enough to get that "pop" and not so slim that it just sticks. I will make you a promise that if you tried an x27 you wouldn't pick that maul back up for a long time. I have got 2 or three now and my dad and wife and everyone that has came and used it have been blown away. But also with my mauls iwas a guy that liked to keep them sharp no factory edge on a maul has been sharp enough.


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## bfrazier (Jun 25, 2018)

Thanks Goose, I appreciate the time and experience you have on both as a perspective. I'm sure I would agree too - so I just need to try one.


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## Goose7279 (Jun 26, 2018)

No problem it will shock you if you do it definately come back here and let me know. I havent found anyone to not find them as a big improvement. The weight difference such as amount of energy used for the amount of work that gets done is impressive. The only thing that some of the other axes are better at is looking pretty.


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## rngrchad (Jun 26, 2018)

I split with fiskars. Got them all. I like the smallest one best. The first time I used them my mind was BLOWN. Use them in winter. Never had much luck splitting by hand on hickory, or oak during temps above 30 degrees. Fahrenheit. I only split when temps are below 30, in the teens is the best by far. I cut my rounds in summer stack them then split them following winter.


I was also taught to never over sharpen a maul.


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## Cycledude (Jun 26, 2018)

I don’t even bother with splitting small wood like in the LittleLebowski video, as long as it fits through the 10 inch furnace door that’s good enough for me. I do own a Fiskars maul, it’s a nicely made tool but nothing I would brag about, there are lots of nice splitting mauls out there.


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