The Greatest Axes for Splitting Wooden of 2023

How We Examined the Greatest Axes for Splitting Wooden

We examined the most effective axes for splitting wooden in probably the most wise manner attainable: by shopping for quite a lot of axes and splitting a whole lot of wooden! We began by researching the most effective axes available on the market created by a number of the most legendary metal forgers on the planet. We finally narrowed our checklist all the way down to eight fashions that we bought and put to a side-by-side check.

After lastly melting out from Lake Tahoe’s snowiest season on file in 2022-2023, lead tester Nick Bruckbauer had practically two cords of freshly minimize pine rounds delivered to his dwelling. After transferring and stacking them and making ready a piece space, he started working over the following a number of months, alternating among the many eight totally different axes to separate the stack of rounds into enormous piles of firewood.

Earlier than attending to work, we completely examined every axe to get a way of its craftsmanship and the standard of its supplies. We inspected all the things from head dimension and form, to blade sharpness, to deal with size, form, and supplies. We examined the standard and ease of use of the included sheaths, and skim any documentation concerning the axe maker’s historical past.

There’s just one approach to decide the true high quality of an axe, and that’s to swing it and swing it laborious! We ended up splitting over 100 pine rounds that ranged in diameter from roughly 14 to 30 inches, in addition to some half rounds that have been over 40 inches in diameter. The ultimate yield was simply shy of two cords of wooden, all break up by hand.

Whereas pine is unquestionably a softer wooden, it may be notoriously difficult to separate, with some rounds having lengthy, twisty grains, loads of sap, and many knots that may cease even the hardest axe in its tracks. This load of wooden was the right testing floor to seek out the most effective axe for splitting wooden. We bumped into some troublesome items that took additional effort to separate, and it helped us establish the highest-performing axes to deal with the hardest conditions.

Nick Bruckbauer is a year-round Lake Tahoe resident, lifelong gear nerd, and proud DIYer who enjoys the satisfaction of finishing “laborious” and significant labor to assist present sources for his household. With frequently rising gas costs, common winter energy outages, and an ongoing provide of free, domestically harvested logs, Nick welcomes the hassle of hand-splitting this wooden to assist complement his household’s dwelling heating in a country and pure manner.

Purchaser’s Information: How one can Select the Greatest Axe for Splitting Wooden

The most effective axe for splitting wooden will usually rely on a couple of variables, together with your physique dimension and power, your most popular deal with size and materials, and the scale and kind of wooden that you simply’re splitting. From there, we’ll present some common design suggestions to search for primarily based on our first-hand testing expertise.

Sorts of Axes

There are a selection of axe designs, and never all of them are perfect for splitting wooden. There are shorter handheld designs with skinny, sharp blades that are perfect for trimming and chopping smaller items of wooden, and there are bigger sledge-hammer kinds with broader wedge-shaped blades that are perfect for splitting bigger chunks of wooden.

Hatchets

Hatchets are the smallest sort of axe, and can usually weigh between 1 and a couple of.5 kilos and have handles which can be roughly 12 to 18 inches lengthy. They’re a flexible device for tenting or round the home, as they can be utilized each for chopping smaller branches (up to a couple inches in diameter) and for splitting smaller logs (as much as roughly 8 or 10 inches in diameter). Hatchets will usually have sharper blades that permit for exact chopping or trimming work, which makes them much less versatile for splitting bigger logs, for the reason that narrower blade will generally tend to get embedded within the wooden.

The benefit of hatchets is that they’re normally fairly light-weight, will be carried with you whereas climbing or tenting, and supply wonderful versatility for quite a lot of duties. Whereas they supply loads of utility, we didn’t embrace them on this evaluate as a result of they’re too small and lightweight for heavy-duty splitting work. In the event you’re extra taken with a hatchet than a splitting axe, try our Purchaser’s Information of the Greatest Tenting Hatchets.

Reducing Axes

The subsequent step up from a hatchet is a chopping axe. Generally known as a forester axe or a woodworker axe, these instruments will typically look much like a hatchet, simply larger. They are going to usually weigh between 3 and 5.5 kilos and have handles which can be roughly 20 to 30 inches lengthy.

Reducing axes have a pointy, slender blade with a protracted leading edge, and are designed to chop in opposition to the grain of the wooden for duties similar to trimming branches or felling bushes. Whereas some designs could have some versatility to additionally break up wooden, they’re normally a poor alternative for splitting wooden, for the reason that lengthy, sharp blade will simply grow to be embedded within the wooden. Due to this, we didn’t embrace any chopping axes on this evaluate. Reducing axes may even usually have curved, ergonomic deal with shapes for leverage and management throughout repeated chopping duties.

Splitting Axes

Splitting axes, generally interchangeably known as splitting mauls (extra on that beneath), are particularly designed for splitting wooden — or pushing it aside alongside the grain — fairly than chopping in opposition to the grain. As such, splitting axes and mauls will usually be heavier, weighing anyplace from 3.5 to eight kilos, and have an extended deal with that’s 28 to 36 inches lengthy. They may even have broader, wedge-shaped heads that don’t have to be as sharp as chopping axes.

