I appreciate a video that shows wood splitting with tough, springy and stringy wood, rather than straight grain pine that is common in so many other videos.
The Husky splitting maul 4lb is also a great choice, with same design and carbon fiber handle for half the cost of the Fiskars x27. Can be found in Home Depot. Also available in a 4.5lb & 8lb
🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪 great idea with the tyre,I use 3 truck tyres with the inner walls removed,stack them on top of each other,fill with rounds and split away great job on saving your back 👍🇮🇪🇮🇪
Just wanted to comment that I've had one of these for several years now and I've blown through wood that my maul, sledge and wedge either bounced right off or out of. I've busted nearly 40 inch rounds of red oak (straight grained, I will add) with no trouble at all. Fiskars designed a hell of a tool with the X27. I'd buy another one in a heartbeat regardless of what their price is on it.
James Dean hi James, just one question. do you think that it could split unseasoned (freshly cut) wood from walnut tree too? also what tool can you use to cut logs longwise to length of 30cm other than chainsaws? ( I have lots of respect for chainsaws, kickbacks and so on) thank you very much :)
I like the tire idea ,but I also like seeing that wood being split on a big block flying around the place .thanks for the insight with the fiskars splitter
Bought the Fiskars about a month ago and it really is everything you say here in your video. I was trying to use a cheap Harbor Freight Maul to split my wood, but it was very dull and inaccurate due to its heavy weight and design. Fiskars also makes an excellent hatchet which I use for making kindlin! Great video and thank you for the tire tip!
blmeflmm66 There used to be a race track in Asheville near where I live and scrap racing tires were readily available. Now they are still around but harder to find.
I have the same Fiskars X27 and it has held up for more than 5 years averaging 12 chords split each year. It is faster than a hydraulic press splitter by far. Secret is to strike the side of the round and not the center heart (softest area) of the cut off to be split. Douglas fir and huge Ponderosa rounds are the most difficult here in the mountains to split because the trees are so knotty. This tool is a better investment than going to the Gymn and after your workout you can heat your home nicely.
Great video! I recently ordered the Ironton monster maul because splitting twisted rounds with my 6 pounder just wasn't getting the job done and I'm tired of putting new wooden handles on it. The wooden handles nowadays just don't seem to be of the same quality they used to be many, many years ago. However, after having watched this, I think this Fiskars gem will have to make it into my wood splitting arsenal in the near future. Seems optimal to have both at your disposal. This is probably true for all types, but if you ever run into really stringy wood, try waiting until it gets cold out to split it, preferably after 24 hours of sub freezing temps. I had a couple hours to kill before Thanksgiving so I started working on the black locust rounds I recently brought home. It was 12 degrees so the wood was nice and frozen. I was literally laughing out loud it was so much fun to split. Just pops right apart.
The Fiskars X27 is so good that after 3 or 4 swings it gets to be quite a rush! I've slammed that composite handle on a few misses and its still good as new. I grew up using something akin to the Monster Maul which is a formidable splitter of wood and spine. Out here in the Italian Alps I can get a cord done a week with the X27, its a great axe that won't split your back. Thanks for the video!
I just ordered one. They are not guaranteed for life if you break it. ''Fiskars are warranted to be free of defects in material and workmanship. Warranty does not cover sharpening, normal wear and tear, environmental factors, accidental damage, misuse, industrial/commercial use.''
Just swung that monster maul for 3 hours today. Love my monster maul. I have an x27 also, but it doesn't split crotches like the monster. I've never done the tire thing because it seems like it steals my energy from the swing. Split on brother, and have fun while you're doing it.
If you film this with a higher camera position, we could see the top side of the logs, where you hit them with the axe and what the effect is.If you zoom out, we could see the whole swing you make with the axe. You probably make a 90 degrees swing with the heavy Monster Maul but you can make a 270 degrees swing with then light X27.
I see this video is now 4 years old. I trust you have since acquired the Fiskars Iso-Core 8 lb maul. Paired with the X-27 virtually any log will split with minimal effort. I just retired my Sotz Monster after trying my new Iso-Core Maul on only a few pieces.
Splitting is a bit easier if you hit further out on the growth rings. The closer you hit to center on the first couple of hits the harder it is and bouncy as well.
