I'd split 2 hrs straight at the cabin like that for years. Never got a gas splitter until about 8 yrs ago otherwise, ALL done by hand. Very good workout and slept like a LOG at the cabin those nights !
Green is always better, green/ frozen is even easier. Have heated with wood for 45 years, I used to split everything by hand and It was no fun when the wood fell over, it wasted time and made me tired bending over to set it up again. What worked well was to set up a whole bunch of rounds touching each other in a big mass, then circle around it and pare off 'flakes'. The logs held each other up and there was only space for them to fall outward. I'd circle around it backward until there was no clear space left to stand. It would look kind of like a big flower, rounds in the middle and finished splits flayed out around the perimeter. Then I'd toss the finished splits in the trailer and do it all over until the setup was done. It's good to see someone still splitting by hand. It makes you breathe, gets the blood pumping, wakes up the body. Now I'm older, I have a Supersplit kinetic and a tractor to lift the rounds. I can still do it manually, but it makes me sorry later. The Supersplit doesn't care if the wood is green or dry, its fast.
I try to split them down the middle but so they still hold together so they don’t tip over and it works pretty well I may have to try how you said you did that. I do have a splitter I bought reasonably cheap that will split two 16 inch chunks at a time that I am going to have a guy make a 4 way wedge for. I can split faster by hand but I’m 57 and I got to start cutting down on the hand splitting I do 100 full cord a year. I have a skid steer which is a great piece of equipment for labor saving so no cutting trails I can get to all my wood and don’t have to carry it and I have a bucket I can get 1/3 of a full cord in at a time.
@@waynejohnson9855 Give it a try, I got the idea from trying to make flint arrowheads. To do that you take the rock and turn it, knocking off blanks that later each one can be made into an arrowhead. 100 cords a year, thats a lot, 10 times as much as us.
@@rowgler1 I will do that. I usually just go down the trunk splitting and with the size of the trees I start to run out of room to split. I am now trying to cut and split and get what I do that day hauled and stacked so I’m Not looking at many loads to try to get out in the spring and before my work season starts and fight the mud.
Green is better. I have had a different experience with frozen. When I was a teenage boy, my dad would stay ahead of my chores keeping me set up with plenty to do. Splitting wood was a big part of that. We went through about ten full cords of wood each winter. Often the wood was beechnut. Dad would have the big hollow rounds all standing on the cut sides and he would start some slots with the chainsaw so I could get the big steel wedge started and then I could pound it in with the sledge. Well, let me tell you, a frozen beech round is not easier to split than one that is not frozen. The wedge would go in about half maybe two thirds of the way and then spit straight up and out of the log perhaps four feet in the air. over and over I would have to repeat this until the log would split. These rounds were often over three feet in diameter, sometimes over four feet. I still split my own wood. I am 61 years old now and I split just under eight cords of oak and locust for this winter. I cut and hauled it all too. I use a six pound maul for most of it. once in a while I get some huge rounds that I will quarter with wedges and a sledge. then the maul...
@@waynejohnson9855 I've split a lot of oak over the last 40+ years and have never had it split like that with never having any strings or wood strands keeping the logs from coming completely apart. Also, when I split green oak, most of the time I can easily tell it is wet by the color, and varying color when the wood splits open. That wood just didn't seem very wet. Even when I cut a tree down in the winter when most moisture should be out of the log, it seems to be wetter than that.
That is some beautiful white oak. I would never wait for wood to "dry" to split it. It doesn't dry anyway. Would take forever and or would rot. You just get artificial cracks on the endgrain waiting for rounds to dry. It makes no sense to wait to split your wood. Since you want to split it down to dry as fast as possible. Can't imagine waiting a year to split wood that still needs at least another year to season. Oak is slow to season so it could be even longer
Thank you sir. As a Floridian, city-dwelling female writing a book where my character splits wood, I don't think I could have ever known enough about what it was like without your video. Thank you.
There are many people out there splitting by hand still. This gentleman is better than most. Ben Scott makes videos and is one of the best I've ever seen. Most people waste a lot of energy swinging inefficiently, and stopping to set pieces upright on a stump. Wranglerstar is a well known YTer and very knowledgeable about tools. Good luck with your writing!
@@j.o.2045 Thanks for that Ben Scott mention. Back at you with Thoren Bradley for sheer fascinating entertainment splitting... And education!!! th-cam.com/video/aE5evnZaEnQ/w-d-xo.html
Kudos on your book writing!!! I'll add a playlist if I can find it quick but at least take a look at this guy; @j.o.2045 Thanks for that Ben Scott mention. Back at you with Thoren Bradley for sheer fascinating entertainment splitting... And education!!! th-cam.com/video/aE5evnZaEnQ/w-d-xo.html
Here are two playlist I made the first one is just on splitting with an accent wall in general. The second was another individual Braeden Rockcliffe one of my favorites but I think he might have hurt himself cousin upload for 3 years but he's a joy to watch just amazing using TWO 6 lb Husqvarna splitting axes at the same time!!!
@@waynejohnson9855 Wayne wait until you are in your early 70s like me! I was a splittin' fool when in my late 50s! But when I hit 65 my wife let me buy an electric splitter, best thing since factory ice cream! HA HA
@@mikeh8228 you are right I’m not getting better as I get older. I’ve been looking to buy a eastonmade 12-22. Seems the resale is real good so I couldn’t lose a lot.
Many moons ago, I had some red oak, big (32” rounds) felled in early fall. split it with a Sears maul no problem. Left it alone over the winter and next summer, would come home from work, spend 45 minutes to an hour with steel wedges splittin one of them! Never again! Retired old Laborer 😎
I split everything green because it's in the way until it's split and stacked. I don't let things sit around long enough to dry unless it's stacked and out the way.
