Need a new axe, hatchet, or splitters?

[shenrie]

^^^ if that would have been me, alcohol would have likely been the root cause. he stopped drinking years ago though.

Originally Posted by larrie

Well the photo shire makes me re think getting one. The problem is both my hatchet and splitting maul have broken handles. I can not find a replacement handle for the maul. Have not looked for a hatchet handle. Even if I bought no name ones it would still be possible to damage myself with them.

again, sorry to discourage. just pointing out that the fiskars blades are very sharp and that 14" hatchet is just long enough that you want to throw some back into it, but its not needed due to how sharp it is. some people, like myself just arent careful enough to own blades that effective. good example: heard my mom complaining about never having any sharp knives in the house one year just before christmas. took the hint and went out and bought her a nice all around gerber kitchen blade. the following holiday, i needed a sharp knife for something and asked mama where the gerber blade was and she told me that they had to get rid of it cause they kept almost cutting off their fingers...must run in the family, lol.

and in bold? 100%! summer after my buddy did that to his shin, i was chopping wood with a full sized axe at camp. wood i was hacking on slipped off the block, axe skipped off that piece and nailed me right in the shin. the look on my wifes face....oh man. no blood, but a nice goosebump and some bruising. and yes alcohol was involved with that little mishap

regarding an axe handle for the hatchet. last time we broke one, a replacement handle was 2/3's the cost of a complete replacement. so we bought a new one.

[ert01]

I made this drawing today to illustrate the most common reason why people hurt themselves with axes... It has to do with the way our bodies naturally want to pivot.

We think we need to pivot our back and shoulders and wrists to get a solid swing at a stubborn piece of wood. But in reality what we are creating is a HUGE hazard for when we miss or the log slips... the arc that the axe wants to follow is straight into our legs or feet.

If you start in a similar manner, but slow the pivot half-way through and then use your knees to drop your body straight downward, it stops that dangerous pivot and any stray swings will end up straight down in the dirt.

It's tough to illustrate it, but I think my pictures does it OK. A comparison video would be the best way... maybe next time I'm out I'll get my wife to record me if I remember...

[skyrat]

I have had a 30" Swedish axe in my camping goods forever, 30+ years. Last year I went to the 28" Fiskars splitting axe because I realized that 90% of the time I was using it for splitting firewood and only occasionally using it for chopping. After over a years use and splitting numerous hard to finish logs, I am in love with the fiskars. Anything but severely knotted wood is doable with the fiskars. I would still have the Swedish axe buried in some of the logs I was able to split with one hard well placed blow of the fiskars. Love it and it chops okay too!

[daveb]

This guy seems... well there is a lot of info on blades.
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[larrie]

Originally Posted by daveb

This guy seems... well there is a lot of info on blades.
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I'm am always amazed at what can be found on the web.

Here are the tools I purchased today, 14" hatchet, 28" splitter and a pruner.

[daveb]

Ha, I resisted for now but that's a sweet looking set. I used to cut 5 or more cord of almond a year, but now days... I'll just buy the wood. Burning in the Central Valley these days is very limited. Most of the time when I need a fire the dopes say we can't burn
Kinda why I'm looking at an electric chain saw for camping. But I'd like to hear what you think about the set and how they perform.

[larrie]

Originally Posted by daveb

Ha, But I'd like to hear what you think about the set and how they perform.

The next few days are dry who should be able to get out and do some chopping with them.

[larrie]

Originally Posted by daveb

But I'd like to hear what you think about the set and how they perform.

Got a chance to use them for a bit today. The splitter is great. Found a twisted piece of locus in the wood pile. A couple of sings later and it was in t pieces. Not sure my old maul would have split it. The splitter is incredibly sharp which helps a lot. Got the 28" version which seems a bit short after using my old 36" splitter.

The hatchet is light and easy to control. The blade does not like concrete though. Managed to hit a chunk that was burried in the brush. Now have a small notch in the blade.

The branch cutter works great as well. Good leverage and cuts through one inch branches easily.

[skyrat]

Before stripping out the fixture



3 Strips of 50/50 Warm White LEDs in the shorter, Over the Counter Fixture



Wiring Close Up


And I put 5 strips in the larger Penthouse fixtures.