First impessions of Fiskars X27!

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Gary_602z

Minister of Fire
Oct 30, 2009
929
Lake Odessa,MI
After reading all about it here I went out and bought one today. It was a little longer then I expected and slightly heavier also. After getting home and using it on some larger ash rounds (22-25") I can say so far that I do not think it is as good as my old maul! The first 6 whacks or so just seem to bounce off the wood not even sticking into it and I was working on the outer edge of the round. After regaining my breath and quenching my thirst I tried some smaller stuff (8-12"). It seemed a little better then before but I would say not quite as good as my maul. I will give it a good work out this weekend as I have about 24 large rounds back in the woods that are to heavy to lift into the truck or trailer. If worse comes to worse I can pull the woodsplitter back in there to get them out.

Gary
 
I have an X27. I used it and an 8 pound maul to do all my splitting this year. The X27 is an awesome tool you may not be using it as effectively as you could.

1. For larger rounds split around the edges first rather then trying to split it in half, pick away at it. One shot for each split is all it usually takes.

2 If the round is to tough for the X27 I split it with the maul first and then pick away with the X27. Using the two tools together keeps me from getting tired. I have no trouble splitting for hours working like this (age 43).

3. Do not swing off to the side in a circle. I see so many people doing this and it lacks power. Pick the tool up straight over your head and come down with it. This makes a big difference.

4. A little trick that I figured out with the X27 is to give your wrists a flick while on the down stroke. This results in a significant increase in velocity and splitting power.

5. Use a large round as a splitting block.

Hopefully one or more of these suggestions will help you to enjoy your new tool.
 
I got one for Father's Day from my wife and kid, it really sucked...wouldn't go through much wood, took at least as much effort as the 6lb maul to do the same work, tried putting an edge on it and it helped, but only for a few rounds, the edge got burred and nicked up very quickly.

Called Fiskars and went through the extraordinarliy long waranty process and received my new X27...night and day difference. The new one has cut probably about a cord or so of hard maple, red oak, white and yellow birch and beech. have no trouble getting through 18" diameter by 20-22" long rounds, blasts them in half on the first or second full force strike.

You may have a bum one like I did.

I've tried the wrist flick thing others have mentioned...can't for the life of me figure out what the hell you guys are talking about...I just swing it like its an axe and it seems to work fine. Did manange to make my wrists really sore by trying though, something that never happens when I split wood.
 
klustgarten said:
5. Use a large round as a splitting block.

Hopefully one or more of these suggestions will help you to enjoy your new tool.

Agree with what klustgarten said, especially the suggestion to use a block. The edge on the X27 is MUCH finer than the typical maul and easily gets chipped/dinged if it strikes the ground/rocks. I use a big 2'x3'x8" glu-lam beam cutoff leftover from our house construction.
 
mayhem said:
I've tried the wrist flick thing others have mentioned...can't for the life of me figure out what the hell you guys are talking about...I just swing it like its an axe and it seems to work fine. Did manange to make my wrists really sore by trying though, something that never happens when I split wood.

It really works but I firmly believe you just have to be born doing it. I have never been able to explain to or show anybody how it's done. You are literally twisting the maul handle a little to the right at the moment of impact. It is such second nature anymore that if I think about it it doesn't happen so I can understand the frustration.
 
BrotherBart said:
mayhem said:
I've tried the wrist flick thing others have mentioned...can't for the life of me figure out what the hell you guys are talking about...I just swing it like its an axe and it seems to work fine. Did manange to make my wrists really sore by trying though, something that never happens when I split wood.

It really works but I firmly believe you just have to be born doing it. I have never been able to explain to or show anybody how it's done. You are literally twisting the maul handle a little to the right at the moment of impact. It is such second nature anymore that if I think about it it doesn't happen so I can understand the frustration.

agreed. Feels as sweet as hitting a baseball clean to the fence. I think it also places the axe more on the edge of the log too. Smaller foot = even more impact.

I heard the several stories about "just buy a fiskars and people will stand in line to chop your wood".
I have taken it now 3 times to the woods where several people are working. I know a few rounds apart
and someone grabs it. I say no just bring it over your head and down. Then I demonstrate, they try it and don't give it
2 chances and they go back to trying to swing it like a maul. I take it away from them show them the edge and say you are
going to hurt some one, give it back to me. They tell me I am nuts.

