Splitting/Chopping Tool Review Thread

[woodchuck357]

The helko 2000 heavy splitting ax looks werid but you can easily make a longer haft for the 5 pound head. Ofcourse you could make your own head also, using their design.
http://www.helkonorthamerica.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=78&products_id=193

 

[86indy]

I am starting to think otherwisw of the condor...I just saw that husqvarna makes a splitting axe and splitting maul and they look pretty interesting. I favor the husky maul so far with price and design as of now..

Edit: That looks even nicer, but prices are increasing quickly hah

 

[spike60]

Thanks for the welcome guys!
I should try and sharpen and polish the Craftsman I have..can anyone direct me to a How To? I dont wanna mess up the tool, that would be a shame.

@spike60 what is your preference out of the ones your own?



Thanks guys!

My two favorites are the Husky splitting axe and the Collins 6lb maul. Collins gets the big stuff, the Husky works nice on medium and down. I also like the plain old large axes I have. The Total is OK as a spare, but just isn't a first choice in any application.

I have yet to sharpen my buddy's other two mauls, so if I get to it this weekend, I'll take some pics. 4 basic steps, but only 3 are needed.

1--grinding wheel to shape it
2--flat file to create the edge
3--hockey skate stone to really bring it to a fine edge.
4--strop it with a piece of leather. Now this step in all seriousness is going overboard to the point of being silly, but I did it anyway.

 

[El Quachito]

dancan, what's the make of that double bit? It looks nice.

Birch and Maple .

 

[dancan]

Birch and Maple .

I guess I should have done a bit of a review on that NOS HultsBruks , at 3 1/2 lbs and being very thin bit it's more of a felling axe but when you have some dry fairly straight grained wood I find that this excels at splitting kindling , it's hard to explain why but I find that db's balance out perfectly when you have it held just under the head and the splits pop apart effortlessly .
Here's a vid showing and explaining .



That's not me if you're wondering LOL

 

[mn woodcutter]

I guess I should have done a bit of a review on that NOS HultsBruks , at 3 1/2 lbs and being very thin bit it's more of a felling axe but when you have some dry fairly straight grained wood I find that this excels at splitting kindling , it's hard to explain why but I find that db's balance out perfectly when you have it held just under the head and the splits pop apart effortlessly .
Here's a vid showing and explaining .



That's not me if you're wondering LOL

I think I would risk loosing a finger doing that!

 

[zogger]

I guess I should have done a bit of a review on that NOS HultsBruks , at 3 1/2 lbs and being very thin bit it's more of a felling axe but when you have some dry fairly straight grained wood I find that this excels at splitting kindling , it's hard to explain why but I find that db's balance out perfectly when you have it held just under the head and the splits pop apart effortlessly .
Here's a vid showing and explaining .



That's not me if you're wondering LOL

That looks like fun, in the "hey bishop, do the trick" way...hahahah!

Hmm, I do the tire on a stump deal and load it with straight grained pine and just keep hitting smaller and smaller with the fiskars. Not all come out perfect ready to go into kindling bags, but enough of them. The remainder slivers and chunks, anything that isn't full length and uniform, I throw in a bucket and use for myself.

 

[svk]

And you and Steve need to stop bickering or you're both getting sent to the principal's office. LOL

For the record I sent "CTyank" a PM asking for a cease fire and he didn't even bother responding. Classy.

 

[spike60]

Birch and Maple .

Well Dan, looks like I'll need to add a double bit axe to the arsenal. I've always used a hatchet or my small Collins axe for kindling, and will likely continue to. My kindling all comes from tractor crates and slab wood from a buddy's band saw mill, so a hatchet is just the ticket. I have 4 hatchets, and I suppose there's a pic coming of those so we can expand the discussion here as we all go off the deep edge with these hand tools. But I think we're having fun so who care's, right?

 

[dancan]

I've got plenty of hatchets and split lots with them Bob but that was my first run with a db , I made sure I did a bunch so I it wasn't like a stick or two , not shown are the 2 banana boxes of splits that I gave away .
I'm pretty sure that a shorter db would be even better , it's hard to explain but the weight and the balance point just keep everything in line and it's just a downward motion with your hand , not a swing .
If you have to swing at it you're either starting with too big of a piece or you're using the wrong wood .

 

[dancan]

I had a chance to go get a few small rounds of red maple today so I drug out the PA 80 and brought it with me since it was feeling neglected .

It has a big handle so not a tool if you have small hands .
I split up some red maple .

Vs the GB

In this size wood the GB was the winner because of ease of use and I find that I'm more accurate with the shorter handles of the GB or X25 .
I also have to make a guard for overstrikes on the PA 80 .

 

[svk]

For S and G I swung through Home Depot and Walmart today to see what splitting tools they have.

Home Depot:
Pretty sparse: an 8# maul, a 3.5# axe, and a 4.5#splitting axe.

Both axes and the maul had a fairly sharp edge but the angle on the maul was so steep that I can see this getting stuck a lot more than making clean splits. Also the edge wasn't perfectly straight although a little better than the last couple of CT mauls that folks posted up. This would need some serious work.

Also their replacement handles were priced a bit on the steep side. $14 for a new handle or $29 to get the whole thing, in a pinch I'd just get a backup maul....



Onto Walmart:

Their collection was condensed pretty small but they did have some funny looking tools from some company that is normally associate with scissors. I guess they reportedly work pretty well

I'll hit Menards, Mills, Northern Tool, and Lowes over the next week and report up on what they have.

 

[woodchuck357]

when I stopped at Hot Springs wal mart the other day and found no splitting tools or chainsaw files I asked where they were and was told they are seasonal items.

 

[svk]

when I stopped at Hot Springs wal mart the other day and found no splitting tools or chainsaw files I asked where they were and was told they are seasonal items.

They are pretty picked over by now. Mine had 3 saws left.

 

[MechanicMatt]

I used to use one of those home depot 4.5lb axes for all my wood. My brother in-law went threw two I broke the handle off of one. It was the repeated handle failure that led me and him to the fiskars. One good over swing and that handle is hurting, a second and toss it in the trash. The fiskars....... so far so good. Spike, has anybody broken one of your synthetic handled splitters yet? They are good lookers, hope they're as stout as they look.

 

[mn woodcutter]

Yes for splitting in a tire the fiskars is the winner in my book. However the metal must be junk on them because I sharpened it up to perfection the other day and after a half cord of hard maple splitting inside a tire up on a block the edge was all dinged up. That's kinda frustrating. I never hit anything but wood with it!

 

[MechanicMatt]

Huh! That must be some dang hard maple! I shoulda kept that homecheapo maul head and stuck a wood handle in it.

 

[Ronaldo]

I had a chance to go get a few small rounds of red maple today so I drug out the PA 80 and brought it with me since it was feeling neglected .

It has a big handle so not a tool if you have small hands .
I split up some red maple .

Vs the GB

In this size wood the GB was the winner because of ease of use and I find that I'm more accurate with the shorter handles of the GB or X25 .
I also have to make a guard for overstrikes on the PA 80 .

Dancan, your pa80 looks like a pa50 splitting axe according to my Stihl literature. The pa80 is heavier at 6.6lbs and looks more like a maul.
I would love to try those Stihl tools sometime, but they are quite proud of them and price them accordingly!!!

 

[dancan]

Ronaldo , you're polly correct because I don't think it's 6.6 lbs LOL

 

[svk]

Hey @benp nice work on your most recent commercial!