I keep three different types of fiskars axes in my truck at all times. The style you have here, the one with the shorter handle on it, and (i believe) the x15? Chopping axe. I use my x15 for most of my woodsplitting. I only have wood heat and live in the wettest part of the lower 48. I say they are second to none, and will believe in them until someone proves me wrong. They are never stuck in the wood to the point where you exhaust yourself trying to remove your axe from the round, just a little pop open handed and you have it back. And if you ever do something stupjd enough to break the handle...they exchange them without any question. I praise .y fiskars, never loan them out, sharpen them often and i mean ""sharp""you would not want to overswing with a fiskars. Thankfully, ive never had to go buy a slow hydraulic woodsplitter, and hopefully never will thanks to fiskars for taking something that was invented hundreds of years ago but never really had much change in its design, rethought and reinvented into the marvel of wood chopping that it has became. The only thing they do not fo better than traditional axes, is beat wedges. Try not to even use them for that shit!
thank you good sir for probable the only usefull fiskars owners video out there. most people use perfect streight wood that will allready split it self if you drop it, but this video is quite realistic. i have the exact same situation as you most of the time. the most horrible pieces of wood, dried or twisted or what ever bad situation. thanks for this good revieuw!
black locust is my favorite wood for firewood and splits way easier then most other woods I deal with as long as it is split green once it dries out it gets hard as a rock
With the energy formula, velocity is squared but the weight is constant. So twice the velocity is four times the energy. And that maul is only 3 times the weight. So you can get similar energy without lifting 12 lbs every swing.
A number of viewers have suggested that I should have cut smaller pieces off the edges or cut at natural checks. Any maul can split the easy stuff. I was doing a comparison here and testing the limits of the tools. That's why I split long, knotty pieces of black locust. Later in the video, I did whittle away at the edges and checks.
I think you need to have another wood underneath thefirewood you want to split to make the whole job easier... the ground dissipates lots of energy whereas if you put a wood underneath it... the energy doesn't get dissipated as easily to the ground so more fore to the firewood. Give it a try. Love your tire idea.
+S Chang I agree that a solid base makes the chopping easier and I have a piece of oak from the base of a tree that I use as a chopping block. In this case the wood was all 20" to 24" long and my chopping block is about 18". Adding the rounds and block together made it a little too tall. Anyway the wood was sitting on a gravel driveway that is pretty solid.
@@mars1952 disculpa respondeme porfavor soy de México como encuentro esa hacha mazo que nombre tiene o que link tienes para conseguir esa hacha mazo la roja esa roja que nombre tiene dondr encontrarla soy de México
Good video, thanks! I find that any maul over 8 pounds isn't worth it. They're not much fun, and you lose velocity. I've used fiskars too and they're nicely designed. I miss having a wood fireplace; always enjoyed splitting wood. Thanks for sharing!
Did not disappoint, there's were some crotch that required wedges and a 10# hammer but once I got it to crack, that's was all she wrote. If you ever used a composite shaft golf club, it's all about head speed. Just like the club the head speed is what makes it so effective. Follow through and focus on technique and follow natural checks.
great video 👍 I like the LOOK of the MONSTERMAUL but in Germany we used almost Fiskars or Ochsenkopf, they're lighter and more aggressive. please excuse my bad English. nice greetings from Germany
@@nc3826 What a stupid joke since his comment wasn't bad. Also Germans have to take 8-10 years of English in school. How many years of a foreign language did you take in school?
The worst place you can possibly strike a round to split is in the center. Striking on one edge and then the other gives leverage across the log. The center often has tougher fibers, by striking the edge it prys the center apart.
And if there is a crack in the wood, hit it on the opposite edge . I've split twisty maple wood this way and everybody says Maple is impossible to split. If you hit a maple in the center core, it's a big job just getting your axe unstuck. LOL
I split a lot of black locust. As I see it, the tight tire wrap is preventing the wood from spitting to the end. Leave some room? Splits are not going anywhere. My two cents. I like the x27 too!
You’re struggling w the maul because you’re doing it wrong. They come with an instruction manual . You’re supposed to hit the wood on the outside edge because it’s less dense, you’re supposed to hit with the face and handle parallel to the ground. A parallel face and handle give more material on the wood thus delivering more energy. You’re also supposed to let your top hand “slide “ down the handle so the weight of the maul does the work. If you put it in a tire ;( not an inner tube)the tire will absorb the energy. Try it the correct way and see what happens
He also has the tube stuffed completely full with the monster maul and more open space with the fiskers. That prevents the maul from actually moving through the wood as compared to if the wood was sitting out in the open. I used to split wood daily with a monster maul without a tire/tube and it was so easy and made me a lot stronger. A bonus is that you can never break the handle by over swinging. I'll never split wood with anything else.
I added a pound of steel to the poll of my fisker 27. Still not as good a splitter as a six pound maul, but a big improvement. The cheeks need to be slightly convex for better pushing wood fibers apart, however that would increase the manufacturing costs. The straight side design is because it is cheaper to make, not because it is more effective. It works better than the concave cheeks that some tools have but that isn't saying much!
