My first post, Why you should use a less heavy splitting tool...

[akkamaan]

I started using my Fiskars Super Splitting Axe 7854, more than 7 years ago. I already
had a 8 lbs maul but wasn't that impressed with it. I learned from my previous career tha speed was superior to mass when it came to delimbing with light harvesterheads. So why wouldn't that work with a light axe. With some simple high school math, I figured out that I did not even have to double the axe head speed. to make the same impact energy with an axe head that have half the weight. Impact power with a splitting toolIt is all about kinetic energy.
So let us do the math, using Newton's 2nd Law of motion.
All this math is easier to follow, if using the metric system, so that's what I am using here.
F=m×a, which can derived into E=m.×V²/2.
E=energy or "impact power", in Newton-meter or Nm
m=mass or "weight", in kilogram, kg
V= velocity or "speed", in meter per second or m/s

Let's start with a "8lbs" maul, which have a head mass of 3.62873896 kg
We assume that we over 2 hours of intense splitting, can manage a steady 3 m/s head speed,
its impact energy calculates
E=3.628......× 3²/2= 3.628......× 9/2 =3.628......× 4.5= 16.329.... Nm

This lighter "4¼lbs" axe head on the Fiskars axe, if we assume we can pick up a very conservative 50% higher head speed during the two hours of splitting, its impact energy calculates
E= 1.927...... × 4.5²/2= 1.927.....× 20.25/2 =1.814.....× 10.125= 19.518....Nm

If we can doble the axe head speed, numbers makes it a "no brainer"...
E= 1.927...... × 6²/2= 1.927.....× 36/2 =1.927.....× 18= 34.699....Nm

These calculations only consider the downward motion of the axe or maul, not the energy used on lifting.....
Anyone can figure out that it takes almost twice the energy to lift an almost double weighted maul....

OK, so now how do we make this little Fiskars "sucker" to go twice as fast?

I have a past as a casual golfer with a 5 hcp, when I played my best. What helped me to get there was my ability to hit long accurate shots, by using my hand wrists together with my arms and the rest of my body. Same action did I use when I learned to give my flyline enough speed to through the fly further than 75 feet.
I have never played baseball, but I assume wrist action is a big part of Barry Bonds or A-Rods home run hits.
Yeah, wrist action is the key word here. Try to apply wrist action on a 8lbs maul head sitting at the end of a 36" long handle. Forget it unless you are a super athlete. Most maul hitters use the 360 deg swing just the gat it up in the air.

In all off, golf-, flypole- and baseballswings, it starts with a good solid stance. To hit the precision sweet spot hit, with the Fiskars, I swing straight over my head, with my legs slightly spread apart. I use a two handed baseball grip, with hands close to each other. That way I can make an almost 90 deg wrist action in combination with a flexible upper and lower arm motion.
By time I have learned how much I have to swing to induce enough axe head energy to crack a certain log. I was never able to make such a controlled and accurate swing with a 8 lbs maul. I just wasted a lot of energy that threw log pieces 10 feet to each side of my chopping block.

Here is a link to a 15 seconds slow motion video showing my swing
https://www.youtube.com/embed/TJ14V-TECbQ?rel=0&start=32&end=47

 

[pen]

Many can swing a golf club, but many can't use it efficiently.

Same is true of an axe or maul, or the difference between one driver versus another brand driver in golf.

Each is a tool, and by design, some are better than others for certain tasks; by use, some are easier to get the bang for the buck from as well.

But in the end, it comes down to the ability and form of the user to find the preferred tool that matches their needs.

 

[pen]

To add, I think the fiskars is a good design, which certainly helps. But to the same token I can place the best driver golf has to offer in the hands of a person with poor form and they are not going to get maximum performance, it might be better than what they are used to, but form need to follow in terms of making improvements.

If you were looking for comments on your form, one thing that strikes me as wasteful in terms of working against mechanical advantage is keeping your hands together through the full length of the swing (upswing especially). To save on the head heaving leverage on me (which is especially true when using 8 or 10lb+ tools, just the same as the fiskars) my dominate hand comes down to the head and I lift the head up from there, and in the course of the swing, that dominate guiding hand slides back down to meet my other.