Same here at 65yr from three (each) motorcycles and car accidents. I have two bad shoulders, back, hip, two rods in left leg, and 57yr in martial arts. Local weather people call me for advice! 🤣
That's funny I split half a dozen white oak rounds just today. And half a dozen two days ago. As long as they don't have big knots I'd rather split oak than a lot of the other stuff I cut like elm. You can tell pretty fast if you're not getting anywhere with a white oak round and then toss it aside for the splitter (or just hide it behind the nearest tree and leave it). If it's not coming apart after 10 swings of the X27 Fiskars it's not worth my time. There's plenty more!
I can split pretty fast I have a video where I do 1/3 of a cord in about 12.5 minutes. I retired this year from a labor intense job and I always told the new guys that I felt bad getting close to 60 that I could only out work two like them instead of 3 like I used to.
@@waynejohnson9855 LMAO, I would not bet against you my friend. Good for you and I'm sure you feel the same way I do, splitting wood is the best exercise and no membership needed
I don't know why people say that junk about green wood not splitting and have to wait till it dries I always split mine green and yes sir you are absolutely right green is better
Some wood, like cottonwood actually does become a bit easier if you let it dry some and develop some cracks. Not fully dry, just enough to let some of the obnoxious amount of water evaporate. For most others, it's either easier when green (the wood is softer) or it really matters not. Just today, I cut and split some hard maple that had been cut at least 2 years ago. (in a pile, the logs I cut were off the ground) As well as some fresh, green Silver maple, cut 2-3 weeks ago. Not much difference, really. Some pieces nearly split themselves, others- from the same damn log- my axe just bounced off, and the round laughed at me... (or grabbed the axe like a vice) Same is true for Ash: they either split easy, or they don't- depends on the piece, not the moisture content.
I'm always amazed at how well that light Fiskars brand does with wood. I split a lot of wood & have a ton of axes / mauls for various uses / just hobby. I've not given Fiskars a proper chance. Bought 1 of the shorter handled ones & it didn't impress me. But, many great reviews. Straight grain Oak splits wonderfully. It's when you get to the knots & curves on the tree & various species that it becomes the challenge we aren't always looking for, lol. Still, plenty of methods to work around the knots too. Good hustle
I like the fiskars isocore Maul. For about three years are there were 13 big huge oak rounds at left on the pasture cuz my friends didn't want to pick them up and put them in the truck to split them... This was after a heart attack mind you, one day I took a wild hair day forgot Bastille handled welded homemade splitting maul and attack those things. I did a video thank God because I watch the edge of the mall come at my head directly at me so right away I got a fiskars Maul cheap -fifty bucks on Amazon. I was already addicted to eating with them all but at least I was doing it safer!
Just purchased an x27 today and looking forward to trying it. At 63, the 8 lb maul is a little more challenging than it was when I was young. Btw, I always thought green wood split better. Perhaps the moisture acts as a lubricant and spacer between the wood strands.
I heat my house with a Ashley Wood burner Stove and I hand split wood for years. Now I use a 30 ton splitter and am grateful my wife loved me enough to buy it for me so I could not have to work so hard. My thoughts on green vs dry. Dry wood has squeezed all the water out and become tighter in the process. Just my thought
I split some beautiful white oak myself just yesterday. Of course I was dealing with 10” rounds and it was 10 degrees outside, which makes all the difference in the world 😎
I split a lot of 16-22" white oak with two different models of splitting mauls. I like to place the rounds on a stump to do my splitting. Splits easier and you don't dull your maul by hitting dirt and rocks. If no stumps around, I stack one on top of the other. White oak is an awesome firewood and is about all I cut and sell besides hickory. Hickory goes on the hydraulic splitter.
White oak is some tough, stringy stuff. I’ve split a lot of it. Thanks for sharing sir! Those are some big rounds. I have hand split hundreds to thousands of white oak rounds so the man who says you can’t is wrong. But it’s sometimes fun to prove people wrong! I get a lot of that sort of feedback too sometimes haha
@@waynejohnson9855 I split white oak more than anything else by hand in the winter and do it full time. The hardest I have hand split is sycamore. I read that they used to use them as butcher blocks. I can see why!
@@bluegrassoutdoors lot of the white oak I get the main trunk goes to the saw mill. I wish we had more white oak as loading a 8 to 16 foot log on my trailer is so much easier than firewood.
I have white oak here that was just cut and after last year and all the rain there's no way I was even getting the maul to split it. Will try it again in spring after it sits a couple months in rounds
I have come across white oak that just won’t split. Most of those are standing alone. Cold weather is a guy’s friend when splitting also -21 here this morning and still -2 now the wood will split far easier, red oak is like glass in this weather. Good luck. 👍
when we cut down birch we cut it in lengths and let it dry for one week - then we splitt it. Fairly easy. Fresh is much easier then totally dried wood.
@@waynejohnson9855 Dang!! I fell a huge red oak a couple of years ago, and it took my entire family to split that bad boy. I split small for my wood heater so I’m creating a lot of extra work for myself
Lol that ace isn’t overly sharp and it’s decent splitting wood but red oak is easier. I got a video on my channel were I split 1/3 of a cord in 12 minutes. I was in pretty good shape for splitting at that time.
@@waynejohnson9855Yep, I had an 8.8cm aaa repaired last summer. noticed it while splitting wood. Slight pain below my left rib. Placed my hand on the spot ant picked up a second heartbeat(Ballooning)
Wish my white oak would split that easy...in southern Alabama, the water content inside of a white oak is way higher than where ever you're from.....the high humidity and the various underground springs must have a lot to do with it
That was pretty straight grained I cut one in someone’s yard that unreal to split. For us we get the cold weather which makes it easier to split. I split some today it’s 10 degrees which helps the colder the better when splitting.
