5 ms·

If you split your own firewood by hand, a Fiskars splitting axe is insanely better than any standard splitting maul you'd find in a typical hardware store: http

by japhyr 5y ago

If you split your own firewood by hand, a Fiskars splitting axe is insanely better than any standard splitting maul you'd find in a typical hardware store: https://www.fiskars.com/en-us/gardening-and-yard-care/products/axes-mauls-and-machetes/x27-super-splitting-axe-36-378841-1004 https://www.fiskars.com/en-us/gardening-and-yard-care/produc... For mechanical pencils, the Rotring 600 is the best thing I've ever written with: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AZWYUA4/ https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AZWYUA4/

patentatt 5y ago
I'm about to blow your mind: https://www.kindlingcracker.com/ https://www.kindlingcracker.com/
- ElCapitanMarkla 5y ago
  A young kiwi girl Ayla Hutchinson designed that when she was only 13 years old - https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/1222-ayla-hutchinson https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/1222-ayla-hutchins... pretty cool seeing something like that get to market
FunnyLookinHat 5y ago
I'm in the market for a new splitting axe - thanks for the recommendation!
shimonabi 5y ago
I have this Fiskars model, but I haven't used it in more than 5 years. I had to chop up 2 huge cherry trees and this thing was useless. For splitting wood, I now always use this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ochsenkopf-OX-3509-Log-Splitter-Rotband/dp/B000UYTZJI https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ochsenkopf-OX-3509-Log-Splitter-Rot... Now THAT is really good design.
- robocat 5y ago
  > Now THAT is really good design Perhaps explain why it is better? A personal opinion is not as useful as an insightful explanation. > was useless You haven’t said what was wrong with it. Also I think your wording is awfully close to breaking site guidelines: "That is idiotic; 1 + 1 is 2, not 3" can be shortened to "1 + 1 is 2, not 3." https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html Disclaimer: not a mod, I’m just a hippy that wants us all to get on well together!
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
mkl 5y ago
Speaking of well-designed Fiskars tools, I got this weed puller recently: https://www.fiskars.com/en-us/gardening-and-yard-care/products/weeders/stand-up-weed-puller-4-claw-339950-1001 https://www.fiskars.com/en-us/gardening-and-yard-care/produc... Videos of how it works: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=fiskars+weed+puller+4+claw https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=fiskars+weed+pu... It's been making difficult weed removal trivial.
- ElCapitanMarkla 5y ago
  I just got one of these on Friday. It’s so so satisfying
ISL 5y ago
I recently borrowed a Fiskars x25 for the first time, after reading about them for many years. They really are better. Splits better than my maul and weighs less. I was surprised to find that the latter was more important. If it takes less energy to cycle, you can split the same log more times without it feeling like a burden to do so. The next time I need to split more than a trifling amount of wood, my first step will be to acquire a new splitting axe -- the overall time to completion will be faster.
djsbs 5y ago
As a pencil enthusiast, I love the rotring 600. I have two. I also loved rotring’s Tikky 1 (not the subsequent ones) Other great pen/pencil: - Pentel Ortez. I have the 3 mm and, if used properly, the lead wont break - Zebra delguard. Also wont break. I have it in 0.5 mm - Rotring’s artpen. My favorite fountain pen, but it appears discontinued :S
mukti 5y ago
I love Rotring pens and pencils - I used a Rapid Pro mechanical pencil throughout college. Nowadays I use a Rotring 600 or 800 with Ohto ballpoint refills. The knurled grip is great, the the overall weight of the pencil is much better than your average plastic pen.
akeck 5y ago
My absolute favorite pencil with which to do math is the Pentel Kerry .7mm. It feels so good.
- graycat 5y ago
  I wrote my Ph.D. dissertation in applied math with a Pentel 0.5 mm. Soooo, there's also a Pentel 0.7?? GOOD. Thanks!
  - rainbowzootsuit 5y ago
    Pentel makes 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.7, 0.9mm After trying all of them, I really gravitate to 0.4 and 0.7 depending on what I'm doing with it. 0.7 is great for general writing and notation, while 0.4 is better for drawing figures.
atulatul 5y ago
Wolf Garten tools are good, too. https://www.wolf-garten.com/ https://www.wolf-garten.com/
slimmons 5y ago
Absolutely. I started felling trees and splitting wood recently, and I went through a few axes. The Fiskars have been amazing.
