Council Ax, 6 lb, flat-head review

Ok, we got our load home and about to start stacking it in the barn. I work mostly by myself so, when I make it this far I feel like, 'man I got
it home'. Plus, I have my dogs and all my fingers and toes. So, a great day. We now have 2 cords in the dry. DM
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David Martin said:
As you can see, my split wood looks nothing like you gents wood, all nice straight wedge pieces.
I learned some items. 1) a sharp splitting ax is really noticed on my oak wood. I had used my Council on 10 rounds previous and when I checked it's edge it needed some attention. When I returned after lunch with a good edge on it, I noticed the improvement. Now, after splitting these rounds I'll work it again. DM
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That Emory Oak is real pain in the butt. I start to understand why so many people in Southwest build thick wall, energy efficient Hobbit-holes aka Earthships.
Dave, I had your maul trouble on my mind: today I grabbed one. Nothing special: 117 oz with the handle Craftsman, so probably it is 6lbs maul. Not sure if those Craftsmans were made in USA (Probably somebody else can chime in about that). If you still need one, I can cut the handle off and it is yours.

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I looks like, this is actually Mann era Collins
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collins-usa-lb-splitting-maul-axe_1_9f3e0ec4c291f910800b3e1eb8a33a7a.jpg

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/collins-usa-lb-splitting-maul-axe-1855863733
 
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Ok, I see, with the handle. So, yes it's likely 6 lbs.. Mine is stamped from an Asian country and looks in worse shape than your Craftsman. So, yes I'm interested and thanks for your good
photos & keeping me in mind. I don't know if it's U.S. made maybe Steve Tall would. @Steve Tall . DM
 
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I enjoy this thread more than any other in this forum. Great to just see you use the tool.
 
Axe men, here is a picture of the cutting face bevel of the Council and my Hults Bruk axes. One can see the difference between the bevels at the toe area. The Hults (right)starts out with a wider bevel, thus, it would require more force to drive it in deep. It would penetrate less, = cutting less fibers before the cheeks began to wedge apart the log. The cutting of fibers and wedging apart go hand in hand in splitting. There needs to be a good balance of both to facilitate a split. It's not all wedging in forcing the the two parts open. Then we have a weight difference at work here. Which helps to drive the Council deeper, then it's wedge kicks in for cutting fibers. These axes show two different schools of thought in splitting axes. They are both the same width, 1 3/8", they just arrive at it different. DM
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M muleman77 , is this any better?
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muleman, I agree with you. You gave me the idea for the above photo when you wrote about, 'cutting the wood fibers apart to help with a split'. That got me thinking about the need for an axe to penetrate well, cutting fibers to set up the round to then be wedged apart. It's a fine line to walk in ax design to create a good splitter. Give me a little time and I'll do what you suggest.
I also, checked my Council's edge today and noted it needed some sharpening after working all those large rounds. Even though I split them on a stump, use will degrade your axe's edge. And splitting work is not easy on an ax. So, I tuned it up and it's now standing ready for the
next use. Thank you. DM
 
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David Martin said:
Ok, crbn sent me this splitting maul (a Craftsman) and this 2 arm sledge, a Warwood. 6 lbs. each. A great member to have on this Forum. I'm going to put these hafts on them. I'll write them up over in the 'What did you rehaft?' DM
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Thanks for such a kind words, David.
Your pain in the butt Emory Oak at this moment needs them more than I; Enjoy!
 
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This represents 2 very different ax examples on the spectrum. I've written above how the Council splits, by cutting deeply first, then wedging apart the wood. The Craftsman being a splitting maul works solely by wedging the wood apart and very little penetration in cutting the wood fibers. We all have seen other extreme maul designs that penetrate even less and work totally by the force of the wedge driving down. Woods having inter-woven fibers may present a challenge for a wedge type maul to force open the round. If you notice this, use the thin axe first to cut the
fibers, then the maul to wedge it apart. DM
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Ok, I just used the Craftsman maul on a few rounds. It split them well enough. You hit them at the wrong spot, it's going to go in a 1/4"
and not split it. You hit it in the right spot it will split it. With this wood your not going to power through a limb anchor. You move over to
the side of it and you'll get it to split. My edge did curl some and I'll shape it back up. So, I'm pleased with it and I'll give it a further test drive tomorrow. I want to see how it takes a hay maker swing toward driving a wedge. So, more later. DM
 
Ok, this morning it is a windy with clouds moving in bringing rain and snow tonight. So, this was my best opportunity for the day.
I dug out several 12"-8" logs for splitting using the Craftsman. I removed those burrs which only took 1 minute with the Norton fine India.
Then went at the logs. A good successful test drive, it split most of them with one chop. I had better lighting now. When I was off on my strike and more toward the middle,-- they did not split. When I was more accurate and hit at the edge... Bingo! The log was in half. Even one or 2 that I hit inside a large limb anchor ( I try to split at the side of those) went ahead and burst apart. So, much depends on the seasoning
and the spot. I have not come up with a large round that requires the use of a wedge, so, I can try out the hammer on it. This will come.
I checked the edge after these 6 rounds and no burrs. So, I think it's a keeper. With this maul, a heavy ax and some wedges, plus I'll get
the handle on that Warwood 2 arm sledge, MAN, I'm getting well equipped to take on this wood. Thanks, crbn & axe men, DM
 
Now, it's starting to rain here and I'm trying to get this posted for you axe men. This is a part of a large stump I split up using the Craftsman maul. I got to this part and it wouldn't give after beating on it for sometime. So, I made some cuts on it and broke it up easily with one hit on each cut using the Craftsman maul. I'm not above using this method with this hard oak wood. Especially with it having rocks embedded in it's roots. DM
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Those challenging pieces are the most rewarding. Bet you coulda done with wedges without the kerfs.
 
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