Someone stole my maul and the guy at the store recommended the Fiskar. He was not wrong. Some guys just can't get past the handle. I'd argue you'd replace at least two handles before that Fiskar ever breaks.
Instead of an old tire, use a piece of rope with loops tied at various distances from the end. Then stand up the rounds you want to split into a rough circle, wrap the rope around them all and tension it with a strong bungee cord. This way you can split several dozen large pieces at once before "reloading". The stretchy bungee cord allows you to lever the splits apart without being constrained by a non-stretchy tire.
Do you notice the monster mail spinning in your hand if you don’t hit it just perfect? My hands get rough and tore up from mine spinning and it’s got a rubber grip even
I have been using the fiskers exclusively for the last five years and I recently switched to an 8 pound maul I got of of eBay it has an axe eye and it works way better than the fiskers. But to each their own....
+mars1952 thanks for the great video . Quite impressive ! Im 5.8 ft tall as well . Should i buy the x27 or it would be wiser to go for the x25 as fiskars advise ?
Ανδρέας Μαγγανάς The longer the handle the faster the head of the ax travels and the more force it will develop. You will get used to the extra length quickly.
The way I do it is MUCH easier. I have been splitting 20 inch tall, two ft diameter, black oak log rounds, cut three months ago. First of all always split on a hard surface such as I do on my gravel driveway, and the colder air the air temperature the easier the splitting. I line up and tap in, along cracks, two steel wedges along the diameter line, off-center, away from the heartwood. I use an 8 lb sledge hammer to split into halves in to quarters, then eighths, and sixteenths accordingly. Then I use a splitting axe on each piece (one hit 90° to radius, along growth rings) in the upright position, sometimes resulting in three or more pieces perfect for stacking.
You should try,a large truck tyre, with the inner walls removed, I can get bout 12 by 25kg bags in one splitting, I stack one on top of the other,on solid concrete, energy stays in the wood,
The x27 I'm pretty sure it's 5 pounds all the weight is in the head I also have the short handle splitter I think that one's 21 inches and it's awesome not for long cut logs but for shorter ones and hard to split ones it definitely works well I have quite a few axes and I will grab my fiskars axes over the ton of other splitters maul's, Collins's, ect. Fiskars has their axe figured out to where I can split a lot with minimal effort
It could be "Yew", "taxus" that red and white wood. One of the best bow wood ever - and one of the most durable and beautiful too. Wood handles are always better than plastic even if they dont last so long. The vibration of plastic and fiberglass causes pain in your arms if you doing it a long time. Fiskars makes good tools anyway. Even though i dream of a handforged Gränsfors bruks
Damn man, your a beast swinging that 16lb thing around. I been lucky enough to have pretty much started out with the Fiskarsband that thing is nasty. What kind of tire is that and how did you get it? That seems like it would be great!
I've overstruck that thing more times than I would care to admit but it sure doesn't show it. Best feature about it. But the steel is Swiss cheese. Have you noticed that in your experience?
I don’t find a lot of difference between the friskars and other splitters in it’s weight class. Where the friskars excels is its handle and the way its head keeps an edge.
Moral to the story is buy or make wood splitter...but I do like the old tire trick... but if need to use a maul (to be real man) put the logs on a hard and high surface like a second set of logs with tire around them...
The monster maul is badly designed and dangerous to use as you can see how it bounces from wood in 5:00 or 5:08. the fiskars is 2x lighter and does much much better work than M maul and you wont get so tired using it. There is much better fiskars maul if you are looking for heavy axe that makes amazing work also with giant pieces. Fiskars maul safe T.
I feel that your setup is a disadvantage for the monster maul. In this situation, tire is working against the maul by holding the pieces together. The axe's higher velocity gives you more energy at initial impact. However, the maul is heavier. While not as fast an impact speed, you may still find that it is easier to give the maul more momentum to carry through the wood. Between this and the wide wedge shape of the maul, you may be able to more cleanly separate the pieces than the axe when they aren't stuck in a tire.
+Andrew Nosek Force = Mass times Velocity squared. The key is the speed of the ax. Increasing the Mass increases the force linearly. Increasing the speed of the ax increases the force exponentially. Certianly the shape of the axe head plays a part. A regular ax head is less effective than a regular maul and the monster maul is more effective when the wood is stringy than a narrower cutting head. I think ideally the ax head would be as heavy as the user could swing without losing any speed.
