I should mention that the pieces fly off in a very predictable pattern and end up in a stack! The force is tightly constrained based on the direction and orientation of the axe when it strikes the wood. My son joked that I could probably reproduce something we once saw in a cartoon, where the chopped pieces assembled themselves into a log cabin.
That's remarkable. I'd love to see a video of someone making a pile of wood from the chopping block. The rest of the internets probably wouldn't mind it either.
That 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…
It's a demo. The point is that it applies the force more effectively to a splitting motion. I don't know why you would insist on using a heavier maul requiring much more effort by default. Use the maul for the really knotted stuff where you need more vertical force applied somewhere in the middle, but defaulting to it seems silly.
If I'm splitting cedar, white pine, or poplar - yes, I will split with a splitting axe - and I'll go through it almost as fast as the demo, ex-knotty wood. But, if I'm splitting larger (20"+) gnarly pine logs (which, for whatever reason, seems to be the only wood we collect off the crown land next to us), it's all about the maul, and, if I don't make any progress with that - it's the wedge+sledge hammer (which will split anything)
Leveraxe is faster than a hydraulic splitter. Faster than a small one, maybe. The larger ones are pretty damn quick, as you'd want them to, for the price: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knZkc_vzGUE
That thing is awe-inspiring, the spec sheet quotes 16 tonnes in high-power mode (split speed of 2.6s) and 7.5 tonnes in high-speed mode (split speed of 1.85s), with a cut length of 68cm
This is an interesting idea. It's amazing to think that a tool like the axe -- which has been around for millennia -- can still be improved. [OTOH, I've split a fair amount of wood. And I'd have to say that anyone who thinks splitting wood with an axe is a good way to produce fuel for the primary heat source for a house, is pretty much insane. It's exhausting work. Get a powered splitter for goodness sake. :-) ]
But that wood is the kind that will heat you 2 times. You don't get that with a powered splitter. ;)
It's a demo. The point is that it applies the force more effectively to a splitting motion. I don't know why you would insist on using a heavier maul requiring much more effort by default. Use the maul for the really knotted stuff where you need more vertical force applied somewhere in the middle, but defaulting to it seems silly.
If I'm splitting cedar, white pine, or poplar - yes, I will split with a splitting axe - and I'll go through it almost as fast as the demo, ex-knotty wood. But, if I'm splitting larger (20"+) gnarly pine logs (which, for whatever reason, seems to be the only wood we collect off the crown land next to us), it's all about the maul, and, if I don't make any progress with that - it's the wedge+sledge hammer (which will s…
> I'll go through it almost as fast as the demo, ex-knotty wood.
Yes, with a lot more effort. Did you see how lightly he was swinging it for the inner splits? Other commenters talking about the extreme accuracy, but that's easier when you are hitting it so lightly.
Look, I don't regularly split wood, but I've spent several summers splitting wood before. And I've split unseasoned gnarly pine with a wedge and sledge. I am not completely ignorant on the subject.
So my question is why you dismiss it outright just because the demo uses favorable wood? Is it really wise to assume it's just a gimmick before you even tried it?
If I'm splitting cedar, white pine, or poplar - yes, I will split with a splitting axe - and I'll go through it almost as fast as the demo, ex-knotty wood. But, if I'm splitting larger (20"+) gnarly pine logs (which, for whatever reason, seems to be the only wood we collect off the crown land next to us), it's all about the maul, and, if I don't make any progress with that - it's the wedge+sledge hammer (which will s…
> I'll go through it almost as fast as the demo, ex-knotty wood. Yes, with a lot more effort. Did you see how lightly he was swinging it for the inner splits? Other commenters talking about the extreme accuracy, but that's easier when you are hitting it so lightly. Look, I don't regularly split wood, but I've spent several summers splitting wood before. And I've split unseasoned gnarly pine with a wedge and sledge. I…
Clearly it works very, very well on some wood - the video proves that. So it deserves a place in my tool rack in the shed.
Or it would, if it didn't cost hundreds of dollars! Maybe I'll make my own in the shop.
This 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…
I'd have thought the rubber tire was easier on the axe if you miss.
Open fires are banned in many places where people go camping. If you must cook food, you should use a gas or alcohol stove.
I wonder if this is a European thing? Most of the places I have hiked/camped in America allow fires. What do you do for heat and beast repellent? There is a neat rule in some Scandinavian countries (I think it is more than one country but I forget the name of the rule so I cant look it up) that ensures people's right to hike across private property. I can imagine that a prohibition on fires would come in handy.
Lots of places in the US have bans on fires though some are seasonal. You can't build a fire above 5000 ft in much of the cascade and olympic mountain range because the small alpine trees can't stand up to wood gathering.
Many national parks and forest either restrict fires to metal fire rings or ban them out right during the height of wild fire season and, in southern California, some of these bands are now year long as wildfires can be so catastrophic.
Warm clothing and sleeping bags works well for heat, never had an issue with beasts other then bugs (head nets work for that) and i've spent a lot of time camping in remote spots populated with bears, wolves, mountain lions etc.
The key here is that the axe splits the wood rather than forcefully gets into the wood. Not sure how this is different? Try turning the wood on its side and see how the axe works then. By striking it parallel to the wood structure, it separates the wood from the point of impact. If one were to strike it orthogonal to the wood structure, this would be pretty pointless.