Additionally, I also posture my feet my feet differently, keeping the foot of the dominate hand side back a bit as I "move" into the swing for a first and max power sort of blow (just as hip rotation and forward motion of that region are important through a golf swing)

However, at the end of the day, working on form in a golf swing is a lot safer than trying to talk someone into adjusting the swing of a sharp instrument that can dismember considerable and important parts of the body. Stay safe.

pen

 

[drz1050]

Each maul and splitting implement has its uses...

I used a 15 lbs monster maul for the first time last weekend. I wasn't expecting to like it much, but for tough to split pieces, it bashes them apart better than a faster, lighter one.

My go-to is an old 6 lb maul.. but I think I might pick up a monster maul for crotches/ knotty pieces.

As far as your swing.. if you're looking for speed, you can swing the 36" Fiskars faster than your 28" one.

 

[Woody Stover]

Welcome, akkamaan.

Here is a link to a 15 seconds slow motion video showing my swing

One thing I do is use a chopping block that's only about 6-8" high. That way, I have more distance until I get to the round, and can build more speed. I'd also like to dispense some good-natured ribbing, if you don't mind. You're gripping down on a short club there, and with the abbreviated backswing, looks like you're hitting a little chip-and-run from just off the green. You've got me fired up...I'm gonna post a video! This could be the "Official Swing Video Thread." It's never been done on the forums that I have seen, and I think it would be very informative and entertaining. This has the potential to be the best first post ever! Go back in while you can still edit, and put something in the title like "Post your swing videos" or something to that effect.

Each maul and splitting implement has its uses...15 lbs monster maul.....for tough to split pieces, it bashes them apart better than a faster, lighter one. My go-to is an old 6 lb maul.. but I think I might pick up a monster maul for crotches/ knotty pieces.

Right. The Fiskars doesn't have the inertia to plow through the tough stuff, it just stops and gets stuck. I grab the 8# a lot in that case (my Monster needs handle repair.) My most-used implement is a 6#. I lost my Fiskars in the woods and am not in a huge hurry to replace it. Also, I have beveled the leading edges of my mauls to minimize the number of "bounce-backs." Sweet little Estwing "hatchet maul." Pics show an 8-lb.with a slow taper, and the 6-lb. is in the last pic.

 

[Bigg_Redd]

But to the same token I can place the best driver golf has to offer in the hands of a person with poor form and they are not going to get maximum performance. . .

Are you saying a bigger, heavier driver would be a better choice for a novice golfer? Because it seems that you are saying a less skilled splitter will be better off with a maul.

 

[akkamaan]

Welcome, akkamaan. Go back in while you can still edit, and put something in the title like "Post your swing videos" or something to that effect.

I started a new thread about Swing videos..My second...LOL

Are you saying a bigger, heavier driver would be a better choice for a novice golfer? Because it seems that you are saying a less skilled splitter will be better off with a maul.

If you can't generate a fast swing with a light club head, a heavier head will benefit your driver distance. Pretty common the older people prefer heavy head since their body motion pace is slower

See this wide arc swing of golf "guru" Moe Norman. There is no room for a lot of wrist action in that swing, and that fits older people with "arthritis" very well

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[akkamaan]

As far as your swing.. if you're looking for speed, you can swing the 36" Fiskars faster than your 28" one.

Maybe so, but my splitting depend so much on accuracy, so with that in mind I do better with a shorter shaft. I often grip down on my 28" Fiskars when less force and speed is required. But I always use the same base swing...like a golfer does with different clubs...
You do no want to use excessive force, because that will reduce you endurance...

 

[NHcpa]

I started using my Fiskars Super Splitting Axe 7854, more than 7 years ago. I already
had a 8 lbs maul but wasn't that impressed with it. I learned from my previous career tha speed was superior to mass when it came to delimbing with light harvesterheads. So why wouldn't that work with a light axe. With some simple high school math, I figured out that I did not even have to double the axe head speed. to make the same impact energy with an axe head that have half the weight. Impact power with a splitting toolIt is all about kinetic energy.
So let us do the math, using Newton's 2nd Law of motion.
All this math is easier to follow, if using the metric system, so that's what I am using here.
F=m×a, which can derived into E=m.×V²/2.
E=energy or "impact power", in Newton-meter or Nm
m=mass or "weight", in kilogram, kg
V= velocity or "speed", in meter per second or m/s

Let's start with a "8lbs" maul, which have a head mass of 3.62873896 kg
We assume that we over 2 hours of intense splitting, can manage a steady 3 m/s head speed,
its impact energy calculates
E=3.628......× 3²/2= 3.628......× 9/2 =3.628......× 4.5= 16.329.... Nm