I grew up with dad telling me that green wood splits better. I have always split it when it's green. But, now I hear that dried splits easier. I see that you agree with my dad.
I have made the mistake of letting wood sit and get dried out and it sucks to split. I should make a video better than this because I come across cut off trees that have a few chunks left and the end will be dark and show that being split compared to the next chunk cut off. I’ve done it and a guy that helped me did it and it’s night and day difference. I usually cut a tank of gas through my saw and than split it right away and repeat the process, that way I you get a break from each process.
If you get yourself a large truck tyre,remove inner walls, and put on solid concrete base,fill with rings,and split away, saves your back no end,nice work,fiskers x27 is king,👍
@@hotpoker4212 I have a method where not much falls and everything I split is in the woods, I cut a tank of gas and split it right away usually that way once it heads home I stack it right out of my dump trailer and use minimal steps so I can stack a 2 cord load in 50 minutes. Greetings to you also.
I like the rounds to dry out on the ends for a few days or so because you can start to see the natural cracks forming so you know the best places to strike with the X27.
Couple days isn’t bad, I just try to cut a tank and split it right away that way I get a break from each process and don’t end up with 15 cord laying there to split.
I just tried this in a different way. Had some 10 ft. red oak logs sitting for 5 months, so the ends were dried out. I bucked those end pieces into 13" rounds and tried splitting the end pieces with the X27 on the 5-month dry side, then again on the freshly cut side of the same round. Fresh cut side was way way easier to split and way way easier to pull the axe head out of than the dried side. This even held true if I struck the dried side right in the center of well established deep checking/cracks.
It is a bit more than being green. When you cut green logs you want to split them right away. Cut for no more than 30 minutes ands start splitting right away before cutting more. Let the rounds sit in the sun for a day and it feels like pounding rocks. If you have a big saw and big rounds often it is faster to rip the round in half with the saw. Once cut or split in half the rest of the splitting is usually much easier. This also works when the wood has a lot of knots. That method also gives you great shavings for fire starter.
I normally cut a tank of gas and than split what I cut instead of cutting 4 tanks of gas and than having to split it all at once. I watch guys using wedges to split and never get that it’s lot easier to use the saw even if it’s not big.
@@waynejohnson9855 There is a lot to learn when processing firewood and if no one teaches you, the learning curve is bigger, longer and more dangerous. I had so see for myself the advantages of splitting right after cutting and that was by watching another cutter.
What I’ve experienced is….”wood” no matter what type, works as a unit against you. Knots, crotches, green , seasoned whatever, it works to hold itself together. The tricks we use are the secret. Looking for cracks, work around knots, putting knots down, cutting through knots, when cutting your rounds ( if you can), cutting through crotches ( if you can). If you prefer green, then do it, if you prefer seasoned, do it. My biggest foe is elm! I hate elm. My trick there is all the above, plus cut it in shorter rounds…..it’s for burning right?
For burning yes but it was sold so 16 inch was what it needed to be cut. I did not fight stuff that doesn’t split quick my saw makes it split far easier. I know use a splitter as I’m not supposed to split by hand anymore but I still split a few here and there.
@@waynejohnson9855 most of mine are trees that fall in storms around the farm, I either give it away to those that need help heating their homes or use it myself! I understand you selling it and using a splitter, but fighting wood with a maul can be made easier. Maybe it’s me being cheap, but I tell people, hey you’re gonna burn it anyway and it’s free!
@@lazysob2328 I was doing 100 full cord from December to April 1st so it’s a lot of splitting and I would still be hand splitting but I have a couple aneurysms so they said to not split by hand anymore. Everything I’ve cut for the last 20 years is cutting behind loggers and the last 12 years has been storm damage in the area. We’ve have 3 major storms in that time. My splitter cost 1100 dollars and is quite fast for what you can buy for that.
@@waynejohnson9855 man you’re a go getter! Better man than I am for sure. Take care of yourself and I understand customers, but they don’t understand how much work goes into firewood!
Just had an Oak tree fall in my backyard, cut it up into little rounds but god damn I can’t get them to split. I’m a young fairly big guy and I know I’m swinging hard enough on it, but they won’t split all the way down. When I do get them split they’re like kinda splintering? Like the fibers stick on either side of the cut when it’s coming apart. None of them just split and fall i have to get through it and then just pull to get those stringy bits apart. Do I need to sharpen the axe? Is there some weird technique or something? They’re maybe like 10-12 inches thick
Oak usually isn't too stringy. Maybe your tree is an Elm or a Locust? Those fight the splitting maul the whole way (Elm the worst). Usually have to get them good and frozen to have a chance splitting them by hand.
@@FatherOfTheParty dude I dont know but I’m in south Texas it really doesn’t get freezing temps much but maybe in the next couple months I’ll get a chance but for now those logs have beat my ass
European Ash splits beautifully with a mattock when green, but after drying out for a few months it becomes the very devil of a job to split and really requires a hydraulic splitter if you have any amount at all to split. I know this from direct experience. I'm surprised to hear that white oak has the opposite reputation.
Reason i don't like to split logs with a axe is? IT GET STUCK INTO THE WOOD it hard to get it out. That caused the axe is not heavy enough That where the 6 lbs maul come into play! ITS GOT WEIGHT. To penetrate and split the log rather than sticking the axe
I’ve used both and find even if it gets stuck now and than it’s way faster with the x27. If I can’t split it with that it’s not likely splitting with the maul. I do have a decent splitter but it’s still not faster than by hand unless it’s really tough splitting.
This guy could rip my arms off with his hands. I just tried to split a fresh sweetgum and all I do is bury the splitting head in the wood and get it stuck.
FYI that is a maul. It's not an axe. An axe has a thin profile for chopping and should be sharp.....a maul has the wedge profile for splitting and doesn't need to be sharp to get the job done. Nice splitting.