Physics baby! Kinetic Energy = 1/2*mass*velocity^2. Double the velocity quadruple the energy! Absolutely hate monsters mauls. 6# and 8# splitting mauls are my go too"s.
No contest in the real world, the x27 can be used 4-5 hours of solid work. What would have been a good comparison is watching this guy swing the monster for 4 hours and then 4 hours with the x27. The work rate would be noticeably different.
I have several fiskars axes and I take them with me camping all excellent axes except the x7 that thing is just silly, but for my winter wood and splitting cords and cords I prefer to use my granfors maul, I can't stand the vibration of the fiskars handle and much prefer a wood handle.
sorry but I'm new to splitting wood and just bought a fiskars splitting axe not the 36 inh one but the shorter handled one and it works amazingly but woul I be better off buying the 36' one?
that was hilarious. :23 seconds is your answer but stick around and learn something. this mainer thanks you for sharing. been using short version for 6 years with same like for locust.
+BuckeyeMCS I used to worry that levering sideways would loosen the handle but I have been doing it for many years with no problems. I don't put that much leverage on the handle. If I put my whole weight behind it it would break.
Have you been using that particular monster maul for a decade or that brand? Meaning has that maul lasted you the whole decade or have you had to replace it but just stuck to the brand?
I appreciate a video that shows wood splitting with tough, springy and stringy wood, rather than straight grain pine that is common in so many other videos.
David Bothof. Absolutely. Black locust or elm are the real test woods to use!
You are wearing me and yourself out with that monster maul! I love my Fiskars from Finland!
The Husky splitting maul 4lb is also a great choice, with same design and carbon fiber handle for half the cost of the Fiskars x27. Can be found in Home Depot. Also available in a 4.5lb & 8lb
🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪 great idea with the tyre,I use 3 truck tyres with the inner walls removed,stack them on top of each other,fill with rounds and split away great job on saving your back 👍🇮🇪🇮🇪
Just wanted to comment that I've had one of these for several years now and I've blown through wood that my maul, sledge and wedge either bounced right off or out of. I've busted nearly 40 inch rounds of red oak (straight grained, I will add) with no trouble at all. Fiskars designed a hell of a tool with the X27. I'd buy another one in a heartbeat regardless of what their price is on it.
It is a great tool. Thanks for the comment.
James Dean hi James, just one question. do you think that it could split unseasoned (freshly cut) wood from walnut tree too? also what tool can you use to cut logs longwise to length of 30cm other than chainsaws? ( I have lots of respect for chainsaws, kickbacks and so on) thank you very much :)
Andreas Hoppe, they split fresh cut green wood all day just fine. They are a great splitting axe.
@@andreashoppe1969 that will do the job
I like the tire idea ,but I also like seeing that wood being split on a big block flying around the place .thanks for the insight with the fiskars splitter
Bought the Fiskars about a month ago and it really is everything you say here in your video. I was trying to use a cheap Harbor Freight Maul to split my wood, but it was very dull and inaccurate due to its heavy weight and design. Fiskars also makes an excellent hatchet which I use for making kindlin! Great video and thank you for the tire tip!
We had one of those monster mauls at a scout summer camp. Painted it yellow and called it the cheese wedge. Split tones of wood with that thing!
That wood wouldn't go down without a fight! The racing tire tip was worth the price of admission alone. Thanks for the video.
blmeflmm66 There used to be a race track in Asheville near where I live and scrap racing tires were readily available. Now they are still around but harder to find.
I have the same Fiskars X27 and it has held up for more than 5 years averaging 12 chords split each year. It is faster than a hydraulic press splitter by far. Secret is to strike the side of the round and not the center heart (softest area) of the cut off to be split. Douglas fir and huge Ponderosa rounds are the most difficult here in the mountains to split because the trees are so knotty. This tool is a better investment than going to the Gymn and after your workout you can heat your home nicely.
Great video! I recently ordered the Ironton monster maul because splitting twisted rounds with my 6 pounder just wasn't getting the job done and I'm tired of putting new wooden handles on it. The wooden handles nowadays just don't seem to be of the same quality they used to be many, many years ago. However, after having watched this, I think this Fiskars gem will have to make it into my wood splitting arsenal in the near future. Seems optimal to have both at your disposal.
This is probably true for all types, but if you ever run into really stringy wood, try waiting until it gets cold out to split it, preferably after 24 hours of sub freezing temps. I had a couple hours to kill before Thanksgiving so I started working on the black locust rounds I recently brought home. It was 12 degrees so the wood was nice and frozen. I was literally laughing out loud it was so much fun to split. Just pops right apart.
