Any good for splitting?

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zaxxon

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Oct 10, 2014
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Could anyone give some input on whether either of these axe heads would make a decent firewood splitter? They are yard sale finds that I plan to clean up and sharpen. I recently ordered a handle from House, and then realized that the heads might be for felling. Any thoughts?

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A profile shot would help to see their geometry, but they are almost certainly felling axes.

However, they will still split wood just fine. They might take a little more effort to split big knotty chunks, but I split wood for years with unsharpened felling axes and it worked pretty darn well. :)
 
Thank you Square Peg and SC. I hadn't read your replies before I posted again. It's great to hear that they are usable. If I'm looking for splitter heads at yard sales, are there any characteristics that I should look for, should the bit have a wider angle?
 
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Dedicated splitters will be much more wedge-shaped, and tend to be heavier. A lot of people will also use a splitting maul like the ones posted below. They tend to be heavy, so it would be tougher to swing them all day, but sharpened up they do a great job. For extended splitting though, I decent sharp axe and good aim will get you where you want to be. Either of the heads you posted should work, and yes the Jersey has the "ears" or lugs. My guess is the non-lugged Michigan pattern would be the better splitter of the two as it has a high centerline and shouldn't stick too badly, but both should work just fine. I have an old Kelly Michigan and it's a fantastic splitter even at a relatively light 3.5 pounds. Just don't use either as a wedge or pound on them with a hammer or sledge as they will deform or crack. The splitting mauls shown below can be hit though as they are specifically designed and heat-treated for that.

My Kelly Michigan...great splitter:


Kelly profile...the high centerline (i.e. thicker in the middle, thinner at top and bottom) helps a lot.


My two mauls...can be bashed but are definitely heavier at 6 and 8 pounds:
 
SC, thanks for the info and photos. Nice looking axe. That is very helpful, especially the profile shot. I was perusing the axe heads on eBay last night and I noticed that almost none of the posters include profile shots. It seems like it would be important information to show.

I appreciate the advice about the Michigan pattern head, I was leaning towards that one too. Even though it's not as big as the other, it does feel heavier to my hand. Maybe because of the additional metal in the poll. I prefer an axe to a maul; I agree with you, I feel like they can usually do it all, with less effort.
 
An old WWII veteran I befriended many years ago grew up on an eastern Ontario farm during the Depression era and spent a lot of time cutting and splitting hardwood in his youth. Their log house had no electricity and the heating and cooking were done with wood. He was wiry thin and slight and swore by a Walters brand "pulp axe" (these go by the name 'boys axe' in the USA) for cutting and splitting wood and watching him go, even at the age 75, was a real eye-opener. He used a wrist twist just as the blade struck and he was careful never to strike the log round anywhere in the middle. He could work his way around a huge piece of wood and generate cordwood at an amazing rate and he never came looking for a maul or a wedge when I was around. And I never found one hidden away anywhere either and his fireplace was always going when it got cool outside.

His son worked for me during the 1990s and had also learned how to split wood just like his old man. Armed with a ordinary axe (my Oxhead Iltis Canadian) he would turn rounds into firewood as fast as I could chainsaw fresh logs of any size into 16 inch pieces.

As they say in the race circuits "run what ya brung".
 
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Great yard sale finds. Both will do a splitting job for you. The Jersey will be heavier and may do better. Your Michigan may be a Kelly under all that rust...ribs in the eye can be a give away.

You'll be amazed at how nice those will turn out if you take a course twisted wire cup on an angle grinder to clean them up. It will leave a nice patina too....

Tom
 
All good advice above. I agree with SC that the Michigan is a better shape for splitting but weight matters, too.

One thing, don't free a stuck axe by reefing on the haft. That will only serve to loosen the haft. Best is to strike it back and forth on the top and bottom of the poll. This way there's no force applied to the haft. And if you have a heavy wooden mallet it won't mar the poll at all. But even using a hammer is better than reefing on the poll.

And BTW, that Jersey is in nice shape. Most of the bit is still there. That will be one fine chopper.
 
Both will make good splitters. The Jersey pattern is probably a True Temper. Nice finds. It looks they will both clean up really well.

Splitting tools are dependent on the wood species and the person. Some people like heavier tools. Some people like tools you can swing faster. In my opinion faster works best for softwoods or straight grained woods. Heavy works best for spiral grained or interlocked grained (elm), or for breaking lots of knots.

It's nice to have a couple tools available so you can size up each piece you intend to split.

Post pictures when you get them cleaned up and rehung. They are both great tools.