This lighter "4¼lbs" axe head on the Fiskars axe, if we assume we can pick up a very conservative 50% higher head speed during the two hours of splitting, its impact energy calculates
E= 1.927...... × 4.5²/2= 1.927.....× 20.25/2 =1.814.....× 10.125= 19.518....Nm

If we can doble the axe head speed, numbers makes it a "no brainer"...
E= 1.927...... × 6²/2= 1.927.....× 36/2 =1.927.....× 18= 34.699....Nm

These calculations only consider the downward motion of the axe or maul, not the energy used on lifting.....
Anyone can figure out that it takes almost twice the energy to lift an almost double weighted maul....

OK, so now how do we make this little Fiskars "sucker" to go twice as fast?

I have a past as a casual golfer with a 5 hcp, when I played my best. What helped me to get there was my ability to hit long accurate shots, by using my hand wrists together with my arms and the rest of my body. Same action did I use when I learned to give my flyline enough speed to through the fly further than 75 feet.
I have never played baseball, but I assume wrist action is a big part of Barry Bonds or A-Rods home run hits.
Yeah, wrist action is the key word here. Try to apply wrist action on a 8lbs maul head sitting at the end of a 36" long handle. Forget it unless you are a super athlete. Most maul hitters use the 360 deg swing just the gat it up in the air.

In all off, golf-, flypole- and baseballswings, it starts with a good solid stance. To hit the precision sweet spot hit, with the Fiskars, I swing straight over my head, with my legs slightly spread apart. I use a two handed baseball grip, with hands close to each other. That way I can make an almost 90 deg wrist action in combination with a flexible upper and lower arm motion.
By time I have learned how much I have to swing to induce enough axe head energy to crack a certain log. I was never able to make such a controlled and accurate swing with a 8 lbs maul. I just wasted a lot of energy that threw log pieces 10 feet to each side of my chopping block.

Here is a link to a 15 seconds slow motion video showing my swing
https://www.youtube.com/embed/TJ14V-TECbQ?rel=0&start=32&end=47

Your an engineer...what is you al ma matter?

 

[akkamaan]

al ma matter?

al ma matter?

 

[akkamaan]

Your an engineer...what is you al ma matter?

Ok I got it...I went to Swedish engineer schools, construction at John Ericsson tech school in Östersund grad -73
And Forest engineer at Swedish University of forestry, in Skinnskatteberg grad 1981
and You??

 

[akkamaan]

Welcome, akkamaan.
The Fiskars doesn't have the inertia to plow through the tough stuff, it just stops and gets stuck.

My math does not lie, the Fiskars will have the same inertia as a twice as heavy maul if you just increase the head speed a bit.
But of course You own body limits how fast you can swing, so if you are a big athletic guy (which I am not), you can generate high speed with a 8 lbs maul as well.

 

[drz1050]

Aye, but the heavier weight is harder for the log to slow down than the lighter fiskars.

For straight grain, this doesn't matter.. fiskars all day over the monster. When the wood gets knotty though, you'll be cussing.

It's also way easier to aim the fiskars than the monster.. that one is for bashing, and that's it.

 

[akkamaan]

Aye, but the heavier weight is harder for the log to slow down than the lighter fiskars.

Actually one can argue the opposite. If the speed is right on the lighter head, the impact energy will be the same. But a less wide and fat axe edge, will penetrate deeper and is more likely to crak the log. Compare a10 gr bullet and smaller caliber, at 4000ft per second, with a 20 grain bullet, larger caliber at 2000ft per second. Which one will penetrate deeper? And which one will have the highest impact energy?
(broken image removed)
Do you calculations at this ballistic online site.
http://www.shooterscalculator.com/bullet-kinetic-energy.php

For axes and mauls, this site can manage more appropriate number in metric...
http://www.csgnetwork.com/kineticenergycalc.html

For straight grain, this doesn't matter.. fiskars all day over the monster. When the wood gets knotty though, you'll be cussing.

It's also way easier to aim the fiskars than the monster.. that one is for bashing, and that's it.