Yeah green wood is easier to split. It's funny how people talk about stuff they have no idea about. I've split 40 inch dia. By 18inch pieces of red oak and white mainly cause its so hard to move intact. And after a few months the ones I haven't gotten to ar 2 to3 times more strikes . Although some types of wood are more stringy and that adds a difficulty to
I foolishly bought a maul to split wood I'm a small built person and the maul takes a lot of effort to swing. I think I will give the wood splitting axe a try instead.
@@DavidMartin-ym2te I use the fiskars x27 it’s 4.5 pounds, I found I can split pretty anything with that that I can with a maul there might be a few that I could split with the maul that I can’t with the x27 but if they’re that tough I will cut them with the saw.
Lol that was in the spring when I had been splitting all winter so I was in pretty good shape for it. When I first start in the fall I think I’m going to die.
You are correct, I have a reason for splitting in half if it’s not real tough to do and that is I don’t split it totally through so than I can split most of it without standing it up again. Working the edges probably would work similar.
I’m in Wisconsin, but there are different areas where red oak splits harder than where I live. I have cut white oak that you can’t split hardly any of it but those usually have stood alone.
Definitely beats the mauls I used over the years. I hear people say a maul works better for tougher pieces but I have the fiskars maul also and I can split anything with the axe that I can with the maul.
@@waynejohnson9855 what axe are you using in the video? Great work too by the way. Way cool. It takes me about 2 hours to chop that much with a cheap maul.
@@jacobortwine7063 fiskars x27. I got another video where I split red oak which generally splits easier, I split 1/3 of a full cord in about 12 minutes. I should make more videos but I don’t have the patience. I’m the myth buster of firewood videos. 🤣 so basically a pain in the ass.
If you would sharpen the maul up, it would split better! Reason i know its to blunt and dull is? Bouncing off the wood, Not getting penetration Remember! if you get penetration. ITS GOING TO SPLIT
@@waynejohnson9855 The principal is the same on a axe or maul. This new stuff i bad about having blunt ends, and need to rebevel them slimmer. It maybe sharp! but not slim enough to penetrate. Every new axe or maul i bought has been way to thick of a bevel. Every one of them i slimmer down the bevel > NOW PENETRATES AND SPLITS > NO MORE bouncing off the wood
Ein Tipp von mir th-cam.com/video/aqzqoOEvJHc/w-d-xo.html Versuch das einmal. Oben einschneiden, etwa ein Drittel...und dann in die Schnittstelle schlagen mit der Axt
Your ability to hit the same dent three times in a row, and with full bore whacks, is remarkable.
I got lucky.
You are a machine! I split a lot of wood by hand, with a fiskers too. Thought I was pretty good at it, but nowhere near that good.
I'd split 2 hrs straight at the cabin like that for years. Never got a gas splitter until about 8 yrs ago otherwise, ALL done by hand. Very good workout and slept like a LOG at the cabin those nights !
we see what you did there....
This man makes it look so easy.
Was a lot simpler when I was young.
Green is always better, green/ frozen is even easier. Have heated with wood for 45 years, I used to split everything by hand and It was no fun when the wood fell over, it wasted time and made me tired bending over to set it up again. What worked well was to set up a whole bunch of rounds touching each other in a big mass, then circle around it and pare off 'flakes'. The logs held each other up and there was only space for them to fall outward. I'd circle around it backward until there was no clear space left to stand. It would look kind of like a big flower, rounds in the middle and finished splits flayed out around the perimeter. Then I'd toss the finished splits in the trailer and do it all over until the setup was done. It's good to see someone still splitting by hand. It makes you breathe, gets the blood pumping, wakes up the body. Now I'm older, I have a Supersplit kinetic and a tractor to lift the rounds. I can still do it manually, but it makes me sorry later. The Supersplit doesn't care if the wood is green or dry, its fast.
I try to split them down the middle but so they still hold together so they don’t tip over and it works pretty well I may have to try how you said you did that. I do have a splitter I bought reasonably cheap that will split two 16 inch chunks at a time that I am going to have a guy make a 4 way wedge for. I can split faster by hand but I’m 57 and I got to start cutting down on the hand splitting I do 100 full cord a year. I have a skid steer which is a great piece of equipment for labor saving so no cutting trails I can get to all my wood and don’t have to carry it and I have a bucket I can get 1/3 of a full cord in at a time.
@@waynejohnson9855 Give it a try, I got the idea from trying to make flint arrowheads. To do that you take the rock and turn it, knocking off blanks that later each one can be made into an arrowhead. 100 cords a year, thats a lot, 10 times as much as us.
@@rowgler1 I will do that. I usually just go down the trunk splitting and with the size of the trees I start to run out of room to split. I am now trying to cut and split and get what I do that day hauled and stacked so I’m
Not looking at many loads to try to get out in the spring and before my work season starts and fight the mud.
Green is better. I have had a different experience with frozen. When I was a teenage boy, my dad would stay ahead of my chores keeping me set up with plenty to do. Splitting wood was a big part of that. We went through about ten full cords of wood each winter. Often the wood was beechnut. Dad would have the big hollow rounds all standing on the cut sides and he would start some slots with the chainsaw so I could get the big steel wedge started and then I could pound it in with the sledge. Well, let me tell you, a frozen beech round is not easier to split than one that is not frozen. The wedge would go in about half maybe two thirds of the way and then spit straight up and out of the log perhaps four feet in the air. over and over I would have to repeat this until the log would split. These rounds were often over three feet in diameter, sometimes over four feet. I still split my own wood. I am 61 years old now and I split just under eight cords of oak and locust for this winter. I cut and hauled it all too. I use a six pound maul for most of it. once in a while I get some huge rounds that I will quarter with wedges and a sledge. then the maul...
