Magic axe

[snowleopard]

Mennonite neighbors, Amish neighbors, Old Order Amish neighbors are all acceptable for insertion into sig lines.

 

[firefighterjake]

Maybe Menonites. Dress similarly but I see them using weedwhackers and such.

I know the "rules" vary in different areas, but my neighbors use gasoline engines for many things, pumps, saws, arrow cutting lathe (for traditional carbon fiber arrows), washing machines, meat grinder... They cut the grass by kid power, but did get the coolest horse drawn riding mower. Its like three reel style mowers welded to a frame with a seat.

Depends on the specific "rules" or Ordnung of the church . . . just like some Protestant religions some are very strict in what is permissible and others are much more liberal in what is allowed or not allowed. Some Amish own and drive vehicles while others are only allowed to ride in a car owned and driven by someone who is not Amish ("English").

The "Michigan Amish" in my neighborhood are like BJA's Amish . . . they are allowed to use gasoline powered engines for some tasks (i.e. chainsaws -- most own Husqvarnas by the way ), air tools for other tasks (with the air supplied by a wind mill which pumps the air into a storage tank) and solar power for other tools (i.e. lights and cordless tools.) Other tasks they might hire out -- i.e. heavy machinery.

Funniest thing I heard was one Amish man who had his horse pulling a riding lawnmower around his yard to mow the lawn . . . true story.

And incidentally, the Amish are in many, many states . . .

 

[OhioBurner©]

I've split a truckload now with my new X27 (had been using an 8# maul) and can honestly say there seems to be only one condition I have run into that the X27 does not split better or easier than my old 8# maul. That condition is when a round has a knot or something in it and needs split wider and deeper. What I mean is the X27 will split it sometimes with only one whack, nearly all the way to the base, but the knot holds it together. The X27 doesnt have a wide enough wedge to push the sides far enough apart. The maul will split these pieces well. Every other piece (and many rounds I used both the 8# and the fiskars) and the fiskars wins each time. Sometimes the difference is small, but is there.

I do use different swings with each... for the 8# maul the roundhouse works much better for me. For the fiskars I use the executioner style whatever you call it, lift up overhead and straight back down. The roundhouse seems like wasted energy just because its so light, and without the heavy weight it seems like my accuracy goes to heck when I tried the roundhouse with the fiskars. I can also get better precision with the fiskars and can knock out alot more perfect 4x6's than I ever have.

 

[mecreature]

I got my X27 last week.

I tried it on some pine and cotton wood and it split it nice. (but so what) right, I can almost do these with a hatchet..
I figured when it came to a real KO punch the 8 lb maul would win the fight.

Soooo I went back to the pile of rounds that I have been waiting to get a splitter for. Mostly bigger mulberry,
squirrelly maple, and a lot of stuff that's bigger and cut at a crotch...

Final conclusion so far is I can bust up the big stuff with this new X27 thingy...
I went and grabbed my maul to make sure it was not an anomaly or something, the maul wouldn't hang...

The best method for splitting with this thing is the one suggested earlier in this thread.

Straight over your head and come down through the round.

very impressed.

 

[wannabegreener]

I was going back and forth between my x25 and a maul from HD. I couldn't make up my mind if I like the x25 any better. My 16 year old nephew (not Amish) came over to help. I let him use the x25 because he is a small 16 year old. When the day was done, I wanted to split a few with the x25 just to test it again. It was amazing how light it felt and how easy it was to use. The maul tired my out and was affecting my ability to work. (I hadn't even noticed that.) I now only use the maul to pound in wedges that the x25 has difficulty splitting. I do think it is a little short for me since I'm 6'3" so I see the x27 in my future.