Fiskars rock and roll. They are a poor mans woodsplitter.
Yep splitting wood in the cold it's probably the best time to do it because it freezes the moisture with less resistance
Nice video. I have a Fiskars on the way. I just cleared a couple hundred trees on my land, and I'm looking forward to using it.
You look like an honest hard working person, thank you.
+Ariel I work hard at being honest. ;-)
True word's
The Fiskars X27 is so good that after 3 or 4 swings it gets to be quite a rush! I've slammed that composite handle on a few misses and its still good as new. I grew up using something akin to the Monster Maul which is a formidable splitter of wood and spine. Out here in the Italian Alps I can get a cord done a week with the X27, its a great axe that won't split your back. Thanks for the video!
I just bought the X27 without too much research. Glad to see it has quite a few positive reviews!
Bought an x27 fiskars axe,I love it,makes splitting wood fun and so easy to use, great axe
Фіскарс
S7
Фіскарс моделі в магазині
Відео 7Іскарс
Thanks for sharing!! The maul seems to have a metal handle which as you said transfers the vibration. Thanks for helping me make my decision!
Great video and I enjoyed your calm explanations and your humbleness about your knowledge.
Good evening, I also use a tire and the x27. If you put to much wood in the tire you have more trouble to split the wood, leave some space.
I just ordered one. They are not guaranteed for life if you break it.
''Fiskars are warranted to be free of defects in material and workmanship. Warranty does not cover sharpening, normal wear and tear, environmental factors, accidental damage, misuse, industrial/commercial use.''
Just swung that monster maul for 3 hours today. Love my monster maul. I have an x27 also, but it doesn't split crotches like the monster. I've never done the tire thing because it seems like it steals my energy from the swing. Split on brother, and have fun while you're doing it.
If you film this with a higher camera position, we could see the top side of the logs, where you hit them with the axe and what the effect is.If you zoom out, we could see the whole swing you make with the axe. You probably make a 90 degrees swing with the heavy Monster Maul but you can make a 270 degrees swing with then light X27.
I see this video is now 4 years old. I trust you have since acquired the Fiskars Iso-Core 8 lb maul. Paired with the X-27 virtually any log will split with minimal effort. I just retired my Sotz Monster after trying my new Iso-Core Maul on only a few pieces.
Splitting is a bit easier if you hit further out on the growth rings. The closer you hit to center on the first couple of hits the harder it is and bouncy as well.
100%! Bullzeye aint allways the best...
The wire in the tire tread will not affect the edge of splitting tools. Even the bead wire would not be a problem.
I keep three different types of fiskars axes in my truck at all times. The style you have here, the one with the shorter handle on it, and (i believe) the x15? Chopping axe. I use my x15 for most of my woodsplitting. I only have wood heat and live in the wettest part of the lower 48. I say they are second to none, and will believe in them until someone proves me wrong. They are never stuck in the wood to the point where you exhaust yourself trying to remove your axe from the round, just a little pop open handed and you have it back. And if you ever do something stupjd enough to break the handle...they exchange them without any question. I praise .y fiskars, never loan them out, sharpen them often and i mean ""sharp""you would not want to overswing with a fiskars. Thankfully, ive never had to go buy a slow hydraulic woodsplitter, and hopefully never will thanks to fiskars for taking something that was invented hundreds of years ago but never really had much change in its design, rethought and reinvented into the marvel of wood chopping that it has became. The only thing they do not fo better than traditional axes, is beat wedges. Try not to even use them for that shit!
thank you good sir for probable the only usefull fiskars owners video out there. most people use perfect streight wood that will allready split it self if you drop it, but this video is quite realistic. i have the exact same situation as you most of the time. the most horrible pieces of wood, dried or twisted or what ever bad situation. thanks for this good revieuw!
"Splits when you drop it" lol. So true.
Wow buddy .. Awesome axe .. My lady as brought me the x7 for Christmas.. canna wait .. I will use it for camping .. cheers Chris & Sam
black locust is my favorite wood for firewood and splits way easier then most other woods I deal with as long as it is split green once it dries out it gets hard as a rock
With the energy formula, velocity is squared but the weight is constant. So twice the velocity is four times the energy. And that maul is only 3 times the weight. So you can get similar energy without lifting 12 lbs every swing.
Correct
Bought the Fiskars one this week. It makes short work of even green, rain soaked 30" pine rounds
A number of viewers have suggested that I should have cut smaller pieces off the edges or cut at natural checks. Any maul can split the easy stuff. I was doing a comparison here and testing the limits of the tools. That's why I split long, knotty pieces of black locust. Later in the video, I did whittle away at the edges and checks.