The best splitting axe could have a blade that is ready to penetrate into the wooden and push it aside with out getting fully embedded and an general weight and size which can be snug for the consumer. The simplest splitting axes will usually be a bit heavier, offering the heft to assist the axe energy by way of robust items of wooden. Nonetheless, heavier isn’t all the time higher, as a lighter axe is simpler to manage, simpler to swing at a quicker pace, and can usually trigger much less fatigue all through a splitting session.

Splitting Axes vs. Splitting Mauls

The phrases splitting axe and splitting maul generally get used interchangeably, so that you is likely to be questioning what the distinction is, if there even is a distinction. Many individuals typically seek advice from any massive, heavy splitting axe as a maul, however that’s not essentially the case.

The important thing differentiator is that the pinnacle of a splitting maul may also be used as a sledgehammer for pounding stakes or placing poles. The pinnacle of a splitting maul could have the splitting blade edge on one finish, and a hammer-shaped face on the opposite finish. Until a device is particularly designated as a maul, it shouldn’t be used for any function aside from splitting wooden.

Although it’s not all the time the case, splitting mauls additionally are usually larger and heavier than splitting axes. Splitting axes usually are 20 to 30 inches lengthy and weigh anyplace from 3.5 to six kilos, whereas splitting mauls are usually 30 to 36 inches lengthy and weigh 6 to eight+ kilos. Each could have wider, wedge-shaped blades designed to push wooden aside alongside the grain, fairly than chopping wooden in opposition to the grain.

In our check lineup, three merchandise are labeled as mauls, the Gransfors Bruk Splitting Maul, the Council Instrument 6-lb Sledge-Eye Maul, and the Estwing Hearth Good friend Splitting Instrument.

Head Weight and Total Weight

Whereas an axe’s head weight and general weight could have a huge impact on its efficiency, this metric additionally comes down fairly a bit to non-public choice. A heavier axe is likely to be higher fitted to bigger customers with larger and stronger palms, whereas a lighter axe could also be higher fitted to smaller customers or these with smaller palms. Each heavier and lighter axes can get the job accomplished with the best method and energy.

Right here’s the place it will get extra fascinating. For any physics lovers on the market, do not forget that power = mass x acceleration. Because of this when a heavier axe offers a specific amount of power at a sure swing pace, a lighter axe will be capable to match that very same quantity of power — it can simply require a quicker swing pace. After all, this can be a pretty broad generalization, however that is the place private choice turns into essential. It’s essential to seek out an axe dimension and weight that matches your physique sort and your swing pace preferences.

A heavier axe will usually be tougher to swing and can possible trigger elevated fatigue over repeated swinging, however may even present extra splitting power at a decrease general swing pace. A lighter axe shall be simpler to swing and can possible trigger much less fatigue over repeated swinging, however will usually present much less splitting power than a heavier axe (assuming the identical swing pace). A lighter axe shall be simpler to swing quicker, and also will be simpler to manage for extra exact swings.

Our lead tester Nick Bruckbauer is 5′-11″ tall, weighs 175 kilos, and has average-sized palms (males’s Medium glove dimension). He strongly prefers the scale and weight of the Gransfors Bruk Splitting Maul. With a 5.5-pound head weight and seven.2-pound general weight, this device feels good for many splitting duties. It has sufficient mass to energy its manner by way of thicker or harder rounds however is simply mild sufficient (in comparison with 7.5 to 8-pound fashions) that it’s manageable to keep up management and an affordable swing pace. It additionally feels properly balanced in order that quick, laborious swings really feel environment friendly and don’t trigger undue fatigue.

Head Dimension and Form

The pinnacle dimension and form are two of the first design options that separate a splitting axe from a chopping axe (and a splitting axe from a splitting maul). Whereas most splitting axes have a broader wedge-shaped head than most chopping axes, there’s nonetheless quite a lot of sizes and shapes even amongst our check lineup of splitting axes.

On the narrower finish, the Husqvarna Splitting Axe S2800 has an extended blade edge and a narrower blade width than most different splitting axes. This made it our go-to alternative for splitting smaller rounds, or bigger rounds as soon as they’ve been break up in halves or quarters. The lengthy blade edge gave us the arrogance to strike the wooden exactly the place we needed, and the slender blade allowed it to energy by way of smaller items of wooden fairly simply. It did battle a little bit with bigger rounds, because the narrower blade had a bent to get embedded within the wooden.

On the broader finish, the Gedore Ochsenkopf Spalt-Repair Axe has a heavy, massive, wedge-shaped head. What this design lacks in finesse, it makes up for in brute power. The Ochsenkopf is our favourite axe for ending off troublesome logs or rounds. Its large head powered by way of thick, knotty chunks that different axes struggled with.

