By weight, the fiskars is a splitting axe, not a maul. Mauls are for tougher jobs, axes are for once you have quartered a tough piece and want to finish into final size burning wood. The fiskars is so effective it often gets put head to head with mauls, but the weight difference is substantial. In some woods you are just fine with a splitting axe even with larger rounds (maybe something easy to split like ash). Fiskars now sells a true maul so that would be the valid comparison vs the grasnfors bruks maul. Tip: you're splitting too hard. Try using the smallest amount of force that will split the log, safer for you and your axe, and you'll get more done in a day. On a nasty piece, the first strikes should be moderate just to get the crack started and to start to bite in, one strike splits aren't always possible (or desirable from an energy expenditure basis). Also, cut a large round for a splitting block, at the height that is best for your body (blade should strike when the blade and handle are as parallel as possible to the plane of the flat surface you are striking for maximum power and efficiency). This will also save your back and the blade from striking the ground. Drill a rubber tire into the round as a wood corral and the pieces won't fly into the ground that often, saves time and your back.
I could be wrong but I think that is the Gransfors Bruks splitting axe, not splitting maul. That said, it's pretty tough to tell the two apart just based off this video.
Penitent Jerma Nope, it's the Gränsfors Bruk splitting maul. Maul: www.gransforsbruk.com/product/gransfors-slaggyxa/ and axe: www.gransforsbruk.com/product/gransfors-stor-klyxyxa/
I'm from England and over here a maul is a large hammer and a splitting maul is basically a large hammer with and axe head on the other side. They are usually much heavier than axes but not always I have a 7pound felling axe and a 4 pound spitting maul in my collection.
@@danwally4754 I've been splitting wood by hand for years. I use a splitting block. I heat with wood, and split tons of wood all year. I guess I'm a rookie.
Just adding my comment: this is a demonstration on how you SHOULDN’T split wood. A chopping block isn’t just to protect your axe (watching you slam the ace head into the ground is painful and irresponsible), it’s also for safety, if you swing through and miss, the chopping block might catch the head and save your leg or foot.
The other big issue between the Gransfors Bruks vs the Fiskars splitting axes is: *Gransfors Bruks* - If you lose, break, or it gets stolen: you sit down & start crying like a baby thinking of the 100s of dollars you lost & will have to spend again. *Fiskars* - Lets say it breaks, no problem: call Fiskars for a free new one due to their lifetime warranty. If lost or stolen, you say: oh well, I'll just buy a new Fiskars X27 for about $50 USD or get one of those new 36" Fiskar splittring mauls for $41USD on Amazon. Thanks for a neat review *French River Springs.*
If you hit a log five or six times with an axe and nothing happens, then switch to another axe on the SAME log does it not defeat the purpose? Has the initial impact not done some work from the previous axe?
Ouch ! use a chopping block, i find that it depends on what you are chopping, in the uk our logs seem shorter like about 10 inch in length, i find the fiskars feels lighter in the hand, can use it one handed on the straight grained short bits, when using the grandfors its harder and more tiring, it does have more punch though and you can pound on it too, i guess i have managed to convince myself there is a home for both of them !, great video and nice splitting
I use a 3-Kg maul but don't swing so high. I also use a good sized stamp as a firm base. Ground would absorb some amount of impact force, also may damage the edge of axe. I cut elm logs into 8" or 9" sections.
Very well done video by a man that understands the problem of splitting firewood... For some reason I always think the axes and mauls that we have seem a little light for the job.
i have used 8and 6 pound mauls and are no comparison to the fiskars the speed i gain by the lighter axe works so much better. have never used a gransfors.
Thank you for your time in making this excellent video. Although the GB turned out to be slightly better you are correct in what you said about the costs.
I have both Fiskars x27 and Gransfors Bruk and the Fiskars is made out of very soft steel which wears out quick enough and thats why the cheaper price tag
Thanks for your video. I noticed you significantly changed the edge profile of the Fiskar from the factory original straight edge to a convex edge (18:47) Have you found that this improves the performance of the axe? Do you plan on regrinding the straight factory edge of the Bruks to a convex edge also, or do you plan on keeping that edge straight? Curious to your resharpening decision(s).
Try the Fiskars 8 pound maul axe- A reasonably heavy tool.....it makes the Fiskars x27 and the Gransfor Bruks look like campfire hatchets.....(kidding aside, they are also good and have purpose).. I have cut and chopped wood for over 50 years, and have used lots of axes, maul axes, wedges, splitters including Bruks and the x27 (I own both).... bar a splitting machine, this 8 pound maul axe, is , the better choice, for those hardwood chunks, that would be impossible otherwise.....And gives you a decent work out to boot....The heavier the splitter, the better- Cannot get it heavy enough!.... As soon as they put out a 15 pounder, I am all in!!!
The contracting wood because of the cold had an effect on how much harder the wood is too that's why spring through fall is best wood splitting for the season
@@borealis9842 Yeah but that doesn´t mean that you shouldn´t care for them. I mean fucking hell just put up a chopping block and save some sharpening time.