minikomi 5y ago
Do you think their shorter axe (n12) would be good to take bike camping?
- jcims 5y ago
  X11 or X7 would probably be a bit lighter and more durable. I know its ‘plastic’ but I’ve beat the shit out of mine for 15 years and it hasn’t loosened up at all. Wood handles get finicky in the elements. The Fiskar plastic handles are hollow, too, you might be able to pack a flint kit up in there for energency use. Something like an Eastwing is goong to be a better chopper, but these will split better. Both are useful.
- tomcooks 5y ago
  To bike camp bring a small foldable saw, so instead of spending 1+ hour splitting wood after a long riding day you can spend that time enjoying camping I have a carpenter axe which is very compact and somewhat lightweight, but gave it up because I never had to use it
  - speedcoder 5y ago
    Link?
- hutzlibu 5y ago
  Unless you want to make a fort at night, I really would not bring an axe along. Finding firewood for a campfire is usually not a problem. But a too heavy bike is. I did it bike camping a lot and my advice is, only bring what you absolutely need. Without extra burden, everything is much more enjoyable and you will have more energy to reach the nice spots.
  - minikomi 5y ago
    I do a lot of slow bike camping in Japan where the campsite will often provide firewood, but it's too large for the small solo stove I have. I've tried a saw, but what I really want is thinner wood split from the larger pieces, not lateral cuts. The axes being talked about are only about 470g, which doesn't bother me too much shoved in a pannier.
gkfasdfasdf 5y ago
Any advice on technique with the splitting axe? Use the same way as the maul?
- mtreis86 5y ago
  Put a heavy bungee cord (the rubber type) around the log a bit above the bottom, then the pieces don't go flying.
  - bstpierre 5y ago
    Even better, use an old tire. I like to set the tire on a large round, place a few smaller pieces inside the tire (so they don’t go flying out) and then chop them all before clearing and refilling. Also works with a single medium piece inside the tire. Large pieces you can quarter first, I don’t have much trouble there with pieces flying around.
- jcims 5y ago
  So happy to see the Fiskars mentioned. Grew up with farmers in the midwest US but love my fancy little splitter hitter from across the pond. I find a subtle lift on the handle right at the end of the stroke, almost like a whipping action, seems to help a little. It may be in my head, but it seems to stick less. Use the full length of the handle, the horn at the end provides a positive grip and you get more speed. On large rounds don’t start in the very center, bisect the round but start near near the far rim so the crack is only supported on one side and has a better chance to propagate through the length of the round. Work your way back towards you and repeat if needed. Always focus on where your strike lands. Most smaller logs will be one hitters but aim precisely anyway. On larger rounds stitch strikes together in one continuous line across the face. Don’t get sloppy, if you’re more than an 1/8” off left or right hit it again. Repeat across until she gives. Precision beats percussion. Set your rounds on top of the biggest round you can find when splitting. This flattens the contact (tip #1) and the large round below provides some inertial resistance. Splitting directly on the ground provides more bounce, reducing effectiveness, and the bit gets dulled by contact with dirt and rocks. Keep the cover, its durable, provides a great hanging handle. The blade doesn’t need to be razor sharp like you would want with a cutting axe, but it should be sharp and clean.
filoeleven 5y ago
Someone I know designed a wood-splitting axe where the central part of the blade has a high center-of-mass and freely pivots in order to kick apart the pieces once the axe hits the wood. It’s an ingenious design based on simple physics, and works quite well. There’s no purchasing info at the link below; it’s a small company whose main focus is on machines for metal roofing, so I suppose it requires a phone call or email to them to find out more. https://www.esemachines.com/hand-tools https://www.esemachines.com/hand-tools Search for “super splitter” The patent description is more informative: https://patents.justia.com/patent/5020225 https://patents.justia.com/patent/5020225
rainbowzootsuit 5y ago
I really like my Pentel Graphgear 1000s. The retractable tip means it doesn't stab you if you want to carry it in a pocket and at least somewhat reduces the probability of it being ruined by a drop. https://www.pentel.com/products/graph-gear-1000-mechanical-drafting-pencil https://www.pentel.com/products/graph-gear-1000-mechanical-d...

