Leveraxe

Today I recieved the "passaround axe" The inventor was kind enough to send us a demo leveraxe. The rules are. I got it first, I will use it and evaluate it. Then I will mail it to the next guy. Then he will use it, and also evaluate it. It will eventually be RETURNED to the Inventor. So if you do recieve the axe. Please use it, evaluate it and then send it on.. last guy with it.. sends it back to the inventor.
I only had a few minutes this evening after work to use it.. It will take some learning.It busted some six inch cherry with little effort. Although the Hickory gave it a bit of a challenge. We all know Hickory will give hydraulics a challenge too..So it and Elm are both not candidates for hand splitting anyhow.here are some pics.
http://www.pbase.com/ericjeeper/image/76927459.jpg
http://www.pbase.com/ericjeeper/image/76927471.jpg
http://www.pbase.com/ericjeeper/image/76927482.jpg
http://www.pbase.com/ericjeeper/image/76927493.jpg

Looks nice and light.

demo

I saw a demo video of that thing on the web. looked like it was effective. but also looked like it had it's place too. not for knocking the snot out of some big blocks but more for chipping the sides off. how does it feel on the wrists at the end of the day?? does it give them a good twisting?

EastwoodGang4 said:

I saw a demo video of that thing on the web. looked like it was effective. but also looked like it had it's place too. not for knocking the snot out of some big blocks but more for chipping the sides off. how does it feel on the wrists at the end of the day?? does it give them a good twisting?

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I too saw the video... :monkey: To me it seems if you want to split big rounds you need something heavy. Would be willing to give this one a shot, but I'm fairly certain I know what the result will be.

here I am, to state the obvious.

As we all know, you gotta have the right tool for the job, and you gotta know what the right tool is, depending on the situation. I welcome pretty much any addition to my selection, and this thing would be a fine addition, too bad it is so costly right now.
I read the makers statements and I hope it is all true, as I love advances in technology as much as the next guy. Thanks for the trial ax (to the creator, I hope he is following this thread), and thanks for starting the thread Eric.

ericjeeper said:

Today I recieved the "passaround axe" The inventor was kind enough to send us a demo leveraxe. The rules are. I got it first, I will use it and evaluate it. Then I will mail it to the next guy. Then he will use it, and also evaluate it. It will eventually be RETURNED to the Inventor. So if you do recieve the axe. Please use it, evaluate it and then send it on.. last guy with it.. sends it back to the inventor.
I only had a few minutes this evening after work to use it.. It will take some learning.It busted some six inch cherry with little effort. Although the Hickory gave it a bit of a challenge. We all know Hickory will give hydraulics a challenge too..So it and Elm are both not candidates for hand splitting anyhow.here are some pics.
http://www.pbase.com/ericjeeper/image/76927459.jpg
http://www.pbase.com/ericjeeper/image/76927471.jpg
http://www.pbase.com/ericjeeper/image/76927482.jpg
http://www.pbase.com/ericjeeper/image/76927493.jpg

Click to expand...

where is the pass it around list? I wouldnt mind giving it a few swings

I'll give it a go, if I may. I've got some good big oak rounds that should give it a workout. 20-30 inches, anyway.

Once I get finished over the weekend..

Providing the rains stop. I will put it back into the original box with all the paperwork and send it North to Brandon in MI. He and Chris are going to try to wear the paint off of it.. Then it will be up to them to ship it to the next guy.

I look forward to getting it. I will get some video of it being used on different species and sizes, and will post them up here.

I've got a half dozen or so people who want to try it out while I've got it, but we should be able to get it tested pretty quickly and sent on to the next person (who is Mr. Firewood, it would seem, since he's almost local). After that it looks like it'll be making the rounds in Virginia...

Ohio

Will the Demo axe be passing around Ohio?? if so where's the sign up sheet?

By the way did the inventor from finland give a price for his piece if anyone would like to buy one??

