kindling splitter

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micaaronfl

Member
Dec 5, 2010
199
pennsylvania
hello everyone,

i get about 4 cords of wood a year and then i have to buy tons of fatwood kindling as the splits are tough to light as there pretty big. Are there any good, not too expensive kindling splitters? i would use an axe but i had a prob,em one time that almost left me with one arm.

i saw one online that was wall mounted, but it was a bit expensive at like 180 bucks or something. was wondering if anyone had experience with that one?
 

KD0AXS

Burning Hunk
Feb 2, 2014
219
Nowthen, MN

bill3rail

Minister of Fire
Jan 12, 2012
769
LI, NY
Find some wood shops and ask if you can clean up their scrap wood for free. You may get more than you can handle along with some good usable wood for projects around the house.
 

Tar12

Minister of Fire
Dec 9, 2016
1,867
Indiana
hello everyone,

i get about 4 cords of wood a year and then i have to buy tons of fatwood kindling as the splits are tough to light as there pretty big. Are there any good, not too expensive kindling splitters? i would use an axe but i had a prob,em one time that almost left me with one arm.

i saw one online that was wall mounted, but it was a bit expensive at like 180 bucks or something. was wondering if anyone had experience with that one?
Which one would that be?
 

Attaboy

Member
Jan 2, 2017
173
The great white north
I purchased a SMART SPLITTER 4 years ago and I am amazed how well it works every time I pull it out. Great to make kindling of any size and split or re-split almost any log. Google SMART SPLITTER and read up on excellent reviews, plenty of reviews and videos on YOU TUBE as well. Just love mine, money very well spent, very safe and reliable, young kids and women can use this safely and efficiently. No gas or electricity required, can be used outside or inside the house.

http://www.baileysonline.com/Forest...Cutting-Tools/Smart-Splitter-Log-Splitter.axd
 

Hogwildz

Minister of Fire
If you're splitting you own wood, you should have plenty of scraps to use as kindling after splitting 4 cords. If your buying it split, ask your supplier if he can throw in a few boxes of scraps from splitting.
 

Jazzberry

Minister of Fire
Dec 17, 2014
645
Next to Yosemite
I always make kindling while I am splitting wood. I always have shorts to make kindling out of. 5 minutes of work on a 22 ton splitter makes a large pile of kindling.
 

Huntindog1

Minister of Fire
Dec 6, 2011
1,879
South Central Indiana
If you save good dry straight grained wood for Kindling its easy to split with a hatchet.
Just takes some fore thought and planning.


 

Marshy

Minister of Fire
Dec 29, 2016
839
NY
I like to use a plain 4 lb chopping axe. I don't use my Fiskars as they are too sharp to be working that close to my hand with. As I split my firewood for the year I keep a 5 gal bucket on hand to toss the scraps into.
 

Jazzberry

Minister of Fire
Dec 17, 2014
645
Next to Yosemite
Forgot to mention I set aside pine with a lot of pitch when I have it. You can light good pine pitch with a match and its the best fire starter I have seen.
 
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maple1

Minister of Fire
Sep 15, 2011
11,057
Nova Scotia
I use a Fiskars X25 - guess I'm living dangerously. :)

Re. the OP - if using an axe is risking limbs, or even digits, you need to overhaul your technique. To one that doesn't involve an actual axe swing.
 

salecker

Minister of Fire
Aug 22, 2010
2,087
Northern Canada
I re-sawed a bunch of Fir bridge timbers into 1" flooring for my house.I ended up with a huge pile of scraps.
I had a pickup with a canopy on it that i wasn't using.I completely filled the back of the truck with the scraps from the sawmill.That was 5 yrs ago,still have 3/4 truck full so it looks like my kindleing supply will last another 15 yrs,so long as nobody wants to buy the truck.It is one of my many 67-72 Chev/GMC trucks.
So my point is try and find someone that has a small mill in their yard and make a deal.
 
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Jazzberry

Minister of Fire
Dec 17, 2014
645
Next to Yosemite
I imagine that will last you a lifetime in Northern Canada. Probably only light a fire once a year lol.
 

salecker

Minister of Fire
Aug 22, 2010
2,087
Northern Canada
I imagine that will last you a lifetime in Northern Canada. Probably only light a fire once a year lol.
My system is designed to start a fire every day.
The last couple of days it has dropped to -40 at nights.
I have 1000 gals hot water storage,and at these temps we start a fire at 4pm and burn wide open till 11/12 PM and draw from storage till 4PM the next day.
Our boiler is a piece of cake to fire,my wife has no qualms about starting and maintaining a fire till storage is full.
Basic,tough,safe system that has it's own building.
 

coreboy83

Member
Nov 3, 2016
62
MN
I sink my double bit into the splitting block, and tap 10" 2x4 scraps onto the bit with a nylon hammer. I can fill a 30 gallon tote in half hour
 
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Ashful

Minister of Fire
Mar 7, 2012
19,056
Philadelphia
I sink my double bit into the splitting block, and tap 10" 2x4 scraps onto the bit with a nylon hammer. I can fill a 30 gallon tote in half hour

I do the same. Too easy, quick, and free.
 
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Babaganoosh

Minister of Fire
Nov 18, 2014
713
NJ
I use 2 by 4 scraps for kindling too. They get going fast!

I use a 5 ton electric splitter for that. Works great.
 

Grateful11

Feeling the Heat
Jan 5, 2014
271
NC
My wife bought me a Fiskars X7 Hatchet, love it. I've had a couple hatchets since I was kid but none ever split kindling like this thing does. I use mostly construction scraps and usually there's always a dead Pine tree or two on the farm and get all the kindling I need from those two sources.

When I was a kid my late Father had a way of seeking out old Pine knots from fallen dead pine trees in the woods and we would split the knots into kindling and man did they burn. The tree itself would always be long gone due to rot but the knots were still there rock solid.