Splitting tools for the ladies?

Best tools are: drumroll please......
A hydraulic/mechanical splitter or a man.....
Tada

A sharp 6 lb axe eye maul. Learn how to swing it fast and accurately. Remember to bend your knees. You don't need to be strong to swing one of those well.


I have a couple mauls and the Fiskars X27... I choose the 6 lb maul 90% of the time.

DON'T use a hatchet! Much greater potential for a trip to the ER to reattach your fingers. Go with the 6 pound axe maul.

I'd like to try the Fiskars X27, I'd be willing to pay an extra 50.00 or 60.00 to have one in the arsenal of tools. I'm curious, I admit, but I don't see axe swinging as a processing solution for me. I worry I'll do something stupid.
I invested 1300.00 in a hydraulic splitter and I never looked back on what could have been.
Id rather run the risk of the splitter not starting than the possibility of losing a toe. Or a shin.

22-27 ton splitter. My daughter wants to help me split I'm afraid to let her ( not to sound like its a man thing but...) she's scares the crap out of me watching her attempt it and I'm getting her a used echo 310 , nice little limber

You think it's easier to run a chainsaw than swing an axe?

No I guess my point is get a splitter I know i am

My Dad bought me 3 chainsaws
An electric Milwaukee 16" and a battery pack Makita 4.5" limbing saw and a Sthil 011.
I used electric for years before switching to gas and theres no comparison.
Personally I think it would be great help to have an assistant that does all your limbing.
I dont know about swinging an axe though, we've always had splitters.
Splitting by hand seems a feng shui thing, cleaving wood. Like karate.

I have a fiskars splitting ax which I highly recommend. This is not the same as the Fiskar's x27, but rather is called simply "splitting ax." It is about 3 1/2 pounds, and has wings on the head to split the log more readily, similar to the Fiskars X27. I bought mine at Sears.

I have taught lots of younger boy scouts to split logs with this ax. It is a favorite among the scouts because it is easy to handle, but does a good job splitting. I am not a large guy but I can split logs with one hand using this ax. You will be fine using two hands.

Cynnergy said:

I'm 5'6" and normal weight and fitness level. I've done a fair amount of splitting now and I'm wondering if different tools might get me better results. All splitting except for the easiest alder seems to take me twice as long as DH.

Click to expand...

That's probably because assuming you are both average he has nearly twice the upper body muscle mass AND his muscles are stronger pound for pound. That's just the way it is, no one's fault. As many have mentioned, the Fiskars axes are very good for a "lightweight" splitting tool. I'm a great big burly guy and I use one almost exclusively, only breaking out the 8 lb maul when necessary or when I really need to work off some frustration.

My wife uses the splitter and loves it
It's really hard to get her away from it
mind you I'm not complaining

One of these should work fur ya....

I dunno.... mass factors less into the equation than velocity, right?

Isn't force = mass * velocity(squared)?

So the speed of swinging the ax, coupled with the precision of the arc, and length of distance traveled (by the ax) matter much more than the weight of the person swinging the ax, right? So good technique, including proper placement should mean a lot. Just my musings from high school/college physics.... Might not mean much.

In this case the mass is the mass of the ax head, unless you are using your hand to karate chop the wood!

F=MA Force = mass * acceleration. I absolutely guarantee you that I can accelerate an ax a whole hell of a lot faster than my sister who is a very athletic 35 yo woman.

Kinetic energy may actually be the ticket here though, force would apply if you are moving the round. KE=1/2MV(2) So, I would guess that mass (of the ax) is far less important that how fast you can get the ax travelling at the point of impact and again, ON THE AVERAGE, a man will be able to reach a higher impact velocity with the same object given the built in muscular advantage men have.

One of those cute little Fiskars

I believe it is the kinetic energy of the tool that matters here. Force would be a measure of how quickly the kinetic energy is transferred to the wood. In any case, the speed of the ax head matters as does the weight, and more speed and/or a heavier weight will split more wood.

However, as anyone who has split wood knows, there is a lot of skill involved too. I know when I split wood with the boy scouts, many of the scouts are reasonably big, strong kids, but none can split as well as I do. I don't know if I swing harder, but I do hit the log where I intend to hit it (usually), and I know where to hit the log to split it most easily (sometimes), and I think there is something else to it that I can't readily describe. I'll just call it skill or experience.

Of course the previous stuff in my post is off topic. I recommend the Fiskars Splitting Ax because it is light, but can be effectively used to split wood. You'll find a few pieces that may be too tough for the Fiskars, but you should be able to handle average wood with it.

First. Buy steel toe leather boots. Wear those while splitting. Second, buy Kevlar chaps to wear while using your chainsaw (I like the huskyvarna ones) and it wouldn't hurt to wear them while splitting. I have an x27 it's a fine axe. It could work for you, but practice swinging and ending in front of you. Don't use w roundhouse swing. If your having close calls with a maul, change what you're doing asap, or you're going to lose a toe or worse. Use a plain broomstick or something to practice your swing, search how to swing here, there are many threads on it. Logging and splitting are some of the most dangerous things you can do in the woods, and experienced people that know what they are doing suffer terrible injuries daily, you must have safety in the forefront of your mind

My daughter is very cautious with a chainsaw put a splitting axe in her hands and run for it. Trying to teach them to be independent is priceless

I bought a splitter 2 years ago.
Up until then I used a maul with a wooden handle.
45-2-6=37 years of by hand
I am 5'6" tall Heavier now, but early on I was 140-160lbs
I was taught to swing a mall 360 degrees with both hands on the end. and let it fall square to the chunk being split. sliding left hand up if control is needed for easy pieces.
As my children grew They would stand pieces up. It goes fast and you split more when you can let the maul do the work.
Having a chopping block at the correct height helps also just takes more time to stand up pieces and for help to clear.
Learning to read the sweet spot on the chunk is the key.
ex:36" ash butt you hit the solid edge and wala its two bigger pieces.
an 8" round maple you hit dead center and wala!



Rest when tired and repeat!

Yours eyes need to stay focused on the target!
Years ago I watched a Quarry movie on Public television. they where drilling for dynamite to split ledge/granite. The drill holders"Drill Monkey" where in single file lines. the hammer was swung in this fashion. when the hammer got tired or the monkey moved the drill, the hand was lost and the next monkey took the drill. Non stop!

IMHO: the height and weight of the person swinging the mall does not limit the wood splitting.

Hogwildz said:

Best tools are: drumroll please......
A hydraulic/mechanical splitter or a man.....
Tada

Click to expand...

lmao. I give another vote to the Fiskars. Just got the 36" X27. Love it so far. It's not magical by any means but I've been able to split everything I've run into except sweetgum. My wife was able to split a few rounds too and it was the first time she's ever picked up an axe.

The hydro splitter ain't magic and I promise you will burn plenty of calories(ie. exercise) running and feeding it for a day but at the end of the day you will have accomplished a whole lot more. They also are not w/o risk or need for respect. 20-30+ tons of force will do a number on any appendage that inadvertently gets in between the wedge and wood. It can all be done with hand tools but the splitter will be more efficient and you will feel it in the morning just like any manual labor.

Oh, and you can always save the clean rounds for hand splitting if you want a little more shoulder work out.

I know of a 5'6" 120lb lady that split 4 cords (2 cords of which were sweetgum) with a Fiskars x27. Had zero luck using a 6lb maul.