by japhyr 5y ago

patentatt 5y ago

I'm about to blow your mind: https://www.kindlingcracker.com/ https://www.kindlingcracker.com/

ElCapitanMarkla 5y ago
A young kiwi girl Ayla Hutchinson designed that when she was only 13 years old - https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/1222-ayla-hutchinson https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/1222-ayla-hutchins... pretty cool seeing something like that get to market

FunnyLookinHat 5y ago

I'm in the market for a new splitting axe - thanks for the recommendation!

shimonabi 5y ago

I have this Fiskars model, but I haven't used it in more than 5 years. I had to chop up 2 huge cherry trees and this thing was useless. For splitting wood, I now always use this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ochsenkopf-OX-3509-Log-Splitter-Rotband/dp/B000UYTZJI https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ochsenkopf-OX-3509-Log-Splitter-Rot... Now THAT is really good design.

robocat 5y ago
> Now THAT is really good design Perhaps explain why it is better? A personal opinion is not as useful as an insightful explanation. > was useless You haven’t said what was wrong with it. Also I think your wording is awfully close to breaking site guidelines: "That is idiotic; 1 + 1 is 2, not 3" can be shortened to "1 + 1 is 2, not 3." https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html Disclaimer: not a mod, I’m just a hippy that wants us all to get on well together!
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]

mkl 5y ago

Speaking of well-designed Fiskars tools, I got this weed puller recently: https://www.fiskars.com/en-us/gardening-and-yard-care/products/weeders/stand-up-weed-puller-4-claw-339950-1001 https://www.fiskars.com/en-us/gardening-and-yard-care/produc... Videos of how it works: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=fiskars+weed+puller+4+claw https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=fiskars+weed+pu... It's been making difficult weed removal trivial.

ElCapitanMarkla 5y ago
I just got one of these on Friday. It’s so so satisfying

ISL 5y ago

I recently borrowed a Fiskars x25 for the first time, after reading about them for many years. They really are better. Splits better than my maul and weighs less. I was surprised to find that the latter was more important. If it takes less energy to cycle, you can split the same log more times without it feeling like a burden to do so. The next time I need to split more than a trifling amount of wood, my first step will be to acquire a new splitting axe -- the overall time to completion will be faster.

djsbs 5y ago

As a pencil enthusiast, I love the rotring 600. I have two. I also loved rotring’s Tikky 1 (not the subsequent ones) Other great pen/pencil: - Pentel Ortez. I have the 3 mm and, if used properly, the lead wont break - Zebra delguard. Also wont break. I have it in 0.5 mm - Rotring’s artpen. My favorite fountain pen, but it appears discontinued :S

mukti 5y ago

I love Rotring pens and pencils - I used a Rapid Pro mechanical pencil throughout college. Nowadays I use a Rotring 600 or 800 with Ohto ballpoint refills. The knurled grip is great, the the overall weight of the pencil is much better than your average plastic pen.

akeck 5y ago

My absolute favorite pencil with which to do math is the Pentel Kerry .7mm. It feels so good.

graycat 5y ago
I wrote my Ph.D. dissertation in applied math with a Pentel 0.5 mm. Soooo, there's also a Pentel 0.7?? GOOD. Thanks!
- rainbowzootsuit 5y ago
  Pentel makes 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.7, 0.9mm After trying all of them, I really gravitate to 0.4 and 0.7 depending on what I'm doing with it. 0.7 is great for general writing and notation, while 0.4 is better for drawing figures.

atulatul 5y ago

Wolf Garten tools are good, too. https://www.wolf-garten.com/ https://www.wolf-garten.com/

slimmons 5y ago

Absolutely. I started felling trees and splitting wood recently, and I went through a few axes. The Fiskars have been amazing.

