I’ll be chopping this in the coming few days and need a descent axe.

Hovering over this , Fiskars X27. Seems to tick the boxes. Anything better?

Before anyone asks, yes a new wood shed post will follow shortly.

[/url]Untitled by Phillip Dalton, on Flickr[/img]

[/url]Untitled by Phillip Dalton, on Flickr[/img]

[/url]Untitled by Phillip Dalton, on Flickr[/img]

I opted for a conventional splitting maul (slightly thicker in profile than the X27 looks), but it does not look a bad choice.

Your lawn needs feeding. Do you have a problem with daddy longlegs?

Congratulations on the wood.

Sorry to hear about the piles. Have you tried anusol?

expect some willy wood waving soon.

I’ve got piles & wood

An unfortunate combination. Buying pants must be a nightmare.

If its dry; I split mine with an X11 as long as its sharp, I only split around ~6 square meters of wood a year however.

Any old axe should get through that lot, apart from the big bit near the water butt.

I’ve heard nothing but good about the X27, but a bog-standard splitting or felling axe would do. And it is a good excuse to get a nice axe.

How often are you going to be using it? You definitely want a maul rather than a felling axe. I got a cheap version (£15) of that about 4/5 years ago, which lives outside by my chopping block & is still going strong.

Do you collect odd duck artefacts?

Do you collect odd duck artefacts?

I thought you’d been drinking until I went over the photos again.

Am using this as an excuse to get something new. Can’t say i need it but something sharp and descent with so much to chop (for me, i’m sure to some this is an afternoons work) would be nice.

The whole garden could do with some tlc willard.

One Fiskars X27 on its way.

Splitting maul from screw fix.

As others have said, you need a maul. Something like a 3kg one. A little hatchet is also useful. Great exercise too.

It looks like beech? Beech is a bugger to split, unlike Ash which is dead easy.

It will also take a long time to dry out properly. But when it has, it’ll be great.

Supposedly goat willow. Not a great wood but, it was in my garden and i’m in no rush so will burn next year.

Cheers for the heads up, was heading to screwfix anyway so you’ve saved me £20.

Willow is great!! It’s a very wet wood when cut, but dries very quickly. I get unlimited free willow from a local cricket bat maker. Some rounds I split in February are already sub 20% MC. It burns fast but very well indeed.

log grenade + a sledgehammer for the big bits ? 🙂

Also remember a maul doesn’t need to be razor sharp. It’s the pressure caused by the width of the head that pushes the wood apart, rather than cutting it like a conventional axe.

Oh, and do the willow soon – it splits well when wet, but can be a bi@@h when dry.

Very impressed with my X27, recently bought one after wavering over a Gransfors Bruks Maul. reviews suggested it was just as good, sometimes a bit better, sometimes a bit worse.

Certainly a good buy at nearly half the price of the GF, even if it isn’t as pretty.

Got a old tyre from the local garage, too. that’s a blimmin brilliant tip.

Stick a few smaller logs/chunks in and chop them while they’re in there. Will save you about 10-20 back bends per tyre full through not having to retrieve split bits and put them back on the stump.

X27 vote here. I find it both easier/less tiring to use, and more effective than my cheap 6lb screwfix maul.

sandwicheater – Member
…and need a descent axe…

I think this is what may be termed a descent axe, along with its chopping block. 🙂

Short handle on that? Presumably they’ve sawn it off to concentrate on the business end?

Oh, and do the willow soon

cheers! I’ve got a small/medium sized tree’s worth to split. Only a few months old, but I’d best get on it!

I bought a Gransfors Bruks Splitting Maul and it will pretty much split anything with a good swing, even branch joints.

*sigh*

Now I have a hankering for a decent axe. I need to get a log burner.

that axe of epicyclos is a side handledd broad axe/bearded axe, its for wood working, for smoothing out a split beam before taking a plane to it. handle is the right length

Any old maul will do it, have fun!

neilnevill – Member
that axe of epicyclos is a side handledd broad axe/bearded axe, its for wood working, for smoothing out a split beam before taking a plane to it. handle is the right length

It’s not my axe! 🙂

Here’s the description from the museum.

It’s handy to know if you have one of these, there’s all those little jobs you can do for the justice system.

Also, if you need a bow saw to cut some of those limbs to length, make sure it has a “wet wood” blade, not a regular dry one. Makes a huge difference!

this quarters edition of “Living Woods” has floated to my doormat.

In the news section, a link to Fiskar’s new Axe Matchmaking tool:

http://www.fiskars.co.uk/new-axes#axe_machine

Useful.

(as an aside, anyone interested in such things may wish to go to http://livingashproject.org.uk/ to help with a survey exercise to find healthy variants of ash in the face of the Chalara die back disease)

In the news section, a link to Fiskar’s new Axe Matchmaking tool:

There’s not an option for ‘I liberate fallen trees from various local woodlands under cover of darkness’.

I’m out. 😆

Having finally decided I’m too old to swing a maul without my hands and shoulders protesting I invested in this:

Note the use of suitable safety footware, goggles etc..

I always wanted a Gransfors Bruks Maul but bought a Fiskars X27 cos it was cheaper…. it was fantastic but secretly I wondered how much better the Gransfors Bruks Maul would be.

My sons bought me the Gransfors Bruks Maul for Xmas … fasbulous .. brilliant etc… but the X27 is better.

Only use the Gransfors when my sons are around.

I do use my Gransfors forest axe quite a lot because at just 2.6lbs it’s lovely to wield and more than enough for splitting dry young poplar.

BUT anything more stubborn and the cheap and cheerful maul comes out. If that maul ever breaks (debatable) then it would probably be replaced by a Fiskars as it’s not something that needs to be handmade on the thighs of Scandinavian virgins. And at £40 vs £90, it’s got to be better VFM, if not quite as aesthetically fine.

It’s that time of year.

All of this coming winter’s fuel is now split.
I did have help from Rhubarb (or maybe it’s custard, I can never tell them apart) my neighbour’s Emu. He was in charge of spider handling.

I’ve got about 6x this amount left to cut and split. Running out of space. No need for a maul on 90% of stuff that’s moveable. The Husqvarna splitting axe handles anything the gransfors can’t.

my neighbour’s Emu

Am jealous, my neighbour only has Guinea pigs

Good thread revival – I was looking at the pile of oak branch cuts in the front garden the other day. They’ve spent at least two-and-a-half years seasoning.

I have a grenade but no sledge hammer*, but perhaps a maul would be better?

Either way, I do need to make the effort to split what I can.

*I know – the shame!