Council Ax, 6 lb, flat-head review

The splitting stump is between the row of rounds and the split pile. There are 4 rounds I split earlier in that pile. DM
 
  • Like
Reactions: A17
Nice sunny day for that work, and it looks like you made the most of it! Seems that axe is working well for you. The area you're working in reminds me of where I grew up in Los Padres National Forest, Santa Barbara county, Ca. Lots of oak and brush. Very pretty place.
 
DB, thank you, it is a very pretty area. This area has more oaks(3 varieties), walnut and juniper (the tree casting a shade on the pile of split wood is a juniper)my dog has been eating the berries from under it. We are at 6200 ft. el. here. Not many pinon and pine here. So, I clean the forest of dead wood. DM
 
Yes, this Council axe works. Most of these rounds separated in 1-2 chops. There were 2 in this 6 that required 6-7 chops before it broke open. It has cut my work by 75%. I'll take a wedge with me for the last few. DM
 
We have now split all rounds and loaded the wood and ready for the ride home. Why do I feel like I've been to a Council meeting and
brought this home? Really,-- this axe is a very good splitting ax. It has a good balance between deep cutting and wedging open rounds.
Then can be used at cutting/ bucking as well. It is not a shallow penetrator type wedge it open splitting maul. It has the heft to do that
but lacks the width. Anyway 3/4" is enough to wedge open any round as it is being cut. Many of the splitting mauls I have used will bounce
off the round and not begin to cut & penetrate because the wedge is too obtuse. You put the cutting face of a axe on it and guess what happens, it penetrates, cutting as it drives in. Which causes the round to weaken it's grip / strength of wood fibers and is then opened
easier. A 8-9 lb. splitting maul has it's place. I have one and use it. But look at the geometry of a good axe and give it some thought. It may be able to add more efficiency to your work. DM
AndyC.jpg
 
Last edited:
These rounds would NOT open up very well. Even after cutting them again and chopping them 10-12 hits then getting the wedge started
and pounding that another 10-15 hits. I finally was able to get 2 rounds split. Then we loaded up everyone we could lift and brought it home. Now, I'll let them cure another year or 2. The thing is this tree was dead for 6-8 years when it was cut. Then these rounds have been laying here 3 years. Just a picture of how tough this Emory oak is. This is the one we left. DM
Left.jpg
 
Last edited:
Aye. There's some stuff I won't waste my time with when using an axe to split. When I am bucking, I try to get as much easily processed stuff as I can set aside for splitting and minimize the hard to process stuff. The rounds with gnarly grain I stack for later when I can get a maul or sledge and wedge (I can't bring myself to use a machine to split my wood). I am hoping that letting it season will help ease that work when it comes to it, but I have my doubts. One nice thing about hickory is that it seems to rot quickly for how hard it is. That may soften it up a bit over time. I hope. From the sound of it, though, oak just gets tougher.
 
I was splitting some of this ^ nasty oak wood and got my axe stuck. I tried many things to get it out. When I did get it out the haft was
no longer on it. It broke at the eye. This handle lasted one month, on this hard to split oak. Which is about normal for me. I purchased a spare handle back in early November, because I know what happens when I start splitting this oak. It's a 36" haft and for a double bit with a large eye that will work for this 6 lb. Council axe. So, I'll start working on it tomorrow. DM
CouAxe.jpg
 
Last edited:
David Martin said:
At least I had my load of wood split before it broke. DM
View attachment 1045892
Click to expand...

That is to bad about the new axe handle DM. Always a shame when it happens for whatever reason. Sounds like you've been down that road many a time, par for the course maybe with that hard oak.
Reminds me of the old Bogart movie, The Petrified Forest, when your oak wins like that. :):cool:
Rehang it and get back in the game;)

Thanks for sharing about your Council, really been great reading and motivating for a head I am slowly prepping to hang as a splitter similar to yours. :thumbsup:
 
  • Like
Reactions: A17
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top