Experience with the Council Tool splitting mauls?

My new Council 6 lb. flat head fire axe arrived today!
For a recent production (made in 2016) it has some really graceful handle shape.
The head finish is nothing to brag about, common Indian, Mexican or Chinese made hardware store axes have much better grind/finish.
There is a very slight elevated centerline, something like a suggestion for a true high centerline.
There is some significant grain runout at each third of the handle length due to fact that the grain is angled only at 30% from a full horizontal run.
On a heavy axe intended to do battering and breaching, this might not be the best, despite Council Tool's assurances that grain orientation does not matter. Hopefully the handle won't break too soon.
Square-peg's and David Martin's endorsements about the performance of this axe are reassuring.
 
littleknife said:
My new Council 6 lb. flat head fire axe arrived today!
For a recent production (made in 2016) it has some really graceful handle shape.
The head finish is nothing to brag about, common Indian, Mexican or Chinese made hardware store axes have much better grind/finish.
There is a very slight elevated centerline, something like a suggestion for a true high centerline.
There is some significant grain runout at each third of the handle length due to fact that the grain is angled only at 30% from a full horizontal run.
On a heavy axe intended to do battering and breaching, this might not be the best, despite Council Tool's assurances that grain orientation does not matter. Hopefully the handle won't break too soon.
Square-peg's and David Martin's endorsements about the performance of this axe are reassuring.
Click to expand...
Contact dealer and ask them to send decent replacement. I believe SP had to send back the first one, too.
https://bladeforums.com/threads/council-fire-axe-returned-and-now-replaced.1596190/#post-18308273
 
crbnSteeladdict said:
Contact dealer and ask them to send decent replacement. I believe SP had to send back the first one, too.
https://bladeforums.com/threads/council-fire-axe-returned-and-now-replaced.1596190/#post-18308273
Click to expand...

Thanks, I will do that.
I read the thread you posted and Square-peg's replacement axe is a really nice one, smooth finish, nice grinds, good handle.
Mine is very crudely formed in comparison. Council Tool's quality control is really poor, there is no excuse for that, since they charge a pretty penny for that poor workmanship. :thumbsdown:
 
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I would still be concerned about a low centerline. Again on eastern wood with a high moisture content you need a high centerline or a steep ramp or you will stick the axe in some woods and it won't rotate out very easily. This is the reason I suggested a Fiskars in lieu of a splitting axe because it will penetrate but it will typically extract fairly easily. Another option is a German style splitting axe with the sharp point and the ramping ears--these are available at Lowes or Condor.
51wrG%2Bl0PfL._AC_SL1500_.jpg
 
thunderstick said:
755625024572.jpg
I would still be concerned about a low centerline. Again on eastern wood with a high moisture content you need a high centerline or a steep ramp or you will stick the axe in some woods and it won't rotate out very easily. This is the reason I suggested a Fiskars in lieu of a splitting axe because it will penetrate but it will typically extract fairly easily. Another option is a German style splitting axe with the sharp point and the ramping ears--these are available at Lowes or Condor.
51wrG%2Bl0PfL._AC_SL1500_.jpg
Click to expand...

Thanks thunderstick for the helpful suggestions.
 
That's what I like about the Rinaldi maul--it's only 5.5lbs, so it swings a lot like a slightly heavy splitting axe. It's a solid half pound lighter than the smallest maul you can usually find, barring 2lb mini-mauls.
 
thunderstick said:
I envy those western guys who split with an axe--because I had rather use an axe than a maul also.
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Haha! I envy those eastern guys who have wood worth burning! Couple winters burning ponderosa and I really enjoy finding a bit of oak!

Nice thing about the pine here is that when rounds have sat for a few months and dried a little I can split with an axe instead of a maul.
 
thunderstick said:
I would be interested in hearing how the 6# fire axe splits green wood here in the east. In my experience the green eastern wood has a higher moisture content and tends to be stringy, and the axes guys use with success in the west are not as efficient in the east. For example my recently fitted Rafting axe will stick big time in some wet green wood, while guys in the west like it for splitting. Once the wood dries out/seasons, the axes work much better.
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Trust me, we get hardwood out west here, too. Some of my favorite local woods for burning are London Plane, Elm and Black Locust. Each of these has a coarse intertwined grain that resists splitting. And that Emory Oak that David Martin is splitting is in the same class.

I will say that my Plumb 5 lb. rafting axe is noticeably less sticky than the new Council. And I've given them both a similar profile. But the polish on the bevel might be a little better on the Plumb. Plus the centerline is a littlle higher. Small things make a difference.
 
Even trees which fall by ice or wind and lay a year can still have a pretty high moisture content here unless they lay a year or more with the branches holding the main trunk up off the ground. It seems like we don't get a lot of seasoning till we split it. Our wood should typically be split and seasoned 1-2 years before burning unless we have very cold weather and it freeze dries it.
I prefer splitting onsite where I drop and cut up the tree and then I haul back the firewood and stack it right away.This eliminates some double handling.

This also means that I am typically splitting wood with a higher moisture content. However when I'm breaking wood down from the seasoned wood pile for medium and small kindling I am using an axe--typically a full size head on a shorter handle like a faller's or miner's axe.

I suppose if I hauled logs back with heavier equipment and then worked from that pile over time the moisture content might be lower and the splitting tools a little different.
 
Aspen is the closest thing we have to plentiful hardwood on this mountain. There's what I think is gambrel oak that I used to get now and then when I found a windfall, looks a lot like emory but its way easier to split. I have several mallet heads I made of emory when I worked in AZ, that stuff is tough as nails. We also have a locust that makes fantastic firewood, but its so small that I only get it incidentally.

Current house we're in town and use propane, my shop building at our other place has a woodstove, mostly PJ down there though. Juniper is nice burning wood, though pretty ashy.
 
Here is my most used all-purpose maul as it works the best for me in the widest variety of situations. I bought it many years ago at a hardware store. Its not trade marked by brand that I can see. I painted the handle with a grippy paint and re-profiled the edge a number of years ago to get better penetration.



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I like the wider flair in the bit to ensure a good edge engagement when hitting from different angles including the occasional busting through already split pieces to make them smaller when they are lying horizontal on the ground. This saves another "stoop and set upright" maneuver.

A 6# maul that is properly profiled, sharpened, and balanced can also be pretty nimble, meaning you can split to a certain extent with a twist. You can also use the "round-house railroad spike swing" quite effectively to bust larger pieces with minimal effort.
 
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