minikomi 5y ago

Do you think their shorter axe (n12) would be good to take bike camping?

jcims 5y ago
X11 or X7 would probably be a bit lighter and more durable. I know its ‘plastic’ but I’ve beat the shit out of mine for 15 years and it hasn’t loosened up at all. Wood handles get finicky in the elements. The Fiskar plastic handles are hollow, too, you might be able to pack a flint kit up in there for energency use. Something like an Eastwing is goong to be a better chopper, but these will split better. Both are useful.
tomcooks 5y ago
To bike camp bring a small foldable saw, so instead of spending 1+ hour splitting wood after a long riding day you can spend that time enjoying camping I have a carpenter axe which is very compact and somewhat lightweight, but gave it up because I never had to use it
- speedcoder 5y ago
  Link?
hutzlibu 5y ago
Unless you want to make a fort at night, I really would not bring an axe along. Finding firewood for a campfire is usually not a problem. But a too heavy bike is. I did it bike camping a lot and my advice is, only bring what you absolutely need. Without extra burden, everything is much more enjoyable and you will have more energy to reach the nice spots.
- minikomi 5y ago
  I do a lot of slow bike camping in Japan where the campsite will often provide firewood, but it's too large for the small solo stove I have. I've tried a saw, but what I really want is thinner wood split from the larger pieces, not lateral cuts. The axes being talked about are only about 470g, which doesn't bother me too much shoved in a pannier.

gkfasdfasdf 5y ago

Any advice on technique with the splitting axe? Use the same way as the maul?

mtreis86 5y ago
Put a heavy bungee cord (the rubber type) around the log a bit above the bottom, then the pieces don't go flying.
- bstpierre 5y ago
  Even better, use an old tire. I like to set the tire on a large round, place a few smaller pieces inside the tire (so they don’t go flying out) and then chop them all before clearing and refilling. Also works with a single medium piece inside the tire. Large pieces you can quarter first, I don’t have much trouble there with pieces flying around.
jcims 5y ago
So happy to see the Fiskars mentioned. Grew up with farmers in the midwest US but love my fancy little splitter hitter from across the pond. I find a subtle lift on the handle right at the end of the stroke, almost like a whipping action, seems to help a little. It may be in my head, but it seems to stick less. Use the full length of the handle, the horn at the end provides a positive grip and you get more speed. On large rounds don’t start in the very center, bisect the round but start near near the far rim so the crack is only supported on one side and has a better chance to propagate through the length of the round. Work your way back towards you and repeat if needed. Always focus on where your strike lands. Most smaller logs will be one hitters but aim precisely anyway. On larger rounds stitch strikes together in one continuous line across the face. Don’t get sloppy, if you’re more than an 1/8” off left or right hit it again. Repeat across until she gives. Precision beats percussion. Set your rounds on top of the biggest round you can find when splitting. This flattens the contact (tip #1) and the large round below provides some inertial resistance. Splitting directly on the ground provides more bounce, reducing effectiveness, and the bit gets dulled by contact with dirt and rocks. Keep the cover, its durable, provides a great hanging handle. The blade doesn’t need to be razor sharp like you would want with a cutting axe, but it should be sharp and clean.

filoeleven 5y ago

Someone I know designed a wood-splitting axe where the central part of the blade has a high center-of-mass and freely pivots in order to kick apart the pieces once the axe hits the wood. It’s an ingenious design based on simple physics, and works quite well. There’s no purchasing info at the link below; it’s a small company whose main focus is on machines for metal roofing, so I suppose it requires a phone call or email to them to find out more. https://www.esemachines.com/hand-tools https://www.esemachines.com/hand-tools Search for “super splitter” The patent description is more informative: https://patents.justia.com/patent/5020225 https://patents.justia.com/patent/5020225

rainbowzootsuit 5y ago

I really like my Pentel Graphgear 1000s. The retractable tip means it doesn't stab you if you want to carry it in a pocket and at least somewhat reduces the probability of it being ruined by a drop. https://www.pentel.com/products/graph-gear-1000-mechanical-drafting-pencil https://www.pentel.com/products/graph-gear-1000-mechanical-d...