Any good for splitting?

Zymologist said:
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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If he waits until January, frozen elm is much easier to split. Green elm is a real bitch.

Tom
 
I cleaned enough to make out the stamp on the Michigan head, it is a Belknap Bluegrass.

I have to say I'm not that happy with the handle, which came in today. It's got a twist in it so that the bottom half is not in line with the top half. I can't post any photos now but will later.
 
For a splitting hatchet Estwing's Fireside Friend is excellent .Had mine for years and it stays by the woodstove and used a lot !
 
Yes, I would jump for locust, especially over elm.

Mete, thank you for the recommendation. I took a look at it online. I have a plumb on a 15" handle that I use for small stuff and kindling, I like it a lot. Not that I have experience with a ton of axes, but the best axe for kindling I've used was a Wetterlings Small Splitting Axe, at someone's I used to split wood for. It might be a little bit older, it's not the one on their site. That axe really ate up the wood.

Here are a couple photos of the handle I ordered from house. It was disappointing. The handle twists so that the two ends are askew. I the second photo, the end at the chair is aligned vertically. Am I wrong to think this is no good? Is this something to expect?

wthitt.jpg


opmjva.jpg
 
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OTOH elm is wonderful in the fireplace. If I can get it I'll burn it. And I'll confess that I kind of enjoy the challenge of splitting difficult wood. It makes you use both your brain and your brawn.
 
zaxxon said:
The handle twists so that the two ends are askew. ....... Am I wrong to think this is no good? Is this something to expect?

wthitt.jpg
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Oh, holy crap! That's terrible. They never should have even shipped that haft. Contact House Handle. I'm sure they'll gladly replace it. I wouldn't waste a second of my time trying to hang an axe on that thing.
 
OK, thank you, Square Peg. I thought the same thing, why did they ship this? I will contact them on Monday.
 
Square_peg said:
Oh, holy crap! That's terrible. They never should have even shipped that haft. Contact House Handle. I'm sure they'll gladly replace it. I wouldn't waste a second of my time trying to hang an axe on that thing.
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zaxxon said:
OK, thank you, Square Peg. I thought the same thing, why did they ship this? I will contact them on Monday.
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Call Megan at House...she has been absolutely great to work with on my last several orders. I was looking for a certain color and grain for an axe to be gifted. She can get pics at her email...if you send her that photo you'll likely have a new haft inside of 3 days. Great company
 
On my first order from House Handles even though I selected the AA or whatever the premium handle option was I got quite a few with some grain run out etc.
In the note part comments of your order be sure to specify what you want and don't want in your handles.
 
Does anyone have any thoughts on these two? I'm thinking they may have more wear than the other ones. The double bit is slightly more than 3 3/4 lbs and the single bit is 2 1/4 lbs. I was wondering if the small one was particularly worn on the toe end of the bit, if I'm describing that spot correctly. It seems like it's curved further back than it should up there, but I could easily be wrong. I had thought that one was a boy's axe, but when I dug it out it had a 15" handle on it. It looks like one side of the double bit head is a little shorter than the other. I have them both soaking in vinegar.

15ydnwg.jpg
 
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mako20ft said:
Call Megan at House...she has been absolutely great to work with on my last several orders. I was looking for a certain color and grain for an axe to be gifted. She can get pics at her email...if you send her that photo you'll likely have a new haft inside of 3 days. Great company
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BTW, House is sending a replacement handle.
 
zaxxon said:
Does anyone have any thoughts on these two? I'm thinking they may have more wear than the other ones. The double bit is slightly more than 3 3/4 lbs and the single bit is 2 1/4 lbs. I was wondering if the small one was particularly worn on the toe end of the bit, if I'm describing that spot correctly. It seems like it's curved further back than it should up there, but I could easily be wrong. I had thought that one was a boy's axe, but when I dug it out it had a 15" handle on it. It looks like one side of the double bit head is a little shorter than the other. I have them both soaking in vinegar.

15ydnwg.jpg
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That single bit looks serviceable provided you give it a little love. Let us know after the vinegar bath...that should also quickly tell you how deep the tempering line shows up at.

On the other hand, and just from the one pic so keep that in mind, the DB is really showing it's age. Maybe it's the angle of the photo or my equally aging vision :grumpy: but something looks off balance. As if the left side, as viewed in the pic, is considerably "deeper" from the eye than the right side. That may also be because of the mangling it's taken at the top where the haft would be exposed. Unless it's sentimental or you can figure out a rare maker's mark on it...it kinda looks like it's lived it's life.
 
zaxxon said:
Does anyone have any thoughts on these two? I'm thinking they may have more wear than the other ones. The double bit is slightly more than 3 3/4 lbs and the single bit is 2 1/4 lbs. I was wondering if the small one was particularly worn on the toe end of the bit, if I'm describing that spot correctly. It seems like it's curved further back than it should up there, but I could easily be wrong. I had thought that one was a boy's axe, but when I dug it out it had a 15" handle on it. It looks like one side of the double bit head is a little shorter than the other. I have them both soaking in vinegar.

15ydnwg.jpg
Click to expand...


That single bit looks serviceable provided you give it a little love. Let us know after the vinegar bath...that should also quickly tell you how deep the tempering line shows up at.

On the other hand, and just from the one pic so keep that in mind, the DB is really showing it's age. Maybe it's the angle of the photo or my equally aging vision :grumpy: but something looks off balance. As if the left side, as viewed in the pic, is considerably "deeper" from the eye than the right side. That may also be because of the mangling it's taken at the top where the haft would be exposed. Unless it's sentimental or you can figure out a rare maker's mark on it...it kinda looks like it's lived it's life.
 
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