the axe, evolved... whats your take?

[the kid]

so i saw this on facebook, and it looked interesting so i clicked on the link and read the article and watched the video...

does anyone have one of these? http://www.geek.com/news/physics-exploiting-axe-splits-wood-in-record-time-1591725/ and would it be worth the money? yeah i know $300 is a lot of money, but in some forests you can not bring a chain saw or yeah so you are left to cutting your wood by hand. i also notices he is using a tire to hold the round in place, thats rather clever i never though of that, but maybe i should give it a try too.

 

[SmoothLC]

Wow - interesting. I've seen an axe or two with the same design, but have never seen one in action.

For now, I'm sticking with my two splitting axes, but maybe when one goes I'd consider a Vipukirves.

But then again, the guy in the video seems like he has some good practice with it.

Thanks for pointing it out.

 

[grnhornetcustoms]

It seems to work well on a nice straight grain rounds. Maybe someone could come make a video with it splitting my spruce and pine? Around here hydraulic splitters are the only way to go. Alder, straight grain fir and hemlock would probably split ok with it but it splits fine with a $30 splitting maul also.

 

[DetroitDarin]

I really enjoy my Fiskars (makes them for Gerber); was $40 on amazon. Although...I really want this axe, too

 

[Vince1]

Seems a little large and bulky to bring on a trip. I guess it is best for home use. For keeping the log together, I use a bungee instead of a tire. Again, a lot easier to pack an assortment vs. lugging around a tire!

 

[DaveNay]

If you don't have perfect technique, your wrists are going to be a wreck.

 

[AFBronco235]

I agree with the everything so far. It works great, however, it looks as though the inventor has had plenty of practice with a standard splitting ax. His use of a tire to hold the wood is something I've seen before by people who split wood with axes a lot. I'd like to see a vid of a novice using it. The only serious problem I have with the design is it is only good for splitting. If all you need is to split wood, it would be great. However, in a camping/survival situation, I'd stick with my fiskars, or even a cheap $20 ax from the hardware store. Something that I can use to chop, split, hammer and ever pry with. I'd rather have one tool that can do a lot of things well enough than a bunch of tools that each do its one job exceptionally well.

 

[robgendreau]

It kinda looks like it could also be used as an opener for the world's biggest beer bottle....

 

[Lynn]

If you don't have perfect technique, your wrists are going to be a wreck.

Yeah.

 

[Yuman Desert Rat]

That was pretty bas *****. If you have a lot of wood to split that looks like a great (and speedy) way to do it.

 

[Hilldweller]

His logs look fairly perfect for splitting. We've got nasty old oak, hickory, and the dreaded pine around here.
Okay, mostly pine...

Split these that easily and I'll fork out the Euros.

 

[Herbie]

If you don't have perfect technique, your wrists are going to be a wreck.

That was my thinking. Reminded me of a 3-kilo blacksmith's hammer I used for a while. Too much weight on the cross-peen, so if your strikes weren't perfect, it would strain your wrist trying to break loose. Beautiful piece, but a biatch to use.

 

[Ramjet]

I'd rather have one tool that can do a lot of things well enough than a bunch of tools that each do its one job exceptionally well.

This.