@@waynejohnson9855 I've split a lot of oak over the last 40+ years and have never had it split like that with never having any strings or wood strands keeping the logs from coming completely apart. Also, when I split green oak, most of the time I can easily tell it is wet by the color, and varying color when the wood splits open. That wood just didn't seem very wet. Even when I cut a tree down in the winter when most moisture should be out of the log, it seems to be wetter than that.
That is some beautiful white oak. I would never wait for wood to "dry" to split it. It doesn't dry anyway. Would take forever and or would rot. You just get artificial cracks on the endgrain waiting for rounds to dry. It makes no sense to wait to split your wood. Since you want to split it down to dry as fast as possible. Can't imagine waiting a year to split wood that still needs at least another year to season. Oak is slow to season so it could be even longer
Good job old man.. You made it look easy, i can only imagine what you were doing at 25 years old
Greetings from the Balkans
👏
Thank you, and quite different from 25.
Thank you sir. As a Floridian, city-dwelling female writing a book where my character splits wood, I don't think I could have ever known enough about what it was like without your video. Thank you.
There are many people out there splitting by hand still. This gentleman is better than most. Ben Scott makes videos and is one of the best I've ever seen. Most people waste a lot of energy swinging inefficiently, and stopping to set pieces upright on a stump. Wranglerstar is a well known YTer and very knowledgeable about tools. Good luck with your writing!
@@j.o.2045
Thanks for that Ben Scott mention.
Back at you with Thoren Bradley for sheer fascinating entertainment splitting... And education!!!
th-cam.com/video/aE5evnZaEnQ/w-d-xo.html
Kudos on your book writing!!!
I'll add a playlist if I can find it quick but at least take a look at this guy;
@j.o.2045
Thanks for that Ben Scott mention.
Back at you with Thoren Bradley for sheer fascinating entertainment splitting... And education!!!
th-cam.com/video/aE5evnZaEnQ/w-d-xo.html
Here are two playlist I made the first one is just on splitting with an accent wall in general. The second was another individual Braeden Rockcliffe one of my favorites but I think he might have hurt himself cousin upload for 3 years but he's a joy to watch just amazing using TWO 6 lb Husqvarna splitting axes at the same time!!!
Wood warms you five times over before you burn it.
I'm pretty sure you're Thor. That was insane splitting. You're officially my inspiration for getting better at splitting lol
Thanks, I would’ve like to have a video from when I was 35 instead of in my later 50s I know I’ve lost 1/3 of my strength and energy.
@@waynejohnson9855 Wayne wait until you are in your early 70s like me! I was a splittin' fool when in my late 50s! But when I hit 65 my wife let me buy an electric splitter, best thing since factory ice cream! HA HA
@@mikeh8228 you are right I’m not getting better as I get older. I’ve been looking to buy a eastonmade 12-22. Seems the resale is real good so I couldn’t lose a lot.
That woodpecker was going hard!
Good ol Boy right there!
Never seen an ax like that. They were some nice clear rounds, but still, I was impressed. I agree, green busts best. Green and frozen busts better.
I split quite a bit of wood, but you sir, are awesome!
Well pointed and great demonstration 👍
Many moons ago, I had some red oak, big (32” rounds) felled in early fall. split it with a Sears maul no problem. Left it alone over the winter and next summer, would come home from work, spend 45 minutes to an hour with steel wedges splittin one of them! Never again!
Retired old Laborer 😎
yep, I agree with you! Never let red oak dry before splitting. It is so stringy and almost impossible with a maul once dry!
I split everything green because it's in the way until it's split and stacked. I don't let things sit around long enough to dry unless it's stacked and out the way.
I get winded and have to rest doing that anymore.But i'm 70 so i guess i am lucky i can still do it.
Yes my friend....learning to pace yourself is part of learning wisdom!
Same here at 65yr from three (each) motorcycles and car accidents. I have two bad shoulders, back, hip, two rods in left leg, and 57yr in martial arts. Local weather people call me for advice! 🤣
Great job! Fiskers axes are brilliant - I split a lot of oak (about half the size of these rounds) with an X21.
Well you proved them wrong. Great work Sir.
Our technique is very similar my friend..looks like I was watching myself. I also was splitting a white oak but it was a dead standing 2 weeks prior.
this man splits better than a fine tuned Machine! I'm 44 and still cant split that good!
That's funny I split half a dozen white oak rounds just today. And half a dozen two days ago. As long as they don't have big knots I'd rather split oak than a lot of the other stuff I cut like elm. You can tell pretty fast if you're not getting anywhere with a white oak round and then toss it aside for the splitter (or just hide it behind the nearest tree and leave it). If it's not coming apart after 10 swings of the X27 Fiskars it's not worth my time. There's plenty more!
Well, that was impressive! Well done.
Thank you.
Take that, Smart guy.
I notice you split like I do.I'm impressed. Swing that maul like you mean it.
Not a maul, it is a Fiskars splitting axe!
Holy Schnikes! Nice job
good work on those rounds . i don't split much by hand anymore , john
Well done! I learn!
Beautiful tree ,,wood have made some nice flooring
I did get two logs out of it also.
Sir, are the human Thor! You make this look easy!
It was easier when I was in my 30s than now in my late 50s.
Watch this guy slot a few for sheer fascinating entertainment!
Thoren Bradley
th-cam.com/video/aE5evnZaEnQ/w-d-xo.html
I think that engineer forgot about "beast Mode" it didn't come on his calculator....Dang that's faster then I can do with gas powered splitter....
I can split pretty fast I have a video where I do 1/3 of a cord in about 12.5 minutes. I retired this year from a labor intense job and I always told the new guys that I felt bad getting close to 60 that I could only out work two like them instead of 3 like I used to.
