High Quality/ Custom Axes?

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sevenedges

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I am looking for a high quality, Task specific, axe to split wood with. The only thing it will be used for is to split wood. It should also be top end quality, like those used in the stihl challenge. What companies and individual axe makers are there? Any help will be appreciated.

Thanks, Jeff
 
Go to www.gransfors.com and check the large splitting maul. I have it and it works really well---especially considering it's only about 5.5 lbs, if I recall correctly (less fatigue than the typical 8-12 pounders). From the factory, the edge will shave hair off your arm. I've never seen another maul do that. The faces of the head are polished to slide into the log easily behind the shaving-sharp edge. They are ground concave to start easily, then accelerate the splitting action.

The Gransfors splitting wedge is even more impressive.
 
Should I get the splitting maul and the splitting wedge or is the maul good enough? The rounds will be 12"-18" diameter hardwood oak.
Thanks, Jeff
 
I'm no longer a young, hit-the-gym-4-times-a-week guy. I like to have a couple wedges available in case I'm not strong enough to split with just a maul. The Gransfors wedge is amazing. Most wedges that are easy to drive are too thin to split easily. They tend to get stuck. Thicker wedges split better, but they are hard to start. Gransfors solves the problem by forging a twist into the wedge. It is thin and easy to start, but pries the wood apart as the twist comes into play. It also has some chevrons on the sides to reduce friction. And yes, it will shave hair off your arm as it comes from the factory. This can save some time and energy because you can start it with your hand by just sticking it into the log. You don't have to use a maul to start it by tapping.

I have only one Gransfors wedge and a few cheapie wedges. If the log is so big that the Gransfors wedge gets stuck, I can drive in a cheapie or two to rescue the Gransfors.

You may be plenty strong enough to split those rounds with just the maul, but I'd want to have a wedge or two available just in case they are needed.
 
Unfortunately, I don't know where to get the best price. However, there have been several past threads on this forum in which Gransfors sources have been discussed. A search might turn them up. Best of luck finding a good deal.

One other thing I forgot to mention in my last post. You can make your splitting of those 12-18" rounds a lot easier if you have control over the length they are cut. As we've mostly all experienced, a 12" wide round that is only 12" long will generally split more easily than a 12" wide round that is 24-36" long. Of course, if someone else is doing the sawing and you have to take whatever length you get, this advice won't help you.

Another tip came from some trapper friends who live in Stewart Crossing, Yukon. They always wait until the temperature drops below zero to split. They claim that the wood comes apart much more easily. I haven't done much splitting in sub-zero weather so I have no personal experience, but friends in Idaho and Montana generally agree with the Yukoners.
 
Wood splits much better in cold weather, sub zero makes oak pop open like pinon pine. Steel shivers & shatters more easily then as well, so be sure to wear eye protection using your steel wedge(s) with a hammer, striking steel against steel for any reason in the cold. We used to use the splitting maul or an ax without trouble, but we'd use a wooden club or 'maul' or a big wooden maul called a 'commander' to start the steel wedge into a crack, or use a few home-made wooden wedges (gluts) when possible, more wedges will split out the toughest log in cold weather.

If you ever have to cut down a Dogwood or redbud tree, they make excellent gluts, sharpen a 6" long wedge shape on both ends of a 3' hunk of dogwood, then cut it in half. We'd whittle the bark and a bit of the wood off in a 1.5" ring around the flat end of these gluts and drive on a snug ring of copper, the ring just a ~ 1" chunk sawn off a piece of copper pipe. The wood soon mashes down over the copper, the ring really helps keep it from splitting as you use it. Keep these home made gluts in an unheated shed or barn, they'll last quite a while.
 
I forgot to mention that many of the axes used in the Stihl Challenge for chopping competition are made by Tuatahi and available through www.baileys-online.com . However, they are MUCH more expensive than the Gransfors maul. Furthermore, those axes are designed for chopping rather than splitting and would probably not split as well as the Gransfors maul.
 
H & B Forge:www.hbforge.com-makes an extremely durable, high quality, hand-forged hawk-several different styles in fact-that will do what you want. THey are guaranteed for life and the maker is here in Ohio not some far away country! We have been making them for 37 years, so we've been around awhile. THey are made for heavy use and the prices can't be beat.
 
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