But what do I know :smirk:
 
I've never heard anyone explain it that way. So its twisting like the Vupikres Leveraxes does? Every other time I've heard it explained it comes across as more of an added forward motion, so when your hands are together at the base of the handle your thumbs are facing the sky, you flick your wrists towards the ground to add momentum.
 
mayhem said:
I've never heard anyone explain it that way. So its twisting like the Vupikres Leveraxes does? Every other time I've heard it explained it comes across as more of an added forward motion, so when your hands are together at the base of the handle your thumbs are facing the sky, you flick your wrists towards the ground to add momentum.

Watch this guy from 3:30 to see what we mean.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5W6r5U7yBE
 
BrotherBart said:
mayhem said:
I've tried the wrist flick thing others have mentioned...can't for the life of me figure out what the hell you guys are talking about...I just swing it like its an axe and it seems to work fine. Did manange to make my wrists really sore by trying though, something that never happens when I split wood.

It really works but I firmly believe you just have to be born doing it. I have never been able to explain to or show anybody how it's done. You are literally twisting the maul handle a little to the right at the moment of impact. It is such second nature anymore that if I think about it it doesn't happen so I can understand the frustration.

AHA!!! And I thought it was just me. I didn't try to twist the handle on purpose, I just kind of naturally started to twist the handle and have noticed that it does "seem" to split better.
However, if it sails through the log faster than anticipated, the darned axe almost takes off, just looking to do more damage to anything it hits.
 
I went out and split a few today just to think about it. I actually see why I do it. My right hand is in front and just as I hit the split I drop my right shoulder causing the "flick". But only on big ones where I am aiming to "power through" it.

Kinda like Lee Travino's golf swing. He does everything wrong. But he does it exactly the same way every time.
 
I keep my right hand at the base and slide my left down to meet it at the end of the swing...maybe I should try twisting left.

Wached the video...I'll have to try it out. Of course if we could heat with wood that size I'd barely need to split anything.
 
BrotherBart said:
mayhem said:
I've tried the wrist flick thing others have mentioned...can't for the life of me figure out what the hell you guys are talking about...I just swing it like its an axe and it seems to work fine. Did manange to make my wrists really sore by trying though, something that never happens when I split wood.

It really works but I firmly believe you just have to be born doing it. I have never been able to explain to or show anybody how it's done. You are literally twisting the maul handle a little to the right at the moment of impact. It is such second nature anymore that if I think about it it doesn't happen so I can understand the frustration.

Yes. It's sort of a lost art and few know about it or can do it right. Just one more little trick when it comes to wood splitting.
 
BrotherBart said:
mayhem said:
I've never heard anyone explain it that way. So its twisting like the Vupikres Leveraxes does? Every other time I've heard it explained it comes across as more of an added forward motion, so when your hands are together at the base of the handle your thumbs are facing the sky, you flick your wrists towards the ground to add momentum.

Watch this guy from 3:30 to see what we mean.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5W6r5U7yBE

"128th's if you want to be obsessive about it" is right!!! Who is going to split that small unless I need to get something out of my teeth while I'm splitting maybe - toothpicks.

I get the action, it's coming over the head with the axe, but at the last minute you almost pretend that you are coming in from the side, which then turns your wrist so that the axe isn't going straight down into it, but kind of hitting and twisting the wood apart at the same time. When you get the hang of it, it cuts down on the work tremendously. I've also found that the axe will naturally do this if you loosen your grip ever so slightly at the end of the swing as the axe is about to make contact with the wood (not enough of course to let the axe go flying, but enough so that the head turns ever so slightly when going into the wood).
 
freeburn said:
BrotherBart said:
mayhem said:
I've never heard anyone explain it that way. So its twisting like the Vupikres Leveraxes does? Every other time I've heard it explained it comes across as more of an added forward motion, so when your hands are together at the base of the handle your thumbs are facing the sky, you flick your wrists towards the ground to add momentum.

Watch this guy from 3:30 to see what we mean.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5W6r5U7yBE

"128th's if you want to be obsessive about it" is right!!! Who is going to split that small unless I need to get something out of my teeth while I'm splitting maybe - toothpicks.

I get the action, it's coming over the head with the axe, but at the last minute you almost pretend that you are coming in from the side, which then turns your wrist so that the axe isn't going straight down into it, but kind of hitting and twisting the wood apart at the same time. When you get the hang of it, it cuts down on the work tremendously. I've also found that the axe will naturally do this if you loosen your grip ever so slightly at the end of the swing as the axe is about to make contact with the wood (not enough of course to let the axe go flying, but enough so that the head turns ever so slightly when going into the wood).

I think this is it more then anything for me. It also helps my aim.
 
Seriously, does anybody split rounds that are longer than 12"????

Come try that crap with my wood.
 
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