I think you need to have another wood underneath thefirewood you want to split to make the whole job easier... the ground dissipates lots of energy whereas if you put a wood underneath it... the energy doesn't get dissipated as easily to the ground so more fore to the firewood. Give it a try. Love your tire idea.
+S Chang I agree that a solid base makes the chopping easier and I have a piece of oak from the base of a tree that I use as a chopping block. In this case the wood was all 20" to 24" long and my chopping block is about 18". Adding the rounds and block together made it a little too tall. Anyway the wood was sitting on a gravel driveway that is pretty solid.
mars1952 make the chopping block thin
@@Dollapfin or dig it in if you have a place you always split wood.
More high to underneath log. Saves your lover back
🤘
@@mars1952 disculpa respondeme porfavor soy de México como encuentro esa hacha mazo que nombre tiene o que link tienes para conseguir esa hacha mazo la roja esa roja que nombre tiene dondr encontrarla soy de México
I've been using a 12lbs. maul and simply wasn't sure about splitting axe but will definitely try this Fiskars soon
Good video, thanks! I find that any maul over 8 pounds isn't worth it. They're not much fun, and you lose velocity. I've used fiskars too and they're nicely designed. I miss having a wood fireplace; always enjoyed splitting wood.
Thanks for sharing!
that splitter is a beast. picking one up today...i got a 45" water oak i just fell, gonna put this bad boy to the test
eric hemard
How'd it go?
Did not disappoint, there's were some crotch that required wedges and a 10# hammer but once I got it to crack, that's was all she wrote. If you ever used a composite shaft golf club, it's all about head speed. Just like the club the head speed is what makes it so effective. Follow through and focus on technique and follow natural checks.
eric hemard
good to hear!
yeah im 6ft 5" and i love the long handle and with the indestructible handle i can swing as wild as i want haha
got a monster maul. had it for years also. it's gonna kick your butt. i also bought the x27 but haven't received it yet.
great video 👍 I like the LOOK of the MONSTERMAUL but in Germany we used almost Fiskars or Ochsenkopf, they're lighter and more aggressive. please excuse my bad English. nice greetings from Germany
Your English is better than my German! Greetings back!.
Nice to see google translation is getting better...
@@nc3826 What a stupid joke since his comment wasn't bad. Also Germans have to take 8-10 years of English in school. How many years of a foreign language did you take in school?
Studity= getting your panties in a bunch, over ancient uboob comments...
Ich arbeite lieber mit einer billig Axt als mit fiskars
The most important thing is the height of the block you cut on.Ask your back.
No doubt you get a lot more splitting done for a lot less calories with the Fiskars.
And less spine damage
Splitting on the soft ground is what's giving the spring back.
The worst place you can possibly strike a round to split is in the center. Striking on one edge and then the other gives leverage across the log. The center often has tougher fibers, by striking the edge it prys the center apart.
Yes and to keep hitting around the edges. I see a lot of hitting in the center on youtube
Destroys the axe too
And if there is a crack in the wood, hit it on the opposite edge . I've split twisty maple wood this way and everybody says Maple is impossible to split. If you hit a maple in the center core, it's a big job just getting your axe unstuck. LOL
It depends on what wood are you splitting and how large the logs are. On 30 cm diameter oak logs i always hit the center
Outstanding Sir! Sold me on Fiskars!
Ending was priceless 😂🤣😂
I split a lot of black locust. As I see it, the tight tire wrap is preventing the wood from spitting to the end. Leave some room? Splits are not going anywhere. My two cents. I like the x27 too!
You’re struggling w the maul because you’re doing it wrong. They come with an instruction manual . You’re supposed to hit the wood on the outside edge because it’s less dense, you’re supposed to hit with the face and handle parallel to the ground. A parallel face and handle give more material on the wood thus delivering more energy. You’re also supposed to let your top hand “slide “ down the handle so the weight of the maul does the work. If you put it in a tire ;( not an inner tube)the tire will absorb the energy. Try it the correct way and see what happens
This is really helpful. Thanks.
He does let his top hand slide.
He also has the tube stuffed completely full with the monster maul and more open space with the fiskers. That prevents the maul from actually moving through the wood as compared to if the wood was sitting out in the open. I used to split wood daily with a monster maul without a tire/tube and it was so easy and made me a lot stronger. A bonus is that you can never break the handle by over swinging. I'll never split wood with anything else.
I added a pound of steel to the poll of my fisker 27. Still not as good a splitter as a six pound maul, but a big improvement. The cheeks need to be slightly convex for better pushing wood fibers apart, however that would increase the manufacturing costs. The straight side design is because it is cheaper to make, not because it is more effective. It works better than the concave cheeks that some tools have but that isn't saying much!
