If you really don't want to waste a lot time ...

T

thunderstick

Joined
Jan 15, 2007
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splitting the nasty gnarly rounds ... and if you don't want to use wedges ... you ought to consider trying the Fiskars IsoCore 8 lb. maul. It is everything it claims to be as far as absorbing handle shock and blasting wood apart without getting stuck. At first I did not care for the balance as it was much more front heavy then my traditional 8 lb. maul with wood handle. Once I adapted to that and learned to get accurate with the round house swing it became an amazing bludgeon splitter.

I deliberately split a Y round in the center of the Y just to see if I could. I think it was the 5th swing that blew it apart as I needed to cut through the bark and chip away some of the knot before it got in far enough to force the issue. I definitely prefer a chopping block with it because if you hit hard enough to guarantee a split sometimes you are going through the piece with a lot of momentum left.

The bit sharpens up pretty quickly as the profile is right but the edge is dulled--maybe for safety in shipping. The angle is wider than a traditional maul which prevents it from getting stuck. With a sharpened edge, it doesn't bounce--it bites till it opens a split. Clearly Fiskars did a lot of homework to get that angle just right. So just put an edge on it, get the feel of it, then blast away.

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I find wedges really slow things down and find I can split significantly more rounds with the IsoCore before wedges are needed. As I've gotten older I have really focused on using the round house swing with a maul. It does much better than splitting with an over the head swing with a twist in the stubborn rounds. The wrist action is a big energy saver and the momentum is significantly increased. Most of this has been fueled by the last two wet years changing my strategies when dealing with water logged wood on soft muddy soil.
 
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I hear you, I rarely bother with wedges, I split a mixture of hardwood almost exclusively with a vintage craftsman 6 lbs maul. I find it interesting learning about tools and techniques others use to process firewood. Thanks for the info in the Fiskars.
 
I have looked at these a couple times. May just have to try one. 8 pounders work very well once you get use to them !
 
Yes I do attribute it to geometry. I will take a pic in the next few days with a tape measure for reference so you can visualize the geometry. The traditional maul essentially is an elongated ramp that transitions into a traditionally sized sledge hammer head. In this model the traditional sledge head size is controlling the ramp width. The Fiskars uses a studied geometry for the ramp angle and width and then there is a break point between the ramp and the sledge head. The sledge head is then enlarged to flow with the ramp transition. When you look at the sledge you can clearly see the ramp width is determining the size of the head and the size of the head is not determining the width of the ramp.

What you end up with is a tool that was primarily designed with an optimum ramp angle to split wood and then the head was sized accordingly to support the splitting ramp. The oversize (from traditional sledge size) flat surface head will also be a bonus when driving steel wedges -- but if you need to drive down through the wood--the wedge will need to be equally as wide as the IsoCore head. The one down side is the sledge head will be wider than most wedges. But this can be a problem even with with a traditional wedge and sledge.

However, the promotional information shows the option of using another sledge to drive a stuck IsoCore head down through the rest of the piece of wood. This will work because the IsoCore head will be opening a split that is larger than the traditional sledge head. So this design is allowing a function that will further minimize the need for wedges because the maul itself can be an effective wedge if it does get stuck--and it will open a wider split than a typical wedge.

In my experience thus far the wide ramp angle would limit the times of getting stuck.

So in summary the tool becomes very versatile. It offers more than a traditional maul and yet is not the clunky beast of a monster maul. Additionally it has a shock absorbing handle that significantly reduces impact fatigue. So if you are splitting with wedges for a while you can still open your hands and don't need to slide them off the end of the traditional handle. ;)
 
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Have any of you ever tried the Fiskars x27 or Fiskars super splitting axe. I love the feel of the wood handle along with the history of using an old head. But I’ve cracked 2 handles in the past 2 weeks. I’m wondering if the quality of the handles were the issue although they had good grain. But the thought of an indestructible axe does sound appealing when you need to get a job done. Just looking for input from anyone who has used them. Do you prefer them over a vintage?
 
Square_peg said:
Did the handles have continuous grain with little to no runout? Did you make overstrikes? I haven't cracked a handle in years.
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Yes visually the handles looked good grain wise. It could be a runout issue because they aren’t broken completely in half yet.
 
npace said:
Have any of you ever tried the Fiskars x27 or Fiskars super splitting axe.
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I have been using an X27 for a few years now. Love it. Just use my wood handled maul as a backup. It splits well above its 6lb weight. I'm splitting primarily oaks and hickory.
 
I could see that but I think I would tire out faster on an 8 pounder. Both my mails are 6 pounders. How does your x27 compare against a vintage axe?
 
For wood in our area the X27 splits better than a typical axe because it as a wider profile. The 8 pounder is meant for large or stubborn pieces where you typically need wedges. I use a traditional 6# maul most of the time for spitting.
 
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