Question about Fiskars

Jan Pijpelink said:

I am 5' 8"

What would be a better choice, Fiskars X27 or X25?

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I can't stand the x27 - It's way too long for decent accuracy regardless of your height.

Jags said:

I don't understand why peeps that are in this for the long haul wait until they have done irreversible damage to themselves before they move to a powered splitter. Get the dang thing BEFORE you wreck yourself.

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I split on site quite often - at least into halves or quarters - and dragging a splitter along would often be more trouble than it's worth. Also, I find that splitting is the least onerous aspect of wood processing: limbing, bucking, loading, stacking, etc require a lot more exertion from me than splitting. If I had log loads delivered or rounds delivered I might feel differently about it.

I'm not the best of shape . . . unless you count being round as a perfectly good shape . . . but even with a hydraulic splitter I find I get plenty of exercise in lifting the rounds, moving the rounds, chucking the splits to the side, bending over, etc. Sure it may be easier than splitting by hand, but it's not like I'm sitting in front of a keyboard clicking away . . . it's a little more work than that.

I'm curious. I've never actually split wood with a Fiskars. I upgraded from junk to the Husqvarna splitting maul this year and have been very pleased. If someone near-ish me in central NH has one they'd let me test drive, I'll let them take some swings with my Husqvarna and we can compare. I'll bring a few sharp chains and my 372xp and you can get after it with the gas axe if you fancy that as well.

bad news said:

I'm curious. I've never actually split wood with a Fiskars. I upgraded from junk to the Husqvarna splitting maul this year and have been very pleased. If someone near-ish me in central NH has one they'd let me test drive, I'll let them take some swings with my Husqvarna and we can compare. I'll bring a few sharp chains and my 372xp and you can get after it with the gas axe if you fancy that as well.

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Having split with a 6lb maul for the first 20 years of my splitting career I'd say the Fiskars (I use the pro splitting axe and the x25) do not split better than a maul. But being half the weight (or less) they are far less tiring.

Jags said:

I don't understand why peeps that are in this for the long haul wait until they have done irreversible damage to themselves before they move to a powered splitter. Get the dang thing BEFORE you wreck yourself.

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I started burning last year and I had a splitter within 2 months. I really enjoy splitting by hand but I realized that my time and body parts are more important. Even working the splitter solo is quite a work out. I save some of the easier splitting wood to do by hand when the mood strikes me.

Jags said:

I don't understand why peeps that are in this for the long haul wait until they have done irreversible damage to themselves before they move to a powered splitter. Get the dang thing BEFORE you wreck yourself.

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I resemble this remark. Split about 25 cords in my first two years with the stoves, and have had shoulder trouble ever since. Maybe two shoulder injuries I suffered earlier in life contributed, but they never bothered me before all that hand splitting.

If your wood burning is more than just a passing hobby, you're going to want some real equipment. I do love swinging a splitting axe, but now it's a rare treat, not a weekly chore.

Careful they're wicked sharp! I just tapped mine into my leg (yes, wearing shorts, I know....) while walking around, and without even feeling it, it opened up a decent 1.5" gash.

The same results with 1/2 the effort is the great part of the fiskars.

Warm_in_NH said:

Careful they're wicked sharp!

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I hear this a lot regarding Fiskars axes and as the owner of several non-Fiskars (Collins Ax, Hardman) I can assure everyone that they are no more or less sharp than my Fiskars.

Jags said:

I don't understand why peeps that are in this for the long haul wait until they have done irreversible damage to themselves before they move to a powered splitter. Get the dang thing BEFORE you wreck yourself.

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My father has a hydraulic splitter I can use anytime I want, but the way I see it is, you have to earn the right to use hydraulics.

You gotta put in work!

If you haven't spent a lot of years splitting by hand, you wont appreciate the hydro. Then again, the hydro doesn't split the rounds for you, there's a lot of lifting, handling, sweating, cussing that can go into an afternoon of using the splitter.

I enjoy swinging an axe or sledge/wedge. When I first get started I can feel my back muscles stretch out, it feels good.
I honestly enjoy it.

rwilly said:

My father has a hydraulic splitter I can use anytime I want, but the way I see it is, you have to earn the right to use hydraulics.

You gotta put in work!

If you haven't spent a lot of years splitting by hand, you wont appreciate the hydro. Then again, the hydro doesn't split the rounds for you, there's a lot of lifting, handling, sweating, cussing that can go into an afternoon of using the splitter.

I enjoy swinging an axe or sledge/wedge. When I first get started I can feel my back muscles stretch out, it feels good.
I honestly enjoy it.

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I like splitting by hand too. That's why I set some aside to split by hand. The rest is done with my hydro splitter. You can get so much more done with a lot less effort and less chance of injury. It's win win. Here we are embracing technology with modern day stoves that sometimes utilize catalytic converters, saws that tune themselves, posting on a forum via pc, tablet, and cell phone yet say we don't want to use a hydraulic splitter. Lol. Well then go grab an axe and a bow saw and buck your wood that way too. There is a reason most of the old timers have all sorts of body part problems. You don't think that if grandpa could have had a splitter delivered to his door he wouldn't have? It's not about being lazy mind you, because anyone that heats with wood and doesn't have to sure isn't lazy. It's just a lot more efficient and let's you spend your time more wisely.

Just curious: How are you all splitting that is hurting you?

My only injury from hand splitting (sledge and wedge) was due to shrapnel from the wedge. It was already mushroomed pretty bad, but like a dope I kept using it. A chunk of sharp metal shot me in the leg and wow I never new blood could spurt so far. I was ok but learned a hard lesson about using a damaged wedge.

Bigg_Redd said:

Just curious: How are you all splitting that is hurting you?

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Repetitive motion aggravating an old shoulder injury, or maybe me just unconsciously compensating and causing irritation of the joint.

All I can say is that I LOVE the X27. Mostly the problems come from it being ZTOO good. Cracked some concrete with it already

AmbDrvr253 said:

All I can say is that I LOVE the X27. Mostly the problems come from it being ZTOO good. Cracked some concrete with it already

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Tell me you're using a chopping block. . .