Fiskars splitter edge burred off quickly?

[dougstove]

Hello;
I was trying out my new Fiskars splitter today on some Jack Pine I cut.
It works nicely but after splitting only 15 rounds or so, the edge is nicked and burred off, more than my old utility ax would be in a season.
Is this normal?
My chopping block is clean, the wood was clean and I was not chopping into dirt or anything.
The jack pine is soft, but it does have knots.

Should I be sharpening the Fiskars almost daily?
Or does the burring not matter much?
cheers from a clear and sunny New Brunswick.

 

[mayhem]

My Fiskars dulls and nicks fairly quickly too. I just keep sharpening the sucker.

 

[dougstove]

Thanks. Do you use the sharpener from Fiskars, or can I just use my ax file?

 

[Joey]

I use the Fiskars sharpener....quick and easy,,,only costs a few bucks.

 

[DanCorcoran]

Yes, the Fiskars sharpener is quick and easy to use and puts a razor edge on the splitter.

 

[mayhem]

Yep, get the Fiskars sharpener.

 

[trailmaker]

My Fiskars needs a sharpening before each session of splitting. It takes about a twenty or thirty seconds with the Fiskars sharpener, it can also be done quickly with any axe sharpening stone. I've got a few Fiskars splitters and they all seemed to nick up worse the first few sessions. After you've sharpened it a a few times it won't be so bad.

 

[PJF1313]

Yes, the Fiskars sharpener is quick and easy to use and puts a razor edge on the splitter.

Amongst other things... I touched up the edge on the Machete this evening after hitting a few things that where not softer than brush!! Also did my old ax, just because it was in my "viewing area"

 

[CTYank]

There's a big difference between burring and chipping. The latter is a brittle failure- maybe due to excessive hardening and poor tempering.
Burring is metal moved slightly by tooling, leaving sharp edges on the workpiece, which is of much lower hardness than above.

Seems many (inc on YouTube) mention edge-chipping being common w/Fiskars axes. I've NEVER seen that with other axes that hadn't hit stone.

 

[pen]

I'm careful using my x27 and have what I am splitting up on another block 97% of the time and have found that the fiskars sharpener wore out very quickly for mine. I think it put a nice edge on mine 3x this spring before I noticed all of the little "teeth" down on the ceramic blade were gone. Is this what others are finding too?

pen

 

[trailmaker]

There's a big difference between burring and chipping. The latter is a brittle failure- maybe due to excessive hardening and poor tempering.
Burring is metal moved slightly by tooling, leaving sharp edges on the workpiece, which is of much lower hardness than above.

Seems many (inc on YouTube) mention edge-chipping being common w/Fiskars axes. I've NEVER seen that with other axes that hadn't hit stone.

My Gransfors splitting maul gets small nicks just like my Fiskars. It made me curious so I looked through the Gransfors "axe book" http://www.gransfors.us/TheAxeBook.pdf and they state pretty clearly that splitting should be done immediately after bucking. As an experiment I tried splitting immediately after bucking and as you would expect, there was no nicking or chipping on either the Gransfors or the Fiskars. Gransfors (and maybe Fiskars) might design their splitters with edges that are more suitable for fresh wood splitting? Either way the GB and Fiskars perform well even in rounds that aren't freshly bucked, they just need more frequent sharpening.

 

[Battenkiller]

There's a big difference between burring and chipping. The latter is a brittle failure- maybe due to excessive hardening and poor tempering.
Burring is metal moved slightly by tooling, leaving sharp edges on the workpiece, which is of much lower hardness than above.

Seems many (inc on YouTube) mention edge-chipping being common w/Fiskars axes. I've NEVER seen that with other axes that hadn't hit stone.

The Fiskars is soft steel compared to a good forged axe. Most of what I see is edge bending and tearing on mine, not actual chipping. A file dresses it up real quickly... indicating a softer steel.

 

[FrankMA]

My Gransfors splitting maul gets small nicks just like my Fiskars. It made me curious so I looked through the Gransfors “axe book†http://www.gransfors.us/TheAxeBook.pdf and they state pretty clearly that splitting should be done immediately after bucking. As an experiment I tried splitting immediately after bucking and as you would expect, there was no nicking or chipping on either the Gransfors or the Fiskars. Gransfors (and maybe Fiskars) might design their splitters with edges that are more suitable for fresh wood splitting? Either way the GB and Fiskars perform well even in rounds that aren’t freshly bucked, they just need more frequent sharpening.

trailmaker: Just went onto the Gransfors site and now I got to have one. What a beautiful, well crafted axe - looks like the kind of tool you pass down to your children. How do you like the large splitter? They are pricey but do you feel that it is worth the cost? I'm thinking of getting the small spliting axe (for smaller splitting tasks) as I have an X25 Fiskars that works pretty good on large rounds and half splits.

 

[trailmaker]

My Gransfors splitting maul gets small nicks just like my Fiskars. It made me curious so I looked through the Gransfors “axe book†http://www.gransfors.us/TheAxeBook.pdf and they state pretty clearly that splitting should be done immediately after bucking. As an experiment I tried splitting immediately after bucking and as you would expect, there was no nicking or chipping on either the Gransfors or the Fiskars. Gransfors (and maybe Fiskars) might design their splitters with edges that are more suitable for fresh wood splitting? Either way the GB and Fiskars perform well even in rounds that aren’t freshly bucked, they just need more frequent sharpening.

trailmaker: Just went onto the Gransfors site and now I got to have one. What a beautiful, well crafted axe - looks like the kind of tool you pass down to your children. How do you like the large splitter? They are pricey but do you feel that it is worth the cost? I'm thinking of getting the small spliting axe (for smaller splitting tasks) as I have an X25 Fiskars that works pretty good on large rounds and half splits.

I don't regret buying the GB splitter. They are beautiful and effective and I like the fact that the smith stamps his initials in the head. The well balanced head and straight handle make it my most accurate splitter (and I have a lot of splitters). The combination of razor sharp edge and hickory handle also make it easier on the body than some splitters. The sharp edge minimizes those "bounce back" shots, and the wood handle soaks up some vibration. The GB just has a wonderful feel to it, I can't really put my finger on it. Sometimes I just go out to my axe room and hold the GB. Seriously.

 

[trailmaker]

Hello;
I was trying out my new Fiskars splitter today on some Jack Pine I cut.
It works nicely but after splitting only 15 rounds or so, the edge is nicked and burred off, more than my old utility ax would be in a season.
Is this normal?
My chopping block is clean, the wood was clean and I was not chopping into dirt or anything.
The jack pine is soft, but it does have knots.

Should I be sharpening the Fiskars almost daily?
Or does the burring not matter much?
cheers from a clear and sunny New Brunswick.

I've heard some speculation that the big axe makers actually mess up the temper when they sharpen at the factory before shipping out. There might be something to this because they're surely not hand sharpening, they must be using belt sanders or other heat generating machines. On my GB and Fiskars splitters I noticed an improvement in edge performance after five or six sharpenings, so maybe you just need to sharpen your way through the heat damaged portion.