The Walmart models are branded x25 and are often hidden and / or unpriced.
Fiskars 28" and 36" Side-By-Side Comparison
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The Walmart models are branded x25 and are often hidden and / or unpriced.
danrclem
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Yeah, they were marked X-25 on the tag but I don't know if they had the X-25 marked on the splitter itself or not. I can probably see an X-27 in my future.
TMFARM 2009
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i love my 7858 pro chop. and the super split.. but i just cant find a use for the 7859 pro split axe.. too light.. i am interested in the x 27
but am afraid they are the same head as the pro split..7859...i am curious what the weight of it is???is it same weight as super split?
but am afraid they are the same head as the pro split..7859...i am curious what the weight of it is???is it same weight as super split?
My 28" 'PRO' chopping axe weighs 3 lbs 4.4 oz overall.
My 28" Super Splitter axe weighs 5 lbs 13.5 oz on the same postal scale.
The 28" X-25 splitting axe weighs 5 lbs 6.7 oz on the Fiskars website.
The head on my axe is much narrower than on the X-27. It is over 2 pounds lighter than the respective splitting axes, which is why I like carrying it for limbing and driving wedges, but why the splitter axes split better.
Philbert
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heres the one i talk about... i took some pics of all three you can see the difference in heads...
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TMFARM 2009
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the middle one last photo is the one i dont like....doesn't split good and is awkward to chop with..
It's pretty amazing that there are so many different models for a simple tool like an axe, how the designs of the heads have changed, and the differences in performance. It's like saying, 'I have a STIHL chainsaw'.
Philbert
Philbert
Great review, thanks. Trying to locate an X27 locally, don't think its going to hapen though and I'll have to do the Amazon backorder thing. My wife bought me a 28" super splitter from Sears, which seems to be the biggest Fiskars axe I can get from a store in my area...and its the old style one.
Going to return it and get her money back and pick up an X27.
Home Depot and Wally World both carry Fiskars gardening tools, scissor, pruning, shearing and lopping tools, but neither one carrys Fiskars axes...they both carry the yellow fiberglass handled generic axes and hammers.
Going to return it and get her money back and pick up an X27.
Home Depot and Wally World both carry Fiskars gardening tools, scissor, pruning, shearing and lopping tools, but neither one carrys Fiskars axes...they both carry the yellow fiberglass handled generic axes and hammers.
These are my thoughts too. That is the light splitter I have and it is excellent for kindling type wood, but completely over matched for real splitting. This size model appears to have been removed from the Fiskars lineup.
gilraine
ArboristSite Guru
I use it all the time in smaller wood.. love that I can swing it all day and not hurt at all.. the 4 pounder is great as well, each one has a place for me i guess..
which one is that?
I think that one is what is/was called the pro splitting axe model# 7859 with a 28" handle and a 2.25 lb. head.
I am with gilraine on this. It is light enough to swing all day. Won't split as well as the larger models and/or mauls, but it ain't really designed to do what they do.
Regarding the Walmart Fiskars x25. They are priced at $39.xx at all the stores around here. They are the new x25 models.
Stihl088stock
ArboristSite Guru
I think the x27 is awesome, I have one and a spare already and I plan to get another one the next time that I have an amazon gift card.
I was at OSH yesterday, I bought a x7 (14") for $23.99
They also had the x11 (17") for 37.99 That seems like a steep price jump for 3 inches to me?
I haven't seen the X25 in person yet, the older chopping axes were $34 or so.
I was at OSH yesterday, I bought a x7 (14") for $23.99
They also had the x11 (17") for 37.99 That seems like a steep price jump for 3 inches to me?
I haven't seen the X25 in person yet, the older chopping axes were $34 or so.
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Fiskars makes good on warranty
My 16 year old "misused" the smaller pro axe by throwing for throwing competition it hit handle first and split about a foot of the shaft. Sent it back to Fiskars and they sent out an X25 to replace it in less than 2 weeks, no charge. I would have rather had the exact model pro axe I had but wasn't going to complain. I will be buying more anyways!
My 16 year old "misused" the smaller pro axe by throwing for throwing competition it hit handle first and split about a foot of the shaft. Sent it back to Fiskars and they sent out an X25 to replace it in less than 2 weeks, no charge. I would have rather had the exact model pro axe I had but wasn't going to complain. I will be buying more anyways!
sounds like he needs to abuse his own equipment. take him to the store and let him fork out the $$ for his own.
Stihl088stock
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That's good advice, people just don't appreciate what they didn't earn!
I just got my X27 last night too. Couldn’t wait to try it out so I took a 12” round of maple, set it on my splitting stump and let gravity do the rest. I was shocked when absolutely nothing happened. So I took the X27 and gave it a typical roundhouse swing of the type that I use with my regular maul and sledgehammer. This time I went right into the wood and stuck there, like any $20 axe does. Extracted the thing and it took 2 more hard swings to get the round to split. This was not a particularly large or knotty round, but to be fair it was cut only a month ago so its still pretty green and therefore hard to split (I know some of you guys swear green wood is easier to split, in my experience this is not so).