 

[Fifelaker]

I agree with the speed =higher energy but it is an apples to oranges comparison with bullets. you also have to figure in ballistic coefficient. I think is would carry over to splitting tools also. If you want some interesting reading on bullets and energy check out the Roy Weatherby/ John Pondoro arguments and comparisons. There is a reason that you cannot use less that .375 caliber (maul) for dangerous game in Africa, instead of lighter and smaller bullets (Fiskers) even if driven faster. Little bullets just do not break the bones (Knotty wood) like bigger bullets, they just do not have the "knock down" power. All of this said I will continue using hydraulics as it is soooo much easier on me.

 

[akkamaan]

I agree with the speed =higher energy but it is an apples to oranges comparison with bullets. you also have to figure in ballistic coefficient. I think is would carry over to splitting tools also. If you want some interesting reading on bullets and energy check out the Roy Weatherby/ John Pondoro arguments and comparisons. There is a reason that you cannot use less that .375 caliber (maul) for dangerous game in Africa, instead of lighter and smaller bullets (Fiskers) even if driven faster. Little bullets just do not break the bones (Knotty wood) like bigger bullets, they just do not have the "knock down" power. All of this said I will continue using hydraulics as it is soooo much easier on me.

I do not intend to go into the hunting details of the bullets and their ballistics. I just wanted to make sure my math went "all the way home" among the readers of my post...LOL
But of couse, the diameter, caliber or cross section size, have in important impact on damage up front. That also argue for a sharp high speed axe, instead of a dull, fat maul, that uses part of its energy to damage wood fiber at impact surface, before remaining energy can do penetration and "eventually" cracking the log...
A razor sharp axe, uses almost 100% of its impact energy to penetrate and split...

 

[Woody Stover]

a sharp high speed axe, instead of a dull, fat maul, that uses part of its energy to damage wood fiber at impact surface

That's why I grind the leading edge of my mauls to a sharper angle, as shown in the pics I posted. I don't know about the equations, I just know what works here. If I was splitting softwoods like you have in WA, or straight Red Oak, Cherry or White Ash like I run into, it would be the X-27 all day. But when the splitting gets tough, I break out the heavy-headed bludgeoning tools. You can't believe how a Monster Maul with its blunt splitting angle but a heavy head, will plow through the hard-to-split wood, even though I can't get much head speed at all with it. It would be interesting to see actual speeds, but I'm pretty sure I can't swing the Fiskars anywhere near twice as fast as an 8-pounder....

 

[akkamaan]

It would be interesting to see actual speeds, but I'm pretty sure I can't swing the Fiskars anywhere near twice as fast as an 8-pounder....

If you have a high-speed video camera and film your swing in front of a measuring scale, we can figure a the speed with a video editing software, frame by frame analysing

 

[Woody Stover]

If you have a high-speed video camera and film your swing in front of a measuring scale, we can figure a the speed with a video editing software, frame by frame analysing

That thought occurred to me, but all I've got is a point-and-shoot camera that will take video clips. Maybe my swing is slow enough for even a low frame rate to work...

 

[akkamaan]

give it a shot...30 fpt is not that bad...
give it a try and we'll see what we can get out of it..
Edit:
I just checked my video cam in my Galaxy Note2, and it has an x1/8 slow motion recording feature. So I believe frame rate is popped up a couple of notches, The Galaxy S5 makes 120 fps in slow motion recording....

 

[akkamaan]

It would be interesting to see actual speeds, but I'm pretty sure I can't swing the Fiskars anywhere near twice as fast as an 8-pounder....

Don't you think you can push a light bicycle up to 10mph speed faster than you push a 5000lsb pick-up truck up to 10 mph speed? There is no difference in the principle, just in the weights. Another thing is that it takes wrist torque to apply wrist action. Required torque increases with the mass, or the distance to the mass (length of shaft/handle).
I bet you have to agree that you twist your wrists faster with less load on them...

 

[akkamaan]

All of this said I will continue using hydraulics as it is soooo much easier on me.

I'll buy that argument to 100% if you don't go to gym lifting weights after your log splitting session...

 

[blacktail]

I like that processing firewood is a mindless task. Cut to length, hit with a maul, then stack. I have no desire to make it into a science project.

 

[Fifelaker]

I get enough exercise when gathering my wood that I do not have to go to a gym. I bought a splitter for a couple of reasons, I used a maul for 30 + years, I am no teenager, my back isn't what it once was.....

 

[Bigg_Redd]

I get enough exercise when gathering my wood that I do not have to go to a gym. I bought a splitter for a couple of reasons, I used a maul for 30 + years, I am no teenager, my back isn't what it once was.....

How much firewood do you gather?