large heavy fire wood what design?

O

ol'Bones

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Aug 13, 2006
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What is your idea of a good splitting axe? It doesnt have to be carried or packed. It only needs to perform as effectivly and effortly as possible. Manufactured or custom? Ideas?
 
Presuming you aim at hand-splitting logs into pieces which will dry so they are usable in fireplace or woodstove? I still split (mostly by hand but increasingly with help of neighbor's hydraulic wood splitter as I get older) & burn a lot of wood. Have about 5 cords ready for this coming winter. I'm just a "plugger", not an "expert" but here's my advice: Buy domestic, don't spend money buying "designer" foreign axes. You won't notice any better performance in a "hand-forged Swedish" tool for simply cuttting/splitting firewood. My favorite axe is stamped "Craftsman"; came from Sears. Had it for 40+ years. Replaced the handle a few times; still cuts well. Try to avoid the Chinese-made tools that are flooding U.S.; questionable steel, terrible handles. Don't try to find a single, all-purpose "splitting axe" design; won't do a decent job trimming off limbs or cutting trees to length as well as splitting. If you want to trim/chop logs with an axe (a lot of work if you use large diameter hardwood; chainsaw makes life a lot easier), get a full-size (3.5 lb. head), U.S.-made, polled, single-bit axe for that purpose at your local hardware store. If you beat it up badly, buy another. If you want to split logs, buy a heavy-weight splitting maul (again, domestic-made) at your local hardware, preferably one with a fiberglass handle. Maul splitting tends to beat up handles and fiberglass lasts longer than hickory handles. If you get serious about splitting or want to tackle the knotty logs that won't split easily with simply maul blows, buy a couple (at least 2) steel splitting wedges; again, simple domestic designs work fine...you don't need the fancy spiral-design or four-bladed ones. I've tried these and they end up getting stuck and have to be freed with the plain-jane wedges. A 3 lb hand maul is a nice addition to use with wedges, allowing one-handed blows with the other hand holding the wedge in place. One last piece of advice: use safety goggles when chopping/splitting. Wood chips fly and also an occasional steel splinter when using wedges.
 
thank you Steve and Cliff, I guess i should have left more information .I have a shed full of hatchets, camp axes, wedges,mauls and axes.As well as chain saws(4)garden tractors(2)and a wagon. I burn wood too. My favorite axe is not the one marked Craftsman but one my uncle gave to me,I think I was 14.He put a handle in it that day.And the axe also came with lessons on how to split the knotty suff which had filled the back yard by then (it was a little of everything hardwood).I am 42 now,have replaced many handles.And now need to replaced the "splitting" axe.It measures 1.5"x5"xallmost8" i think its about 5lbs.And it has worked better than anything else I've used. I live in Indiana and cut up what ever falls down or I can get my hands on. Some times its green somes Its standing dead.Mostly Black Locust, Maples,Oakes. How can I replace this one.I guess Iam kind of serious.Ideas? Anyone? If i had this made or made it myself what material?
 
I have used a number of larger axes, including the ones with the auto-splitters. The Bruks splitting axe for me had the best feel in the wood, going in the easiest, but quite frankly, unless I was spending a lot of time splitting wood, I really could not see a significant difference from the cheap splitting maul you can find at a hardware store. Aside from having to put an edge on it of course.

If you are making it yourself just stick to a simple medium carbon steel, or one of the shock steels. You want the very edge decently hard, but the rest of the head should be fairly soft, ~45 HRC. Especially if you plan on using it on metal wedges.

-Cliff
 
I've split a ton of red and white oak firewood with an old Craftsman splitting maul, with no complaints. With straight grained wood, I can easily split more wood in a short time than someone with a hydraulic splitter, although I tend to slow down a lot sooner than the hydraulic splitter:) . Without a hydraulic splitter on the knotty stuff, you can split around the knots in a lot of cases to work it down to manageable size, or you can split the knots with a wedge and sledge.

Back on topic, I don't see any advantage to any of the more expensive spliting mauls. Now chopping axes are an entirely different story...

Todd
 
For serious splitting I use a Monster Maul for smaller splitting I use a Estwing splitter [their "Fireside Friend"].This hatchett sized splitter I find very useful for indoors .
 
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