Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

New axe design uses lever action to make splitting wood easier

vipukirves.fi

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

61–70 of 159 posts

Re: New axe design uses lever action to make splitting wood easier

#61

Post by iamthepieman »

For splitting wood from a fallen tree or cleaning up around the property a regular axe and splitting maul are fine. When I've had to split enough wood to burn for the winter I always just rent a hitch-mounted hydraulic splitter. 60 bucks and I can do 5 cords in day.

This tool could possibly take the place a of a splitting maul but a great advantage of the maul is it can be used to split knotty wood that doesn't have straight grain. It takes a bunch of swings and force but does get the job done. With the wide head of the Vipukirv it wouldn't be able to get down to the center of a half-split log.

Re: New axe design uses lever action to make splitting wood easier

#63

Post by miahi »

claudius wrote: post #7
hrkristian wrote: post #6

I've spent nearly every winter growing up swinging axes, and I cringed a bit when I saw him strike branches. For the most part the axe does a wonderful job against anything, and that guy has ridiculously good aim, but anyone who have at some point been bad at chopping wood probably knows those twists to the side can do a real number on your wrists and hands. It seems to happen quite a bit. It's still an amazing innov…

I have no idea about axes in general, so please acquire a large piece of silicon dioxide before reading on. That said, it seems that the problem with traditional axes is the large amount of friction from penetrating the wood. This requires a firm grip of the handle and long swings to induce sufficient kinetic energy in the head of the axe. With the rotational design, much less energy is needed, allowing for a) a loos…

A firm grip on the handle as the axe hits the wood is a sure way to sore/strained wrists even for a normal axe, as the handle can rotate and also vibrate, depending on how and where it hits the wood. A loose grip looks like a must with this axe. Notice the handle is round for most of its length, to rotate easily. This is not usual for a normal axe, as the shape of the handle gives position feedback to the hands.

Re: New axe design uses lever action to make splitting wood easier

#64

Post by Zigurd »

This makes me want to instrument my wood splitting. I suspect that I will find that improving the fast splitting is less important than avoiding or improving the outcomes for the toughest pieces to split.

A bit like finding that a faster cache that doesn't reduce cache misses or the cost of cache misses can disappoint when measuring overall performance.

Re: New axe design uses lever action to make splitting wood easier

#66

Post by yukichan »

This may be an unpopular reply, but splitting fire wood sounds like you're going to be making an open fire. Open fires are a danger to your health:

http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/the-fireplace-delusion

> "The unhappy truth about burning wood has been scientifically established to a moral certainty: That nice, cozy fire in your fireplace is bad for you. It is bad for your children. It is bad for your neighbors and their children."

http://www.epa.gov/burnwise/healtheffects.html

> "Smoke is made up of a complex mixture of gases and particles produced when wood and other organic matter burn. A major health threat from smoke comes from fine particles (also called particle pollution, particulate matter, or PM). These microscopic particles can get into your eyes and respiratory system, where they can cause health problems such as burning eyes, runny nose, and illnesses such as bronchitis. In addition to particle pollution, wood smoke contains several toxic harmful air pollutants including: benzene, formaldhyde, acrolein and methane."

Re: New axe design uses lever action to make splitting wood easier

#67

Post by dlhavema »

bradleyland wrote: post #52
jeffbarr wrote: post #43

I 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…

I don't know how common the "tire guard" featured in the video is, but it seems like a damned good idea. It would solve the problem of split pieces flying off with explosive force. I'd probably pursue that idea posthaste.

i agree, when i saw that in action, i was like, that is an amazing idea! i live in central AZ and don't really need to split wood very much though..

Re: New axe design uses lever action to make splitting wood easier

#69

Post by john_b »

yukichan wrote: post #66

This may be an unpopular reply, but splitting fire wood sounds like you're going to be making an open fire. Open fires are a danger to your health: http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/the-fireplace-delusion > "The unhappy truth about burning wood has been scientifically established to a moral certainty: That nice, cozy fire in your fireplace is bad for you. It is bad for your children. It is bad for your neighbors and…

Open fireplaces are mostly used for decoration, not heat. The heat transfer characteristics of a traditional stone open fireplace are rather poor. Most of the heat escapes upward through the chimney, which has to be sized large enough to prevent the smoke problem you mention from becoming noticeable to the inhabitants. Depending on the fire's temperature, much of the heat that does make it into the house is due to radiation, not convection.

For fireplaces-as-heating-systems, rather than fireplaces-as-decoration, closed designs like these are more common:

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-N6cx8wcRWuU/Uay6KyIgGTI/AAAAAAAAEk...

http://www.jushistone.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/firepla...

Re: New axe design uses lever action to make splitting wood easier

#70

Post by js2 »

dhughes wrote: post #49
jeffbarr wrote: post #43

I 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!"

It was because of my father that from the ages of seven to fifteen, I thought that my name was Jesus Christ and my brother, Russell, thought that his name was Dammit. "Dammit, will you stop all that noise?" And, "Jesus Christ, sit down!" One day, I'm out playing in the rain, and my father yelled, "Dammit will you get back in here!" I said, "Dad, I'm Jesus Christ!" -- Bill Cosby
Post reply on HN