The Gransfors Bruk Splitting Maul has the perfect head dimension and form for splitting wooden. It has a big, large head that rapidly narrows to a concave form and a reasonably slender blade edge. This design permits the slender blade to penetrate troublesome items of wooden, however then the concave form helps forestall it from turning into embedded. Lastly, the big, heavy head helps energy by way of and end pushing the wooden aside.

The Fiskars X27 Tremendous Splitting Axe additionally has a pleasant head form that’s not too thick and never too skinny, making it an environment friendly splitter that doesn’t get embedded within the wooden too simply. We’re an enormous fan of the Fiskars, although its lighter general weight made it rather less efficient splitting bigger rounds, in comparison with some heavier designs.

Lastly, the Helko Werk Traditional Nordic Splitting Axe and the Hultafors Hult Splitting Axe have distinctive Scandinavian wedge-shaped head designs. This distinctive form has a protracted, rectangular formed head that steadily narrows to a three-dimensional wedge-shaped blade. This design could be very environment friendly for splitting wooden however is rather less versatile than different designs because of the shorter blade edge size that makes exact strikes a little bit more difficult.

Deal with Size

The deal with size will usually come all the way down to your top and your private preferences.

An extended deal with will assist you to stand additional away from the wooden (which may add a small ingredient of security) and will assist you to comfortably break up wooden that’s on the bottom fairly than elevated on a chopping block. An extended deal with additionally offers extra leverage that may improve your swing pace, however may make the axe a little bit tougher to manage for exact strikes.

A shorter deal with will power you to face nearer to the wooden, and can possible require elevating the wooden on a chopping block to maintain you in a cushty physique place. A shorter deal with gained’t generate as a lot swing pace as an extended deal with, however will usually be simpler to manage for extra exact work.

Our 5′-11″ lead tester discovered the 31.5-inch size of the Gransfors Bruk Splitting Maul to be perfect. Shorter lengths between 28-30 inches additionally felt extra snug than the longer 36-inch lengths, however once more, this may be dictated by private preferences.

Deal with Materials

Splitting axe handles are constituted of composite supplies or from wooden supplies, usually American Hickory.

American Hickory Wooden is the standard axe deal with materials as a result of it’s a heavy and dense wooden and has a straight grain sample. Each of those options assist make Hickory robust and shock-resistant, each essential options for a high-impact device. The benefits to wooden handles are that they are often changed in the event that they crack or break up, and the deal with will be trimmed or sanded to be reshaped by the consumer. The disadvantages to wooden handles are that they’re typically heavier than composite supplies, and so they can break up or crack if used improperly.

Composite supplies are usually lighter than wooden and nonetheless have good affect resistance. Composite handles can’t be changed in the event that they break, however they’re usually very robust, so this isn’t an enormous concern.

The selection between wooden or composite supplies actually comes down to non-public choice, as deal with supplies gained’t have a lot, if any, affect on the general splitting efficiency. Wooden handles feel and look extra conventional, whereas composite handles feel and look extra trendy.

We’re positively huge followers of the traditional look of a standard splitting axe with a wooden deal with and a hand-forged metal head, however we additionally actually preferred the texture and efficiency of the Fiskars X27 Tremendous Splitting Axe and the Husqvarna Splitting Axe S2800, each extra trendy designs with composite handles.

Beneficial Security Gear

Swinging round a heavy, sharp, metal device can clearly be harmful, so we additionally need to embrace some beneficial security gear and a few security issues.

The primary, and most crucial piece of security gear is eye safety. This needs to be non-negotiable. Splitting wooden will inevitably ship shards of wooden flying in each route, and also you’re placing your face fairly near the affect zone and line of fireside. We used a easy pair of DeWalt security glasses that did the trick.

Subsequent, we additionally extremely suggest an excellent pair of labor gloves. Splitting wooden contains hauling and transferring wooden rounds and break up logs, and repeatedly grabbing and swinging an axe time and again. Work gloves will assist shield you from easy nuisances like blisters, and from extra extreme accidents like cuts or scrapes. We used and loved the Give’r Light-weight Gloves all through our entire testing interval. These leather-based gloves match effectively, usually are not too thick and never too skinny, and are available at an affordable worth.

In the event you’re doing repeated splitting, we additionally suggest an excellent pair of steel-toed work boots. Whereas this isn’t essentially necessary, understand that you’ll possible be transferring heavy wooden rounds and logs that may weigh 60-80 kilos or extra, and pinching your piggies beneath a type of gained’t really feel so good. Correct foot safety may shield you from an errant swing of an axe. This may occasionally sound foolish, however whenever you’re fatigued, and whenever you’re splitting some gnarly, knotty wooden, an axe can simply bounce off the wooden into into your toes or physique. We’ve got a small slice in our steel-toed boots to show it.

Lastly, we suggest taking a little bit additional time to be sure to put together your work space. This implies having a flat, stage open floor away from homes, vehicles, bushes, or different gear, with loads of house to freely swing your axe. You’ll additionally be sure to have loads of house to stage your pre-split wooden and to pile or stack your break up logs. Your work space can muddle up rapidly, and it’s essential to keep up a transparent work space.

Ceaselessly Requested Questions