@@waynejohnson9855 LMAO, I would not bet against you my friend. Good for you and I'm sure you feel the same way I do, splitting wood is the best exercise and no membership needed
I love Oak its a wonderful Natural res
Resource..beautiful for wood turning and of corse Heating..Very good Technique.of spliting Sir well done.
I don't know why people say that junk about green wood not splitting and have to wait till it dries I always split mine green and yes sir you are absolutely right green is better
Some wood, like cottonwood actually does become a bit easier if you let it dry some and develop some cracks. Not fully dry, just enough to let some of the obnoxious amount of water evaporate. For most others, it's either easier when green (the wood is softer) or it really matters not.
Just today, I cut and split some hard maple that had been cut at least 2 years ago. (in a pile, the logs I cut were off the ground) As well as some fresh, green Silver maple, cut 2-3 weeks ago. Not much difference, really. Some pieces nearly split themselves, others- from the same damn log- my axe just bounced off, and the round laughed at me... (or grabbed the axe like a vice) Same is true for Ash: they either split easy, or they don't- depends on the piece, not the moisture content.
Rounds that sit for 2 years split very nice
Especially when frozen
I’m impressed
Sir, well done. You made one hell of a chore seem like child's play.
Thanks.
I'm always amazed at how well that light Fiskars brand does with wood. I split a lot of wood & have a ton of axes / mauls for various uses / just hobby. I've not given Fiskars a proper chance. Bought 1 of the shorter handled ones & it didn't impress me. But, many great reviews.
Straight grain Oak splits wonderfully. It's when you get to the knots & curves on the tree & various species that it becomes the challenge we aren't always looking for, lol. Still, plenty of methods to work around the knots too. Good hustle
I like the fiskars isocore Maul.
For about three years are there were 13 big huge oak rounds at left on the pasture cuz my friends didn't want to pick them up and put them in the truck to split them...
This was after a heart attack mind you, one day I took a wild hair day forgot Bastille handled welded homemade splitting maul and attack those things.
I did a video thank God because I watch the edge of the mall come at my head directly at me so right away I got a fiskars Maul cheap -fifty bucks on Amazon.
I was already addicted to eating with them all but at least I was doing it safer!
Fiskars is the best axe, hatchet, and maul around without spending $200+
awesome video 👌
Thanks.
Just purchased an x27 today and looking forward to trying it. At 63, the 8 lb maul is a little more challenging than it was when I was young. Btw, I always thought green wood split better. Perhaps the moisture acts as a lubricant and spacer between the wood strands.
th-cam.com/video/aqzqoOEvJHc/w-d-xo.html
Wait for 67 lol
I heat my house with a Ashley Wood burner Stove and I hand split wood for years. Now I use a 30 ton splitter and am grateful my wife loved me enough to buy it for me so I could not have to work so hard. My thoughts on green vs dry. Dry wood has squeezed all the water out and become tighter in the process. Just my thought
@Jonathon Williamson I use a 1930s warm morning coal stove I burn wood.. amazing efficiency
I split some beautiful white oak myself just yesterday. Of course I was dealing with 10” rounds and it was 10 degrees outside, which makes all the difference in the world 😎
The cold is helpful my red oak split like glass in this cold.
That's some good choppin'.
Thanks
I split a lot of 16-22" white oak with two different models of splitting mauls. I like to place the rounds on a stump to do my splitting. Splits easier and you don't dull your maul by hitting dirt and rocks. If no stumps around, I stack one on top of the other. White oak is an awesome firewood and is about all I cut and sell besides hickory. Hickory goes on the hydraulic splitter.
I wish all the red oak was white oak I would have a lot of money in logs.
@@waynejohnson9855 White oak is my number one wood I look for when cutting. My customers prefer it over anything else.
I just switched to a fiscars splitting axe when my Stihl maul broke. I split oak, black walnut, black locust and hickory every weekend.
If it breaks you get a new one by sending your old one back. Shipping is all you pay.
@@waynejohnson9855 como consigo um machado desse?
@@sunseed21 if I understand right you are asking what kind of axe, it is a fiskars
@@waynejohnson9855 Sim. E como eu consigo comprar um?
@@sunseed21 fleet farm stores carry them if you have those stores, otherwise online maybe.
bravo thats how its done
White oak is some tough, stringy stuff. I’ve split a lot of it. Thanks for sharing sir! Those are some big rounds. I have hand split hundreds to thousands of white oak rounds so the man who says you can’t is wrong. But it’s sometimes fun to prove people wrong! I get a lot of that sort of feedback too sometimes haha
I have cut some white that I couldn’t split even small branches but those seem to be ones that stand alone with no other trees around.
@@waynejohnson9855 I split white oak more than anything else by hand in the winter and do it full time. The hardest I have hand split is sycamore. I read that they used to use them as butcher blocks. I can see why!
@@bluegrassoutdoors lot of the white oak I get the main trunk goes to the saw mill. I wish we had more white oak as loading a 8 to 16 foot log on my trailer is so much easier than firewood.
I have white oak here that was just cut and after last year and all the rain there's no way I was even getting the maul to split it. Will try it again in spring after it sits a couple months in rounds
I have come across white oak that just won’t split. Most of those are standing alone. Cold weather is a guy’s friend when splitting also -21 here this morning and still -2 now the wood will split far easier, red oak is like glass in this weather. Good luck. 👍
when we cut down birch we cut it in lengths and let it dry for one week - then we splitt it. Fairly easy. Fresh is much easier then totally dried wood.
Awesome splitting skills! What is the make and model of the ax? I need to get me one!
It is a fiskars x27 I was skeptical about getting one so the guy that sold them let me test one and that’s all it took to buy it.
You’re a beast.
Most people like to talk and pretend to know it all, evidently there are a few of us in the world who just do it instead of contemplating with words.
