New Tool

[inspectorwoody]

Yesterday I picked up a Fiskars Super Splitting Axe! 4 1/4 # head. Lifetime Warranty and an unbreakable handle!  ;D

Also picked up the sharpner they sell.

Anyone else using one of these or other Fiskars tools?

[Dan_Shade]

i like my fiskars axe

i've heard the handles on the splitting mauls are good for the height challenged.

[Dodgy Loner]

Yeah, I got a Fiskars forest axe, but not the splitting axe.  The handle is identical to yours.  I've had it for about four years, but I haven't been really impressed with it.  The steel is too soft and doesn't hold an edge.  The angle of the bevel is all wrong; the blade is fat for most of the way down to the bevel, so the bevel tapers very quickly to an edge that is therefore too blunt.  And the handle may be unbreakable, but it's also pretty hard on the hands.  It doesn't do much to dampen the vibration, so your hands get beaten to death while you're swinging it.  

The sad thing is that my Fiskars axe is still a big step up from the cheap Chinese imports that are peddled at your friendly neighborhood Lowe's.  I've been spoiled by being on the UGA Forestry Club's lumberjack competition team, where we used $400 Tuatahi racing axes with custom hickory handles.  I still sharpen all of the axes for the Forestry Club, and I get them so sharp you can shave your arm in a single stroke.  That's not the impressive thing, though - the impressive thing is that you can still shave your arm with them after cutting through a 10 x 10 cant of sweetgum! ;D  I can't afford a Tuatahi racing axe for everyday use, but I did upgrade my Fiskars this spring.  I bought a hand-forged, early-1900's double-bitted axehead off of eBay, and whittled a custom hickory handle for it.  The steel is even harder than Tuatahi's steel, which makes it harder to sharpen...but when it only needs sharpening every few months, I'm not gonna complain.  It's still sharp enough to cut through a 3" oak branch in a single swing after 3 months of hard use.  My Fiskars axe is now relegated to root-chopping duty when I'm digging post holes.

[Jeff]

I'll wait for LogRite. They have both in Development. 

[Sprucegum]

I bought a Fiskar hatchet last year. Its the best quality you can buy in any of the  chain stores around here. It stays sharp for light limbing and I can split a billet with it if I have to. I keep it in the truck all the time - just in case.

[Dodgy Loner]

I'll wait for LogRite. They have both in Development. 

If their axes are as good as their peaveys, it'll be worth waiting for!

[Dan_Shade]

i tend to use my fixers for a plow and rock breaking.  :(

[inspectorwoody]

I haven't noticed it being hard on the hands but I'm sure I will after many more hours of use  ;)

Dodgy Loner

Maybe you can teach me a thing or two about sharpening  I have some other axes that need some well deserved TLC, but I have no idea where to start!

[Dodgy Loner]

Inspector,
I'll be happy do a little tutorial on axe sharpening.  It's not nearly as hard as it might seem, provided you have a decent set of sharpening supplies.  In fact, it's one of my favorite things to do when it's raining outside.  Only problem is, I always seem to be missing half the hair on my left arms the day after it rains .

Just so you know, most of my qualms with Fiskars axes would not apply to your splitting axe.  The steel's ability to hold an edge and the geometry of the bevel are much less important than swinging hard and hitting the right spot.   And if you wear a good pair of gloves, your hands might not take such a beating, I've just never been real fond of working in gloves.

[Dave Shepard]

DL, how many left arms do you have? ;D

All of the axes I have encountered, i.e. Collins, Snow and Neally, have all had fairly soft steel. I thought this was standard of this type of axe, as it keeps the axe from chipping and shattering when in use. I know a broad axe is supposed to have a hard steel that will hold an edge.


Dave

[rebocardo]

> I'll wait for LogRite.

So will I then.

I went to the local box stores and the only thing that approached even usable were the big triangle splitters that weigh 12 pounds. So, I am still using my chainsaw, sledge with wedges, and double bit Sears ax to split firewood.  I really need a good axe to grind  :D

[Quartlow]

I've got a Fiskars hatchet. I only split wood one way, with hydraulics :D

[crtreedude]

Hmmm, back in the day when I heated with wood - not much call for it in down here in Costa Rica - I used a splitting maul and a wood grenade. The wood grenade is like a wedge, but not only in one direction but in many at the same time. This way the log can split where it likes.

If the wood was easy to split, I would use the maul, if it was hard, the wood grenade.

If it was really hard - a real grenade (just kidding)!

[TW]

I have a Fiskars hatchet. I have it laying under the seat in my car. The geometry is all wrong in my oppinion and the steel is nothing to brag about. Fiskars axes are usually the only axes sold at ordinary hardware stores in Finland, except the chineese axe pretenders. This means that my generation of people get no idea of what a real axe is like.
Some stores sell some swedish made axes and they seem to be better.

We have a 15 years old Fiskars splitting axe with wooden handle and it is good. No complaint at all.

I have several Fiskars Chisels and gouges but i am replacing them with better quality as fast as i can. The steel in not good enough, except for coarse carpentry work.

I have a Fiskars hammer which ihave had laying in the boat for emergence repairs. It was useless for serious carpentry.

[Dan_Shade]

I made the mistake of buying a fiskars shovel once, "the world's greatest shovel", yeah, i feel dumb about that, but not as dumb as I felt when I bent the handle over the first time I used it....

[Engineer]

I have the small Fiskars hand axe.  My Scout troop has done their best to wreck it, with no success.   :D  I think it's great, with a small engineer's hammer and the hand axe, we split some 18" diameter maple logs for our campfires, no sweat.  It won't take a pounding forever, but I intend to get one of those same splitting mauls for the troop.

Fiskars is the same as Gerber, so the Gerber axes have the same quality, just don't have the orange color on the handle.  Gerber has some different sizes too.

[beenthere]

I have the small Fiskars hand axe.  My Scout troop has done their best to wreck it, with no success.   :D  I think it's great, with a small engineer's hammer and the hand axe, we split some 18" diameter maple logs for our campfires, no sweat.  It won't take a pounding forever, but I intend to get one of those same splitting mauls for the troop.

.................

I cringe a bit when I read this, as a friend of mine lost an eye when his buddy was pounding steel on steel (hammer to hatchet) to split wood on a hunting trip. Apparently the hatchet steel deformed enough that a glancing blow caused a metal chip to fly into his eye. I kinda had the impression the hammer heads on a hatchet were just for pounding in tent stakes and such. But it's impressive that 18" maple logs were split with a hand axe.