Fiskars Splitting Axe edge maintenance ?

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J

Justsomedude

New Member
Jan 14, 2016
12
Nashville, TN
The edge on my Fiskars splitting axe tends to burr (pretty evenly).
It was sharp from the factory.
Should it be that sharp?
Should I touch it up often?
I've only had it a week.
Works great by the way

I'm fairly well versed in sharpening knives, arrow heads, machetes, tomahawks .
I have a Puck sharpener as well as varoius files and stones
 
Mine has gotten burred up before. I just used a flat file to take the burrs off.
 
Sounds like a plan.
Setting up a Tire/chopping block today
 
i just picked one up over the weekend and after a few hits it seemed to burr up a bit too... i was surprised. I was also really surprised at how much it bounced. my first couple of swings, I made good contact, but I watched the axe head bounce out of the log instead of either split it or stick in it. It was a very unusual experience. it seems like once the coating came off a little bit, it started to work a little bit better, but was expecting the head to stop in the round.
 
Turbo said:
I think you'll find that when you hit the edge of the tire a bit, you'll get alot of damage to the edge, at least I do.
Click to expand...
I'm just using the tire to hold logs up.
I get tired of bending over to prop them up (bad back).
 
Dobish said:
i just picked one up over the weekend and after a few hits it seemed to burr up a bit too... i was surprised. I was also really surprised at how much it bounced. my first couple of swings, I made good contact, but I watched the axe head bounce out of the log instead of either split it or stick in it. It was a very unusual experience. it seems like once the coating came off a little bit, it started to work a little bit better, but was expecting the head to stop in the round.
Click to expand...
Depends on the wood.
Most of what I am cutting just pops apart VERY easily.
Some tighter grained/greener wood I split took more effort.
 
Just started using the Fiskars this winter. Split averything in the tire on a round. Edge is very chewed up. Still works great. Actually picked up another a few days ago!
 
I bought a Fiskars Splitting Axe (seems to be identical to an X27, just all black) last week and used it a little bit on some fairly knotty pine and my edge burred like crazy and super evenly along the whole length. I also experienced a decent amount of bouncing, and when it didn't bounce it was sticking in the wood a fair amount because of the steep angle on the top of the raised cheeks. Anyway, I very very lightly filed the burs down with an axe file and got it back to be at least as sharp as it was when it was new. I probably won't spend the time to sharpen it with a stone because I think it'll dull too fast to make it worth the time. With all that in mind, I'd say it did a decent job splitting and its so light that its not that much work to swing it.
 
MaulMan said:
I bought a Fiskars Splitting Axe (seems to be identical to an X27, just all black) last week and used it a little bit on some fairly knotty pine and my edge burred like crazy and super evenly along the whole length. I also experienced a decent amount of bouncing, and when it didn't bounce it was sticking in the wood a fair amount because of the steep angle on the top of the raised cheeks. Anyway, I very very lightly filed the burs down with an axe file and got it back to be at least as sharp as it was when it was new. I probably won't spend the time to sharpen it with a stone because I think it'll dull too fast to make it worth the time. With all that in mind, I'd say it did a decent job splitting and its so light that its not that much work to swing it.
Click to expand...
mine was all black too....
 
I have lots of tool sharpening equipment (e.g., Arkansas stones, files, etc.), but I still decided to get a Fiskars' axe sharpener (only $10 on Amazon) when I got my X27. Works great. Highly recommended.
 
I haven't had to use a file on my X27 yet, but I've been maintaining the edge with the same puck stone I use for my maul and axe and hatchet.

It doesn't sharpen very well and it's hard on the stone because the steel has all these little grooves in it, no doubt designed to reduce the surface area of the impact surface.

A few years and a few filings down the road, and those will be gone, and it'll sharpen better.

It'll still be strange to sharpen though, because it has a completely straight cutting surface.
 
IMHO, there is no need to touch it up a lot. It will get small nicks and burrs, they don't really hamper proper function. If you're worried about those things and you want to decrease the amount it gets burrs put a small double-bevel on it...

For me, I touch mine up about every other year; but I also take care of it and I'm careful not to nick the edge too badly...
 
bboulier said:
I have lots of tool sharpening equipment (e.g., Arkansas stones, files, etc.), but I still decided to get a Fiskars' axe sharpener (only $10 on Amazon) when I got my X27. Works great. Highly recommended.
Click to expand...

i bought one too and am either using it wrong or got a bad one.

when i pull the blade through the sharpener, the plastic end that conceals the wheels pops up. plus, it's like my blade never touches the sharpening wheels in the first place, only rides on the plastic. any thoughts of what i'm doing wrong? i'm holding the sharpener with my left, and pulling the axe with my right.
 
iron said:
i bought one too and am either using it wrong or got a bad one.

when i pull the blade through the sharpener, the plastic end that conceals the wheels pops up. plus, it's like my blade never touches the sharpening wheels in the first place, only rides on the plastic. any thoughts of what i'm doing wrong? i'm holding the sharpener with my left, and pulling the axe with my right.
Click to expand...
I had the exact same problem, it was like the axe blade is just a bit too fat. I filed down a bit of the plastic on the inside of the sharpener and now it works much better. Maybe there's some variation in the design but from reading other posts on this forum it seems that some people have this problem and others don't.
 
Single mill flat file to do the course job and then finish it with a sharpening stone. Never was there a sharpening gimmick that did better than those two items and some know how.
 
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