My chest hurts just watching this guy
I was in pretty good shape for splitting at that time after splitting all winter, I would hate to try that now.
That was not that big of a deal I was thinking it was my other video where I split 1/3 of a cord of red oak in roughly 12 minutes. 😊
@@waynejohnson9855 Dang!! I fell a huge red oak a couple of years ago, and it took my entire family to split that bad boy. I split small for my wood heater so I’m creating a lot of extra work for myself
Whaaat? Is that skill, sharpness if the tool or just the type of wood. That was awesome
Lol that ace isn’t overly sharp and it’s decent splitting wood but red oak is easier. I got a video on my channel were I split 1/3 of a cord in 12 minutes. I was in pretty good shape for splitting at that time.
Nice Work
Thanks.
White oak is a tight wood great for splitting when fresh and no knots that’s why they make whiskey barrels out of it 😉
Impressive.
Unfortunately for me, I can no longer swing a splitting Ax. Fortunately for me, I got a decent deal on a Dual position Splitter.
I’m done hand splitting I found out I have two aneurysms on my aorta so I was advised to quit so I did.
@@waynejohnson9855Yep, I had an 8.8cm aaa repaired last summer. noticed it while splitting wood. Slight pain below my left rib. Placed my hand on the spot ant picked up a second heartbeat(Ballooning)
Wish my white oak would split that easy...in southern Alabama, the water content inside of a white oak is way higher than where ever you're from.....the high humidity and the various underground springs must have a lot to do with it
That was pretty straight grained I cut one in someone’s yard that unreal to split. For us we get the cold weather which makes it easier to split. I split some today it’s 10 degrees which helps the colder the better when splitting.
I'm from Valdosta Georgia.. so what's your point?
@@hawghawg381 that wood that has dried isn’t easier to split than green wood.
Ditto in Missouri!!!
I grew up with dad telling me that green wood splits better. I have always split it when it's green. But, now I hear that dried splits easier. I see that you agree with my dad.
I have made the mistake of letting wood sit and get dried out and it sucks to split. I should make a video better than this because I come across cut off trees that have a few chunks left and the end will be dark and show that being split compared to the next chunk cut off. I’ve done it and a guy that helped me did it and it’s night and day difference. I usually cut a tank of gas through my saw and than split it right away and repeat the process, that way I you get a break from each process.
Greetings from 🇨🇮🇨🇮
If you get yourself a large truck tyre,remove inner walls, and put on solid concrete base,fill with rings,and split away, saves your back no end,nice work,fiskers x27 is king,👍
@@hotpoker4212 I have a method where not much falls and everything I split is in the woods, I cut a tank of gas and split it right away usually that way once it heads home I stack it right out of my dump trailer and use minimal steps so I can stack a 2 cord load in 50 minutes. Greetings to you also.
Damn! You just sliced that thing up like a block of cheese.
I like the rounds to dry out on the ends for a few days or so because you can start to see the natural cracks forming so you know the best places to strike with the X27.
Couple days isn’t bad, I just try to cut a tank and split it right away that way I get a break from each process and don’t end up with 15 cord laying there to split.
@@waynejohnson9855 I also should have mentioned that your strike accuracy is pretty impressive. You make it look easier than it is.
I just tried this in a different way. Had some 10 ft. red oak logs sitting for 5 months, so the ends were dried out. I bucked those end pieces into 13" rounds and tried splitting the end pieces with the X27 on the 5-month dry side, then again on the freshly cut side of the same round. Fresh cut side was way way easier to split and way way easier to pull the axe head out of than the dried side. This even held true if I struck the dried side right in the center of well established deep checking/cracks.
WOW!!!
It is a bit more than being green. When you cut green logs you want to split them right away. Cut for no more than 30 minutes ands start splitting right away before cutting more. Let the rounds sit in the sun for a day and it feels like pounding rocks. If you have a big saw and big rounds often it is faster to rip the round in half with the saw. Once cut or split in half the rest of the splitting is usually much easier. This also works when the wood has a lot of knots. That method also gives you great shavings for fire starter.
I normally cut a tank of gas and than split what I cut instead of cutting 4 tanks of gas and than having to split it all at once. I watch guys using wedges to split and never get that it’s lot easier to use the saw even if it’s not big.
@@waynejohnson9855 There is a lot to learn when processing firewood and if no one teaches you, the learning curve is bigger, longer and more dangerous. I had so see for myself the advantages of splitting right after cutting and that was by watching another cutter.
What I’ve experienced is….”wood” no matter what type, works as a unit against you. Knots, crotches, green , seasoned whatever, it works to hold itself together. The tricks we use are the secret. Looking for cracks, work around knots, putting knots down, cutting through knots, when cutting your rounds ( if you can), cutting through crotches ( if you can). If you prefer green, then do it, if you prefer seasoned, do it. My biggest foe is elm! I hate elm. My trick there is all the above, plus cut it in shorter rounds…..it’s for burning right?
For burning yes but it was sold so 16 inch was what it needed to be cut. I did not fight stuff that doesn’t split quick my saw makes it split far easier. I know use a splitter as I’m not supposed to split by hand anymore but I still split a few here and there.
@@waynejohnson9855 most of mine are trees that fall in storms around the farm, I either give it away to those that need help heating their homes or use it myself! I understand you selling it and using a splitter, but fighting wood with a maul can be made easier. Maybe it’s me being cheap, but I tell people, hey you’re gonna burn it anyway and it’s free!
@@lazysob2328 I was doing 100 full cord from December to April 1st so it’s a lot of splitting and I would still be hand splitting but I have a couple aneurysms so they said to not split by hand anymore. Everything I’ve cut for the last 20 years is cutting behind loggers and the last 12 years has been storm damage in the area. We’ve have 3 major storms in that time. My splitter cost 1100 dollars and is quite fast for what you can buy for that.