Someone stole my maul and the guy at the store recommended the Fiskar. He was not wrong. Some guys just can't get past the handle. I'd argue you'd replace at least two handles before that Fiskar ever breaks.
Thumbs up for the effort and workout. But dang cutting in that tire has got to hamper the wood splitting. I absolutely love my X27.
the 27x stands for man yielding 27" biceps
Instead of an old tire, use a piece of rope with loops tied at various distances from the end. Then stand up the rounds you want to split into a rough circle, wrap the rope around them all and tension it with a strong bungee cord.
This way you can split several dozen large pieces at once before "reloading". The stretchy bungee cord allows you to lever the splits apart without being constrained by a non-stretchy tire.
X 27 it's the best I split 20 cube meters of hard wood and my hands didn't suffer any damage its a really nice ax to have
My 15 inch bass came into life here.. Last time i hit middle of a chunk of wood was when i was 10 years old.
Like the tire, it can keep the axe from coming back and getting you in the shin or foot as well as the leg
i get the enjoyment of a wood grain feel of a traditional axe but my leg is made of carbon fiber and i really enjoy the handle on fiskars.
i love the sound of dried wood cracking
I have a fiskars maul and seriously it is a pleasure to use.
i have both as well and would agree that the fiskars is far better for splitting. The monster maul does drive fence posts faster.
you got my sub just cause of the ending ;)
I have the Fiskars X25. I really like it.
Once I went Fiskars I could never go back! Do a review on that sweet saw in the ranger.
Do you notice the monster mail spinning in your hand if you don’t hit it just perfect? My hands get rough and tore up from mine spinning and it’s got a rubber grip even
Haha, love the ending. Good review, thank you.
I have been using the fiskers exclusively for the last five years and I recently switched to an 8 pound maul I got of of eBay it has an axe eye and it works way better than the fiskers. But to each their own....
I have the Fiskars x27, but I'm 5'8 and tend to over-strike. Works when I'm on target.
It takes a while to get used to the extra long handle.
+mars1952 thanks for the great video . Quite impressive !
Im 5.8 ft tall as well .
Should i buy the x27 or it would be wiser to go for the x25 as fiskars advise ?
Ανδρέας Μαγγανάς The longer the handle the faster the head of the ax travels and the more force it will develop. You will get used to the extra length quickly.
The way I do it is MUCH easier.
I have been splitting 20 inch tall, two ft diameter, black oak log rounds, cut three months ago.
First of all always split on a hard surface such as I do on my gravel driveway, and the colder air the air temperature the easier the splitting.
I line up and tap in, along cracks, two steel wedges along the diameter line, off-center, away from the heartwood. I use an 8 lb sledge hammer to split into halves in to quarters, then eighths, and sixteenths accordingly.
Then I use a splitting axe on each piece (one hit 90° to radius, along growth rings) in the upright position, sometimes resulting in three or more pieces perfect for stacking.
no black locusts up here. that wood looks brutal.
You should try,a large truck tyre, with the inner walls removed, I can get bout 12 by 25kg bags in one splitting, I stack one on top of the other,on solid concrete, energy stays in the wood,
The x27 I'm pretty sure it's 5 pounds all the weight is in the head I also have the short handle splitter I think that one's 21 inches and it's awesome not for long cut logs but for shorter ones and hard to split ones it definitely works well I have quite a few axes and I will grab my fiskars axes over the ton of other splitters maul's, Collins's, ect. Fiskars has their axe figured out to where I can split a lot with minimal effort
Looks like a slick! Where do you get used slicks?????🤨
I wouldn’t even touch the maul , use a fiskars and your hooked . Up here in Canada we split in the winter , frozen wood splits easily .
Get rid of the tire as well .
@@JB-wr2lx by the time they put it in there tire and bungee cords around it and on the chopping block i would have it split
16lbs?! That makes tired just by hearing how heavy it is. Seems like the Fisker might get better penetration because it’s a slimmer angle.
If the wood is super dry then the splitting ax works great. But if it's a little moist, the maul will work better. Mauls don't get stuck.
Spray maul with a little wd40 and it'll keep snow off it too if you're splitting with snow in the ground. Plus just helps it go through easier
I split green wood all the time with the fiskars letting the wood dry makes it harder to split by far.
It could be "Yew", "taxus" that red and white wood.
One of the best bow wood ever - and one of the most durable and beautiful too.
Wood handles are always better than plastic even if they dont last so long.
