4 ms·

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 ev

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 split the wood.) I would love to hear of an independent comparison of the Eccentric Axe versus a Splitting maul. The tire is a really great idea though.

jtheory 13y ago
For those who aren't familiar: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Splitting_maul http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Splitting_maul -- but I have to laugh to notice that the "related" tools listed are Sledgehammer, Axe, and War hammer. You're offering solutions that take significant strength -- someone who can't safely swing a splitting maul or 20lb sledgehammer could still use this axe and get a much better result than a normal axe, I think. A maul is great until you get tired and hit a glancing blow; at which point you've got a heavy steel wedge flying off at high velocity, and you'd better be strong enough to hold on the other end of the handle. My brother and I split a lot of wood as teenagers; our family heated our house in NY with a wood-burning fireplace insert, using wood from the forested acre or so around the house. We definitely just powered through problematic logs, though -- e.g., splitting maul, and we'd swing it hard. We had a couple of steel wedges and a sledgehammer but hardly ever used them; normally it was faster to just beat the heck out of the knotted/wet/whatever log with the maul. I'm certainly curious to see how the eccentric axe handles bad wood -- though in any case I suspect it'd decently handle the same logs a maul would, but requiring less strength. You could always fall back to wedges plus a light sledge (and patience) for the really nasty logs.
- JackFr 13y ago
  When your using a good size maul, you really should let gravity do the work for most of the logs. You really should only have to swing through on really tough ones. (That isn't to say you don't need some strength -- picking up a heavy maul over your head is not easy.) I split a lot of wood in high school, while working for a tree cutting company. After half a day of splitting with a 15-lb head, steel handled maul you'd be unable to make a fist from the shock your hands took. We used to have wood splitting competitions, in which you'd pick logs for your opponents. I still remember one exceptionally knotty piece of cherry that a guy who I was working with found for me. While he split all his logs, the maul would just bounce of that log.
  - jtheory 13y ago
    I don't disagree -- esp. with decent logs, the strength you need for a maul is more about safety when things go wrong than about swinging it; i.e., strength grants control rather than brute force. The head is heavy and out on a long handle specifically so you can apply a lot of force just starting up high and letting it drop to the wood, but that works against you if you miss your target and it goes flying off to the side. And of course, if you've been at it for a while and are tiring, or you're less strong to begin with, aim suffers. > ...the maul would just bounce of that log I remember a few like that! I'll bet it was also pretty green and/or water logged... that would have that effect.
- blhack 13y ago
  The war hammer looks a lot like this tool: http://www.stihlusa.com/products/chain-saws/accessories/forestry-tools/hookaroon/ http://www.stihlusa.com/products/chain-saws/accessories/fore... That's probably why it's in the related section. If you want to go down a long, long rabbit hole of amazing videos, I recommend starting here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvJ8Q1vAdGA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvJ8Q1vAdGA Which is an example of how to use this tool.
radiorental 13y ago
Indeed, and that looks like birch. In my experience that splits if you look at it sideways. Instead of a tyre I use a bungee & chain. That allows me to hold a wider range of log sizes upright. This design intriques me the most, seems effortless http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=111_1363524786 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=111_1363524786
- dfc 13y ago
  That is the first liveleak video I have ever seen where someone does not die. Is liveleak becoming a general purpose video site?
flavor8 13y ago
+1 for mauls. Why people use axes to split wood I don't know. I have a 10lb maul which _usually_ will split logs (even large rounds) on first strike assuming the wood is reasonably well seasoned. I used to use an axe + sledgehammer/wedge for the tricky stuff, but it's a ton more work that way.
- stcredzero 13y ago
  Yet another way of storing human muscle power, then releasing it all at once.
dasil003 13y ago
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.
- ghshephard 13y ago
  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)
  - dasil003 13y ago
    > 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?
    - JoeAltmaier 13y ago
      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.
    - ghshephard 13y ago
      You're right, perhaps I'm a bit more cynical than I should be. What would have been nice is a A/B comparison of a normal axe and then a Leveraxe, showing how the two perform differently with different types of logs.
pmorici 13y ago
If you are serious about splitting wood you should just skip the axe altogether and go for one of these... http://youtu.be/2eengn9eNQw?t=2m14s http://youtu.be/2eengn9eNQw?t=2m14s