Thank you for ALL of your hard hard work and showing us the diffrence.....i really appreciate your video and all you impute and thoughts as to what you need feel and know about both axes......made my day keep up the GREAT WORK and again THANK YOU for showing us all the difference and similarities and benefits of each Big THUMS UP!!
Costs 3 to 4 times the amount of the fiskars. I own both. Fiskars has a similarly priced maul now. The gransfors isn't 3-4 times the splitter, in fact the fiskars may be better. But there is the beauty and craftsmanship, pride of ownership, heirloom quality of the gransfors.
Le début de la vidéo est vraiment bien réalisé, le texte, et puis l'idée de montrer quand tu rassembles tout le bois etc, superbe vidéo une fois de plus !
I'm interested as to why you are using a left-handed grip technique but approaching with the reverse stance, leaving the axe head to always want to twist? Please let me know if there is a reason as i think your endurance and efficiency would be better off from changing.
Excellent video...very good photography under difficult lighting conditions and a complete and fair comparison. I have both the GB and the Fiskars, and I have come to the same conclusion on a much more informal evaluation.
Both axes are quality the grandfors maybe even more but the wood you are splitting is nearly shattering because all the fluids in the wood is frozen solid. Both split well and the videos lends itself to a tie between the 2. Frozen wood will always split easy no matter if the axe is 35$ cheapie or a 139.00 bad boy. But good video none the less bro.
Not a fair comparison, in many ways! The Gransfors is a tad heavier, which gives it the small advantage. Pound for pound (weight) I’d say they are lineball.
Schönes Video. Danke! Aber ich würde niemals ohne Hackstock hacken. Einmal bodenkontakt mit Steinen und man hat tiefe Kerpen in der Schneide die man nur mit viel materialabtrag beim schleifen wieder raus bekommt. Bei Minute 19.10 sieht man schön wie schnell die Schneide auf den Boden knallt.
I think this was a poor demonstration of these two tools.First of all you were trying to split from he center instead of the edge, You often placed the wood with the bad side up and often your strikes were not in line with the previous strike.The splitting axe weights a portion of the weight of the splitting maul so instead of testing apples against apples you chose to compare apples against oranges.
You are swinging both of them so hard that for one thing it's over kill but besides that it makes it very difficult for me to gauge which one is taking less effort to split. It would of been good if you had used as little force as was needed with both and that would of demonstrated which took less effort to do the same job.
Paul H. Jensen You loose about 30% of your power/stroke by doing that though. I actually agree with both of you and put a sheet of heavy plywood down to use as a splitting station...
A nice maple or oak chopping block goes along way. I'd rather lose a a little power and have my axe sharp for as long as possible. A dull axe splitting on bare ground is worst than a sharp axe with a block.
Sorry not a balanced review, two totally different tools, on some logs you softened the log up with four or five blows with the Fiskars then split it with one blow of the Brooks, then declared the Brooks to be a better axe?
While I may agree that a block under the wood is a great idea you are an absolute beast with the power of your strikes. Anyone who has actually split wood before knows that no two pieces of wood are the same and exact comparisons are difficult. With the amount of wood you chopped, trust me, you know which axe had the win and that is from an x27 owner.
Jesus Christ, that Splitting technique is horrific... not only bad for your shoulder joints also bad for your axes + you are lacking of control... the axe should do Most of the work by its own. You are only there to give it a good precise swing. Rest is the Power of weight and Gravity. I do firewood differently. A long time i splitted 1 meter (~40“) logs by hand using a normal regular european/german cheap splitting Hammer. They had a diameter up to 60-70 centimeter (~28“). And for that I just rarely needed a riving knife. Because once you start reading the wood by looking at the logs and where the knots are and starting to use precise hits they split by itself and you can do it for hours.
Should have thrown your splits directly into the bucket to save the re-lifting. An extra pound on a maul is a huge advantage. More work to use but more delivered.
It is clear that Granfors Brooke is steeper than a cleaver, but who hits the center of the deck? Normal people hit the edge near the bark !!! From strikes in the center, nothing happens))
I have the fiskars x25 and its a beast for splitting wood i can split big big lugs with that in 4 strikes and the others small in 1 strike .. 1 strike 1 kill headshot :)
i think a fair test of the fiskars would require putting an edge on it at the level of the swedish maul. i think if you did it would beat the brooks. i also think german mauls beat swedish maauls.
Like the comparison but hate the way you could damage des axes when you go right trough. Means you are good sharpener. By the way frisk are is owned by Husqvarna. Thank you for the review. I would bet that the gransfors cost's twice the price of the friskar
Awesome, thanks! I have a GB and they're definitely worth the extra over any other brand really. I wish they offered a polished option though as sap tends to get stuck in the pitting, and i'm too hesitant to try your polishing method on a $200 axe.
Frozen wood will be split by any ax, even branches will be split, misleading video. In cold weather, all axes split well, you can understand which one is better only in summer or in plus temperatures
BAD SPLITTING ! your cannot spliting with fiskars in midle, your neeed for split more POWER, your neeed every time split on RIM, if can your not split at same, your can not compare, FISKAR are verrry nice spliter, verry good, and HANDLE are antivibration, is a excelence, by wood Handle going all vibration to HANDS, and this is terrible