I don't recall exactly, but it's something like the high side of 200 bucks. I'd get the price off their website, but I don't read Finish!

http://www.vipukirves.fi/media/index.htm



It's going to have to be pretty impressive to justify that price!

Where's the sign-up sheet.

I looked this guy's site up on the internet. I too, don' t read Finnish, but would love to try this thing out here in the PNW, where we split mostly fir & alder.

How can I get on the list?

James

I just re boxed the axe.

Going to get it in the mail tomorrow if I drive by a post office on my way to the job.
The list is basically whoever gets it and chooses who he wants to ship it to next.
It is going from me to Computeruser

Shipped it priority mail.

I insured it for 272. us dollars. and the shipping combined was only 11.55. Not a bad deal.
I think that any of us that ship it.. should also insure it.. I do not really wish to pay for som
something I do not get to keep.
Brandon Enjoy the axe..

BlueRidgeMark said:

I don't recall exactly, but it's something like the high side of 200 bucks. I'd get the price off their website, but I don't read Finish!

http://www.vipukirves.fi/media/index.htm



It's going to have to be pretty impressive to justify that price!

Click to expand...

from the site, the price is 199e which is around 270dollars, pretty expensive...

ericjeeper said:

I insured it for 272. us dollars. and the shipping combined was only 11.55. Not a bad deal.
I think that any of us that ship it.. should also insure it.. I do not really wish to pay for som
something I do not get to keep

Click to expand...

Good advice.

Good to know it's on its way! I've already got a taker in OH once the Mid-Michigan crowd is done with it.

I will post some video of it in hardwood and softwood, alongside more conventional splitting tools like the Iron&Oak maul, a Collins 8lb maul, Craftsman 5lb maul-axe thing, and a conventional single-bit axe.

Update:

I received the ax a while back and finally had the chance to give a it a good testing this past weekend. I tested it myself, and it was also handled and tested by three other folks who are experienced in splitting wood by hand.

In short: though its build quality is superb, I was not impressed with its performance.

In fact, I was so unimpressed its performance that I didn't even bother making videos of it splitting stuff because we couldn't get it to split a damned thing except ailanthus, which splits all on its own when you fell it half the time anyway.

We tried it in green ailanthus and silver maple, as well as some pine, white oak, ash, and mulberry that was cut last fall or this past winter. Even when perfectly aimed to 1.5" from the edge of the round, the ax was more likely to stick than to penetrate and split off a plank of firewood. The performance of the leveraxe was about on a par with that of an old single bit ax that I use for limbing and tapping wedges. It was wholly incapable of cleaving off pieces from the hardwood species, and did a mediocre job in the pine unless it was absolutely clear and the round being split was less than 10" in length.

I offer this report not to disparage the design of the leveraxe or its abilities when used on the wood in the environment where it was designed. I've seen the videos on the website and it clearly works on the wood that is found over there. But it is not an appropriate tool for the stuff we burn here in the midwest. It might be able to perform better here if its head weighed eight or ten pounds, though.

I will be packing it up and sending it off to Ohio in the next day or so, and I know that there are a number of guys on the east coast who would like to have a go with it. What I would really like to see, though, is how it handles the northwest and alaskan softwoods - I think that these might be a better match for this tool's intent and design. All in all, I am very glad to have had the chance to try out the Leveraxe myself in the sort of wood that we deal with around here.



As an aside, this experiment also served as an opportunity to test out the other splitting tools I mentioned in the earlier post in a fairly scientific fashion. Interestingly, everybody's favorite splitting tool was the Iron & Oak wedge-on-a-stick 15lb maul. Even our 140lb friend preferred it over all the other tools we tested. We also had a chance to try a Fiskars hatchet and were all very impressed with that tool. Perhaps a hatchet comparison and review will be forthcoming...

I have a pile of Red oak rounds to play with and some birch aswell as some ash just waiting for it

I got some 30 inch oak rounds and some 22 inch maple to test it on if it will be going through Illinois anytime. Evan