jtheory 13y ago

For those who aren't familiar: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Splitting_maul http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Splitting_maul -- but I have to laugh to notice that the "related" tools listed are Sledgehammer, Axe, and War hammer. You're offering solutions that take significant strength -- someone who can't safely swing a splitting maul or 20lb sledgehammer could still use this axe and get a much better result than a normal axe, I think. A maul is great until you get tired and hit a glancing blow; at which point you've got a heavy steel wedge flying off at high velocity, and you'd better be strong enough to hold on the other end of the handle. My brother and I split a lot of wood as teenagers; our family heated our house in NY with a wood-burning fireplace insert, using wood from the forested acre or so around the house. We definitely just powered through problematic logs, though -- e.g., splitting maul, and we'd swing it hard. We had a couple of steel wedges and a sledgehammer but hardly ever used them; normally it was faster to just beat the heck out of the knotted/wet/whatever log with the maul. I'm certainly curious to see how the eccentric axe handles bad wood -- though in any case I suspect it'd decently handle the same logs a maul would, but requiring less strength. You could always fall back to wedges plus a light sledge (and patience) for the really nasty logs.

JackFr 13y ago
When your using a good size maul, you really should let gravity do the work for most of the logs. You really should only have to swing through on really tough ones. (That isn't to say you don't need some strength -- picking up a heavy maul over your head is not easy.) I split a lot of wood in high school, while working for a tree cutting company. After half a day of splitting with a 15-lb head, steel handled maul you'd be unable to make a fist from the shock your hands took. We used to have wood splitting competitions, in which you'd pick logs for your opponents. I still remember one exceptionally knotty piece of cherry that a guy who I was working with found for me. While he split all his logs, the maul would just bounce of that log.
- jtheory 13y ago
  I don't disagree -- esp. with decent logs, the strength you need for a maul is more about safety when things go wrong than about swinging it; i.e., strength grants control rather than brute force. The head is heavy and out on a long handle specifically so you can apply a lot of force just starting up high and letting it drop to the wood, but that works against you if you miss your target and it goes flying off to the side. And of course, if you've been at it for a while and are tiring, or you're less strong to begin with, aim suffers. > ...the maul would just bounce of that log I remember a few like that! I'll bet it was also pretty green and/or water logged... that would have that effect.
blhack 13y ago
The war hammer looks a lot like this tool: http://www.stihlusa.com/products/chain-saws/accessories/forestry-tools/hookaroon/ http://www.stihlusa.com/products/chain-saws/accessories/fore... That's probably why it's in the related section. If you want to go down a long, long rabbit hole of amazing videos, I recommend starting here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvJ8Q1vAdGA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvJ8Q1vAdGA Which is an example of how to use this tool.

radiorental 13y ago

Indeed, and that looks like birch. In my experience that splits if you look at it sideways. Instead of a tyre I use a bungee & chain. That allows me to hold a wider range of log sizes upright. This design intriques me the most, seems effortless http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=111_1363524786 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=111_1363524786

dfc 13y ago
That is the first liveleak video I have ever seen where someone does not die. Is liveleak becoming a general purpose video site?

flavor8 13y ago

+1 for mauls. Why people use axes to split wood I don't know. I have a 10lb maul which _usually_ will split logs (even large rounds) on first strike assuming the wood is reasonably well seasoned. I used to use an axe + sledgehammer/wedge for the tricky stuff, but it's a ton more work that way.

stcredzero 13y ago
Yet another way of storing human muscle power, then releasing it all at once.

dasil003 13y ago

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.

ghshephard 13y ago
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)
- dasil003 13y ago
  > 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?
  - JoeAltmaier 13y ago
    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.
  - ghshephard 13y ago
    You're right, perhaps I'm a bit more cynical than I should be. What would have been nice is a A/B comparison of a normal axe and then a Leveraxe, showing how the two perform differently with different types of logs.

pmorici 13y ago

If you are serious about splitting wood you should just skip the axe altogether and go for one of these... http://youtu.be/2eengn9eNQw?t=2m14s http://youtu.be/2eengn9eNQw?t=2m14s