A picture of the axe http://www.vipukirves.fi/images/isokuva_kirves1.jpg
New axe design uses lever action to make splitting wood easier
41–50 of 159 posts
Re: New axe design uses lever action to make splitting wood easier
#42This axe looks really awesome, physics for the win. Also, instead of using an old rubber tire, I highly recommend building a variable length, tensioning chain, much like this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrLiSMQGHvY Makes chopping wood so much more fun. And then, there is also the stikkan: http://www.stikkan.com/ Perfect to hang it up next to your fireplace to do some more fine grained wood chopping, cutting l…
It amazes me when someone makes improvements to a job as old as splitting wood. Millions (billions?) of people have been doing it for thousands of years, and there's still room for improvement.
Re: New axe design uses lever action to make splitting wood easier
#43I bought a Vipukirves axe early this year. I have a wood-fired pizza oven in my backyard and use small, nicely split pieces of wood in order to retain some control over the fire.
Before buying the axe I used a four-sided wedge (basically an elongated pyramid) and a sledgehammer for splitting.
So, how does this axe perform? Overall, I am very happy with it and proudly show it off at every opportunity. After spending some time learning how to use it, I can report that, for some types and conditions of wood and with the right grip on the handle, it truly does split wood in the manner shown in the video.
As noted in the other comments, certain types of wood are easier to split than others. After my pizza oven was finished, I somewhat foolishly bought a 1/2 cord of apple wood from the apple-growing region of Washington state. This wood is incredibly dense and has proven difficult to split by any means, even after 3 years of seasoning. The splitting issue is made worse by the overall knottiness of the wood.
I also bought a 1/2 cord of mixed wood from a local supplier. The axe is at its best on straight, dry, knot-free pine, oak, cedar, and so forth. The vertical motion is translated into horizontal motion milliseconds after the blade of the axe penetrates the wood and the split-off portion flies to the side with explosive force, often landing 8 to 10 feet away.
It took me an hour or two to learn to use the axe properly, with a relaxed grip to allow the head to rotate after it strikes the wood. Wearing gloves (recommended in any case) can make this even easier.
The blade of the axe is not razor sharp and does not require sharpening or other maintenance.
Re: New axe design uses lever action to make splitting wood easier
#44Re: New axe design uses lever action to make splitting wood easier
#45That has to be some of most seasoned knot free wood ever split. I wonder how many logs he had to go through to find stuff that split that well - 20 logs for every one that did that? Sledge Hammer, Splitting Maul gets the job done 95% of the time. "Eccentric Axe" the other 5%. Well - maybe, 85% Splitting Maul 12% Eccentric Axe, and 3% splitting wedge (which typically has a torsion in it to create a turning effect to s…
If you are serious about splitting wood you should just skip the axe altogether and go for one of these...
http://youtu.be/2eengn9eNQw?t=2m14s
Re: New axe design uses lever action to make splitting wood easier
#46From the website, it looks like it costs $266. I think you'd have to being chopping a lot of wood for it to be worth it to get that expensive of an ax, even if it is better.
Re: New axe design uses lever action to make splitting wood easier
#47A lot of folks here are claiming that the type of wood being split makes a huge difference and it's true, however...
To address this the video should show him using both a conventional axe, and his version on the same wood. Apologies if he does this later in the video as I didn't watch the entire thing.
Re: New axe design uses lever action to make splitting wood easier
#48That has to be some of most seasoned knot free wood ever split. I wonder how many logs he had to go through to find stuff that split that well - 20 logs for every one that did that? Sledge Hammer, Splitting Maul gets the job done 95% of the time. "Eccentric Axe" the other 5%. Well - maybe, 85% Splitting Maul 12% Eccentric Axe, and 3% splitting wedge (which typically has a torsion in it to create a turning effect to s…
For those who aren't familiar: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Splitting_maul -- but I have to laugh to notice that the "related" tools listed are Sledgehammer, Axe, and War hammer . You're offering solutions that take significant strength -- someone who can't safely swing a splitting maul or 20lb sledgehammer could still use this axe and get a much better result than a normal axe, I think. A maul is great until you get…
When your using a good size maul, you really should let gravity do the work for most of the logs. You really should only have to swing through on really tough ones. (That isn't to say you don't need some strength -- picking up a heavy maul over your head is not easy.)
I split a lot of wood in high school, while working for a tree cutting company. After half a day of splitting with a 15-lb head, steel handled maul you'd be unable to make a fist from the shock your hands took. We used to have wood splitting competitions, in which you'd pick logs for your opponents. I still remember one exceptionally knotty piece of cherry that a guy who I was working with found for me. While he split all his logs, the maul would just bounce of that log.
Re: New axe design uses lever action to make splitting wood easier
#49I bought a Vipukirves axe early this year. I have a wood-fired pizza oven in my backyard and use small, nicely split pieces of wood in order to retain some control over the fire. Before buying the axe I used a four-sided wedge (basically an elongated pyramid) and a sledgehammer for splitting. So, how does this axe perform? Overall, I am very happy with it and proudly show it off at every opportunity. After spending s…
It also easier to spit wood when it's cold out -10C to -20C it seems to crack better.
I used to hate fall as a kid when wood splitting season began. Pneumatic splitters are great but slow. You learn to hate hard wood when splitting but it's great to burn.
An old joke: I was 10 years-old before I learned my name wasn't "Get wood!"
Re: New axe design uses lever action to make splitting wood easier
#50This famous quotation kind of needs an update:
"Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe." - Some Famous American Bloke