Later

Brent
 
"run what ya brung"-Hah! Love it. 300six, that story is fascinating, thanks for sharing. I think I have an old boy's-axe; the story inspires me to work on it after these two. Even if I don't take to splitting with it, I'm sure it will be useful for something.

Tom, thanks, it's good to hear that, because even though my girlfriend is amazingly tolerant of my scrounging habits, sometimes I feel a little conspicuous dragging shabby looking things into the house for future repair. We don't have a splitting axe at the moment and I'm excited to present her with a nice workable one from an at first glance rusty thing. Interesting about the ribs. The only thing I can make out on the head is "A22."

Square peg, thanks for the advice! I've definitely been guilty of that in the past. Thanks for introducing me to the word "reefing," too, I had to Google it. I'm looking forward to cleaning that Jersey up. I thought I might order the same handle as the other one will have, that way I can more easily compare the qualities of the heads for different tasks.

Nice, Brent, and I enjoy the uncovering of the provenance of these tools. I can't wait to have both of these hung. I like the idea of having different ones to choose from as I split. I originally was just going to hang one, but definitely both, now. I will definitely post photos when they're set up.

As far as cleaning up the heads, I am reading lots of different things online. Soaking in linseed oil, soaking in vinegar, wire wheel as Tom mentioned, sanding. I was planning to work the Michigan head just by hand, with a wire brush and Scotchbrite, sharpen, then coat it with oil. (I don't want to use a wire wheel because I don't like the metal bits they throw everywhere--my workbench is in a shared space). I was thinking, this way, I can get it ready for action pretty quickly and simply, even if it's not super pretty. Is the plan I mentioned enough? Or should it be soaked in something? I am wondering about the rust inside the eye, if I don't try to get rid of it and coat it inside, will it continue to rust in there with the haft on?

The Jersey, I thought I might take more time with to clean up nicely.

I've also got an old pedal power stone grinder wheel stashed, I thought I might dig that out for shaping/sharpening. Good idea?
 
@zaxxon

Here is a photo of a Jesey pattern I restored along with a modern Council Jersey pattern. My vintage Jersey was way worse than yours with a badly mushroomed poll. I used wire brushes and files to do the work. No vinegar.

 
Alocksly, that seems like a good question :) -- mostly pin oak, red oak.

Brent, that's great to see, thanks!
 
Oak is pretty stout, and of course it also depends on how big the rounds you're splitting are, but you might be better off with a maul over an axe if you intend to process a lot of firewood. I use a Michigan pattern axe for splitting alder and smaller maple rounds and a 6lb maul for everything else.

I'd love to have a woodshed full of oak though. The only time I'm burning it is when I end up with an old oak pallet or something.
 
bbforstr said:
Heavy works best for spiral grained or interlocked grained (elm), or for breaking lots of knots.
/QUOTE]
Ain't that the truth! If you wish to be imparted with any man's full vocabulary of swear words just turn him loose with any sort of axe (sharp or dull) on a pile of elm or ironwood rounds. Splitting wedges and a sledgehammer are 'handier than a pocket in a shirt' when trying to retrieve stuck or buried axes outta that ornery stuff.
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Yes, I think a lot of the time I use a maul is with a sledge to free a stuck axe. And once in a while on some super stubborn big pin oak rounds. I find though that I prefer an axe maybe 95% of the time. They just swing so nice and almost effortlessly compared to mauls, and I can work my way in strategically on the bigger rounds. I rarely need a maul; I can borrow my neighbors if I need one. I have to admit that I haven't ever used a sharp one as SC mentioned. I will keep an eye out at the sales for mauls too, so I can see sharpen one and see what that's like, and also because they're just good to have around. All of the ironwood I've had has been smaller diameter, so that the rounds never needed splitting. I'd say I'd like to have some bigger trees to process, just to have more of that stuff to burn, but it sounds like that could be a case of being careful what I wish for. I do absolutely love the oak, it burns so nicely, splits well for the most part. Takes forever to season, but I can forgive that. I feel so grateful to have a lot of it available.
 
300Six said:
Splitting wedges and a sledgehammer are 'handier than a pocket in a shirt' when trying to retrieve stuck or buried axes outta that ornery stuff.
Click to expand...

Having a few wedges around is necessary when splitting Elm or London Plane. And putting a very slightly hollow ground bevel on your wedges will stop them from popping out of very hard wood.
 
Buddy of mine and I were out cutting up some firewood to take back home and he chose elm over the locust I was cutting. He said locust is too stringy and hard to split.
I tried telling him about elm being worse but he took a load of elm home. I'm anxiously awaiting the verdict :D
 
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