The Traveling Leveraxe/Leveraxe 2 Thread

[MustangMike]

What Fiskars is that, it looks short.

 

[Hedgerow]

What Fiskars is that, it looks short.

Looks like the 25 or the original super..

I prefer those to the 27.

 

[zogger]

What Fiskars is that, it looks short.

The original supersplitter. 28 "

 

[MechanicMatt]

Zogger there must be talent and wisdom in your many years on this planet, me I couldn't get used to that thing. How long are those splits? I wonder if all mine were too long? I think I was probably gripping it to tight, got train your self to swing something as fast as you can and NOT be gripping it as tight as you can at the same time.

 

[svk]

Here we go first round. Pics should be in order of commentary, left right next row

Red oak on the ground. Didn't bother with any other tools, already know it busts easy. OK, I think the bent cutter part needs to be longer for longer rounds like is common in north america. It only penetrates so far, needs to be an inch or two longer, plus more beefy head weight. You can swing it fast, it is quite light, feels lighter in the hands over a fiskars, so a lb or so heavier dutier would be OK. No probs in the red oak. Note, it doesn't take much of a grip to screw ya up on the levering action. You *have* to let the thing pivot, float in your hands or if you are used to a flick, add that, with correct timing. If you hang on to it, nothing, won't split well. First three pics.

Next pic, some pine at 16", no probs, worked as well as fiskars or husky/wetterlings. A little knotty, knots stop it though as no follow through to bust them or cut strings, sill, busted it up. One year old standing dead.

Next two pics, green cut tulip poplar at 16", busted the best. Again though, would have done better and got better splits I think with a longer cutter to make the lever move farther, had to hand bust the round..it was split, just hanging on the bottom. Clean good wood.

Next some ash, but it had a knot. Not so great, and the fiskars would also only split so far. I'll give that one to the husky/wetterlings because of better follow through and weight.

And the winner so far today, 12" winged elm, it just sneered at everything including the big maul, everything bounced off..sorta like I expected. I usually let those things sit for a long time until well checked, then sometimes they can get axed, often though, cut a kerf in the top and sledge and wedge.

Last pics, the fleet and another with the red oak. Tomorrow I will try some more species. I did do one cherry and a couple dogwoods, they split easy, narrow diameter at 16 inch. Anything will split them.

I've got to chuckle at the picture of the nice splits with the round of Elm sitting defiantly behind them smugly thinking "you ain't going to split me". Lol

 

[zogger]

Zogger there must be talent and wisdom in your many years on this planet, me I couldn't get used to that thing. How long are those splits? I wonder if all mine were too long? I think I was probably gripping it to tight, got train your self to swing something as fast as you can and NOT be gripping it as tight as you can at the same time.

Everything was 16 except the elm, that is 12.

Just sorta lose friction contact once the thing hits, then it pivots. Although round where your hands are would pivot easier over the oval shape the handle has now.

I also just wanted to try pure hands the first day, tomorrow I will dig out some worn dry smooth gloves. Normally I wear the latex dipped gloves if I am wearing gloves, that wouldn't work at all, too sticky.

 

[benp]

Great review Zogg!!!!!

Thanks

 

[zogger]

OK, wrapped up my testing this afternoon, did two more types, shagbark hickory and some white oak, both at 16 inch long.

Dramatically different results, the hickory I was getting that explosive splitting, just on the ground, splits flying off to the side. The oak, hardly any despite numerous strikes and trying different rounds. I managed to bust a few real thin slabs off the outside, but no real thicker splits. Both were done on the ground, and then up on a block. did a fast wheelbarrow load of hickory easy, white oak, meh..no go.

Final thoughts, interesting tool, as shipped more suitable for shorter and very clean straight grained wood. As mentioned before, perhaps for a wood cookstove or a room heater that takes shorter splits.

Any species twisty or gnarly or knots, not seeing it working well, at least how I swing it, and I really tried to keep the technique "pure". If the designer were to make a model more geared for the north American market, I would make the head just over all heavier by at least a pound, and the bent cutting edge perhaps an inch and a half longer and thicker so it can dig in better and achieve a wider wedge-split action, with the angle adjusted for that. Need more weight to get it there. Just over all beefier.

Down at the bottom of the handle, where you hold and swing with two hands, run it through a lathe or like balloon sander or shaper of some sort to make it round. The rest of the handle could remain oval, but it needs to slip in the hands easier.