The vibration of plastic and fiberglass causes pain in your arms if you doing it a long time.
Fiskars makes good tools anyway. Even though i dream of a handforged Gränsfors bruks
Good video...my suggestion using a tape measure to be more detailed on the length of the axes
Wow that tire is a great idea. What kind is that and where could I get one. Is it a tube or a tire? Thanks
Great video. What I like though is your pants. Mind if I ask the make and model? Those look like they would protect you from an overswing or chainsaw.
+SkylineToTheSeaAndMe They are Carhart double front jeans made in the USA.
Fiskars is a beast
Youd have a much easier time splitting the big blocks if you hit on the edge of the wood. Hitting in the middle is only for small logs
Yup x27 is the best. They do make a bigger one but not as good. Locust is easier to split green.
Damn man, your a beast swinging that 16lb thing around. I been lucky enough to have pretty much started out with the Fiskarsband that thing is nasty. What kind of tire is that and how did you get it? That seems like it would be great!
I've overstruck that thing more times than I would care to admit but it sure doesn't show it. Best feature about it. But the steel is Swiss cheese. Have you noticed that in your experience?
I vote maul--I swing mine very different and it takes little energy to do it yet hits much harder.
I don’t find a lot of difference between the friskars and other splitters in it’s weight class. Where the friskars excels is its handle and the way its head keeps an edge.
Moral to the story is buy or make wood splitter...but I do like the old tire trick... but if need to use a maul (to be real man) put the logs on a hard and high surface like a second set of logs with tire around them...
I might have to steal your tire technique. Would save me a lot of time and labor.
Thanks for uploading...Where would one buy used rubber-only racing tires?
Go to a local race track and get them for free.
The monster maul is badly designed and dangerous to use as you can see how it bounces from wood in 5:00 or 5:08. the fiskars is 2x lighter and does much much better work than M maul and you wont get so tired using it. There is much better fiskars maul if you are looking for heavy axe that makes amazing work also with giant pieces. Fiskars maul safe T.
I feel that your setup is a disadvantage for the monster maul. In this situation, tire is working against the maul by holding the pieces together.
The axe's higher velocity gives you more energy at initial impact. However, the maul is heavier. While not as fast an impact speed, you may still find that it is easier to give the maul more momentum to carry through the wood. Between this and the wide wedge shape of the maul, you may be able to more cleanly separate the pieces than the axe when they aren't stuck in a tire.
+Andrew Nosek Force = Mass times Velocity squared. The key is the speed of the ax. Increasing the Mass increases the force linearly. Increasing the speed of the ax increases the force exponentially. Certianly the shape of the axe head plays a part. A regular ax head is less effective than a regular maul and the monster maul is more effective when the wood is stringy than a narrower cutting head. I think ideally the ax head would be as heavy as the user could swing without losing any speed.
Physics baby! Kinetic Energy = 1/2*mass*velocity^2. Double the velocity quadruple the energy! Absolutely hate monsters mauls. 6# and 8# splitting mauls are my go too"s.
No contest in the real world, the x27 can be used 4-5 hours of solid work. What would have been a good comparison is watching this guy swing the monster for 4 hours and then 4 hours with the x27. The work rate would be noticeably different.
I have the x15 ,X25 and the x27. The x27 is awesome
16 lbs is a lot of weight to be swinging. The speed the fiskers hits the wood is more effective than the weight of the iron club.
So, if the wife gets her hubby a Fiskars X27 for Christmas, is that the same as hubby getting wife a Vacuum Cleaner? X27 is stellar!
I ordered one last night
I have several fiskars axes and I take them with me camping all excellent axes except the x7 that thing is just silly, but for my winter wood and splitting cords and cords I prefer to use my granfors maul, I can't stand the vibration of the fiskars handle and much prefer a wood handle.
sorry but I'm new to splitting wood and just bought a fiskars splitting axe not the 36 inh one but the shorter handled one and it works amazingly but woul I be better off buying the 36' one?
The longer the better..
that was hilarious. :23 seconds is your answer but stick around and learn something. this mainer thanks you for sharing. been using short version for 6 years with same like for locust.
Alrightythen! I just ordered an X27!
Great video! Are you supposed to turn the axe/maul once it is in the log? I thought that prematurely loosened the handle
+BuckeyeMCS I used to worry that levering sideways would loosen the handle but I have been doing it for many years with no problems. I don't put that much leverage on the handle. If I put my whole weight behind it it would break.
Have you been using that particular monster maul for a decade or that brand? Meaning has that maul lasted you the whole decade or have you had to replace it but just stuck to the brand?