Took the round that was just below that one in the truck and my old trusty 6lb yellow handled maul and knocked it in 2 on the first swing.
Now to be fair, I have not given the X27 a real workout yet, but so far I’m hanging onto my receipt as I had much higher expectations for this.
Also in the interest of being fair, any of you guys that own and rave over the Fiskars in general (and the X27 in particular), how do you swing it? Is there a trick to doing it more effectively than with a traditional maul so as to take better advantage of the square head design? Also, is it supposed to be really sharp? Because mine came to me about as sharp as the flat side of a butterknife, there is no sharp edge to this thing right now...its got more of a traditional dull maul edge than a sharp axe edge, which may be the problem. I did purchase the Fiskars sharpener with it so I can certainly try to put a better edge on it if thats how it workes best.
For my swing, I use the typical roundhouse swing that I've been using to split wood since I was 8 or 9. Right hand at the end of the handle, left at the head, bring it around bahind my left side and up over my head, bring the head down with alot of added force as I move my left hand down the hadle till it meets the right. Impct with the wood is an inch or so below my waist when the head is moving at or near its maximum possible velocity.
Thoughts? Too soon to know if I'll want to keep it or not...initial use tells me its another gimmick that doesn't work, but so many of you experienced wood buners have raved about the thing that I figure I must be doing something wrong.
Took the round that was just below that one in the truck and my old trusty 6lb yellow handled maul and knocked it in 2 on the first swing.
Now to be fair, I have not given the X27 a real workout yet, but so far I’m hanging onto my receipt as I had much higher expectations for this.
Also in the interest of being fair, any of you guys that own and rave over the Fiskars in general (and the X27 in particular), how do you swing it? Is there a trick to doing it more effectively than with a traditional maul so as to take better advantage of the square head design? Also, is it supposed to be really sharp? Because mine came to me about as sharp as the flat side of a butterknife, there is no sharp edge to this thing right now...its got more of a traditional dull maul edge than a sharp axe edge, which may be the problem. I did purchase the Fiskars sharpener with it so I can certainly try to put a better edge on it if thats how it workes best.
For my swing, I use the typical roundhouse swing that I've been using to split wood since I was 8 or 9. Right hand at the end of the handle, left at the head, bring it around bahind my left side and up over my head, bring the head down with alot of added force as I move my left hand down the hadle till it meets the right. Impct with the wood is an inch or so below my waist when the head is moving at or near its maximum possible velocity.
Thoughts? Too soon to know if I'll want to keep it or not...initial use tells me its another gimmick that doesn't work, but so many of you experienced wood buners have raved about the thing that I figure I must be doing something wrong.
Well, I don't just set my axe next to the wood and expect it to split on its own, but my experience was very different from yours, under what sounds to be similar circumstances. Attached, please see photos from about a full cord of silver maple that was split between 1 day and 2 weeks after cutting with my brand new X-27.
As the title of this post notes, this was a side-by-side comparison of the 2 Fiskars axes, along with few swings with my 'Monster Maul' (now recently departed via Craig's List). So your wood may be different. But a lot of this wood was 12 - 14" diameter maple, as yours was. If you look at the ends, you can see that this was not all straight grained wood. In fact, I intentionally split a bunch of knarly stuff to try out my brand new X-27.
With the heavier head on the shorter axe I could drop/push it through the smaller stuff (4 to 8" diameter, clear rounds). Because of the longer handle and the smaller, narrower head on the X-27, I had to swing it over my head, similar to your 'Roundhouse' motion, but I only had to lean into it, or apply a lot of force, on the larger rounds, or those with knots, crotches, etc. Otherwise, momentum carried it through.
As I noted, I intentionally cut my rounds shorter (10 - 12"), especially if large diameter or knarly, to make them easier to split. As I also noted, it took a little while to get used to this axe, compared to my 28" Fiskars, which is why I split over half of that cord before trying to form an opinion.
You should do a side-by-side test with your other maul or axe on a bunch of your wood to see what works best for you. You may prefer the maul you are used to, or it may work better for your wood or your splitting style. But I would not call these axes gimmicks. It might just be a preference.
Philbert
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I've always used a short, fast swing, that's why I like the shorter handle, I still prefer the original super splitter over the X25 & X27.
Philbert, thanks for the info. I know I need to give it a better workout, just looking for info at this point to see if people are using it in an particualr way that differs from swinging a conventional maul.
One question. Is your X27 particularly sharp? Mine is pretty darn dull from the factory. I suspect that might be the issue for me.
Gonna let it rip over the weekend, I'm way behind in my processing and just took down another 8 trees last weekend. Gotta buck em and split em.
One question. Is your X27 particularly sharp? Mine is pretty darn dull from the factory. I suspect that might be the issue for me.
Gonna let it rip over the weekend, I'm way behind in my processing and just took down another 8 trees last weekend. Gotta buck em and split em.