I am sure with even more practice I could make it work better. I doubt a few swings would be enough to really get how this thing works. With that said, I don't know how much better I could get with it, but I guess some.

You have to motivate it to get enough penetration to get to the point it levers, then, you have to let it lever in your hands. Alternately (I did it both ways), you can keep a grip and time your twitch/flick to help it along, similar to how you would do that with a conventional splitting axe. It 'splodes the splits off then, sorta fun.

If I owned it, it would be a lot sharper, plus I would use the same teflon spray on it I use for my other splitting tools. I would also try to figure out how to add some weight to the head.

Hickory success, oak fail, then two shots of the splitter head.

Thanks SVK for the opportunity to try this out!

 

[Philbert]

Great detail Zog. Bottom line questions:

1) How much would you pay for this tool as is?

2)Does it do anything, or anything better, than your Fiskars?

Philbert

 

[svk]

Thanks Zogger, excellent review!

 

[ziggo_2]

its funny you say youd make it a pound heavier, cause from what i understand, he made this 2nd version a pound lighter on purpous ....

 

[zogger]

Great detail Zog. Bottom line questions:

1) How much would you pay for this tool as is?

2)Does it do anything, or anything better, than your Fiskars?

Philbert

Just because of its uniqueness in design, I think it is worth..less than the asking price but more than a husky/wetterlings or fiskars. A benjamin I guess. There just aren't any others like this out there, so there is a premium price. Well, plus, what I would pay for something probably isn't indicative of what someone else might, the asking price is almost exactly two weeks take home for me....that skews my perception of "worth". With a fiskars at 50 bucks..see? Someone who clears that much a day might think "OK, I'll try one".

As to anything better, like was said, if one had a small modern heater that took short splits, or a cookstove, you could fly with this thing in clean straight wood, anything without major knots, clean straight pine/ some other conifer or tulip poplar or ash or red oak, beech, species like that. The hickory was fast but left strings as it wants to do. Some blew out clean, some I had to twist it off, but that is expected with hickory. It is very very lightweight in your hands. As you can see in his vids, it busts quickly in the right wood and it would be faster than a fiskars for follow up strikes *in that wood*. This is a finesse tool above all, although you do need to get the horsepower in there for that hit, and you have to be content with smaller splits, working from the outside. This is not the tool to do 6-8 inch splits with. It is for 2 to at the max 4 inch splits. 2-3 is about right. Perhaps bigger in shorter wood. A conventional splitting axe is better for stringy wood obviously, as you have the tool in hand to cut the strings.

With that said, I am still quite happy with my original supersplitter.

 

[zogger]

its funny you say youd make it a pound heavier, cause from what i understand, he made this 2nd version a pound lighter on purpous ....

That's interesting, didn't know that.

 

[H-Ranch]

Zogger - I think you missed your calling as a professional wood splitting implement critic (I mean the kind that gets paid for it as opposed to the rest of us mere mortal firewood hacks posting on AS.) That is a very good overall review of the product with different types of wood and techniques calling out the strengths and weaknesses as you see them as well as some possible improvements.

 

[mn woodcutter]

Here's a new review from wranglerstar youtube channel. VIPUKIRVES Leveraxe Review | Wranglerstar:

 

[zogger]

Decent video review. Ya, would have liked to try the heavier one. What I didn't get was the bad vibrations. Some, but not bad. Not sure why not, and ain't complaining either. both of us agreed around a hundred bucks, tops.

I guess they were splitting birch? Anyone ID that wood? Or is that northern aspen? Looked like decent splitting wood.

 

[Philbert]

". . . It's like something that belongs in the Sky Mall . . . "

Philbert

 

[ziggo_2]

so what i got out of that is the 1st version is decent but way overpriced and the 2nd version is plain junk.....still looking forward to trying it out.

Ive thought with the way he has it priced and the goofy factor it has, its niche tool for a niche market....people will buy it but not many. I hate to say it but if he wants to sell alot of them hes gonna have to mass produce it and lower the price to say $70.

You can get that 'lever' action with any axe just by holding it at an angle....ive done it with my fiskars quite a bit.

 

[Derf]

I haven't read this whole thread, just the first and last pages... can I get in on the list, I'd like to try the LA. No rush, but where in line am I standing?

 

[MechanicMatt]

Hey Derf where in westchester do you live?