@@waynejohnson9855 man you’re a go getter! Better man than I am for sure. Take care of yourself and I understand customers, but they don’t understand how much work goes into firewood!
@@lazysob2328 cutting back now I retired at 57 and going to do the things I missed out on when I was working. Take care.
👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿
Is white oak a good firewood. Got a neighbor that had a tree cut down and wants to get rid of the rounds
Real good firewood.
Just had an Oak tree fall in my backyard, cut it up into little rounds but god damn I can’t get them to split. I’m a young fairly big guy and I know I’m swinging hard enough on it, but they won’t split all the way down. When I do get them split they’re like kinda splintering? Like the fibers stick on either side of the cut when it’s coming apart. None of them just split and fall i have to get through it and then just pull to get those stringy bits apart. Do I need to sharpen the axe? Is there some weird technique or something? They’re maybe like 10-12 inches thick
Oak usually isn't too stringy. Maybe your tree is an Elm or a Locust? Those fight the splitting maul the whole way (Elm the worst). Usually have to get them good and frozen to have a chance splitting them by hand.
@@FatherOfTheParty dude I dont know but I’m in south Texas it really doesn’t get freezing temps much but maybe in the next couple months I’ll get a chance but for now those logs have beat my ass
European Ash splits beautifully with a mattock when green, but after drying out for a few months it becomes the very devil of a job to split and really requires a hydraulic splitter if you have any amount at all to split. I know this from direct experience. I'm surprised to hear that white oak has the opposite reputation.
White oak splits harder also after drying out that was the point of the video, most wood does that I split.
got the flick nice
Reason i don't like to split logs with a axe is? IT GET STUCK INTO THE WOOD it hard to get it out. That caused the axe is not heavy enough That where the 6 lbs maul come into play! ITS GOT WEIGHT. To penetrate and split the log rather than sticking the axe
I’ve used both and find even if it gets stuck now and than it’s way faster with the x27. If I can’t split it with that it’s not likely splitting with the maul. I do have a decent splitter but it’s still not faster than by hand unless it’s really tough splitting.
This guy could rip my arms off with his hands. I just tried to split a fresh sweetgum and all I do is bury the splitting head in the wood and get it stuck.
That’s probably a lot harder to split than the white oak, I’ve run into white oak I can’t split.
Holy bajesus!!! Wow!
where do I get me one of those?
One of what lol? I have another splitting video on my channel you might like.
A man that is a bad-ass.
Take care of yourself!
@@lb14188 well thank you. And you take care also.
Honestly that would be tough to do over here in n.j. our oak is just to juicy
I do agree that all trees even the same species don’t split the same.
I like to split dried wood. It start showing cracks as it dries showing where it is easiest to split.
It may show the crack but the wood I split once it dries it’s far harder to split. Especially if it sits a month or more.
FYI that is a maul. It's not an axe. An axe has a thin profile for chopping and should be sharp.....a maul has the wedge profile for splitting and doesn't need to be sharp to get the job done. Nice splitting.
I know it works well, fiskars calls it a axe so I blame them for me calling it that. 😂
Yeah green wood is easier to split. It's funny how people talk about stuff they have no idea about. I've split 40 inch dia. By 18inch pieces of red oak and white mainly cause its so hard to move intact. And after a few months the ones I haven't gotten to ar 2 to3 times more strikes . Although some types of wood are more stringy and that adds a difficulty to
What I call a honey pole, how's it work on hickory?
I have never split a piece of hickory
I foolishly bought a maul to split wood I'm a small built person and the maul takes a lot of effort to swing. I think I will give the wood splitting axe a try instead.
I have turned 66 and can no longer use my maul for any length of time - spitting axe is the puppy you need...
@@DavidMartin-ym2te I use the fiskars x27 it’s 4.5 pounds, I found I can split pretty anything with that that I can with a maul there might be a few that I could split with the maul that I can’t with the x27 but if they’re that tough I will cut them with the saw.
I got out of breath just watching.
Lol that was in the spring when I had been splitting all winter so I was in pretty good shape for it. When I first start in the fall I think I’m going to die.
I find that if you work from the outside edges instead of splitting of splitting it in half.
You are correct, I have a reason for splitting in half if it’s not real tough to do and that is I don’t split it totally through so than I can split most of it without standing it up again. Working the edges probably would work similar.
Hit harder, dude.
I only swing as hard as I need to. 😊 and if they don’t start splitting in 5 swings I will cut them with the saw.
It’s all in the hips
It’s not for me
Nice man. But my wood is very knotty ......
Yeah some wood can’t be split without a wedge or splitter I have come across trees like that.
I don't see the difference. This guy blasted through these logs like one was butter, and the other was margarine?
Lol I should find one that has been cut off about 6 months and dried than the difference is really noticeable.
Ich nehme einen einfach gedrehten Keil. Und ein 3kg Vorschlaghammer. Die x27 habe ich auch. Nehme ich aber erst danach.👍👍👍🍻🇩🇪
That wouldn`t work with the red oak we have in Wisconsin. Axes, mauls, wedges just bounce off.
I’m in Wisconsin, but there are different areas where red oak splits harder than where I live. I have cut white oak that you can’t split hardly any of it but those usually have stood alone.
I split green and dried oak, maple, and ash having 18" Dia x 14" tall using only a 4 lb ax with no trouble at all. I get a 2-3 hr workout.
White oak splits easy as long as your not in knots. Just make a line and then it splits.
I have white oak that you can’t split the smaller limbs on even, those have usually grown without any trees close by.
What kind of globs are those
Not sure what you mean.
What kind of gloves you are using
@@josepena9980 they are fleece glove made by wells Lamont.
@@waynejohnson9855 thanks 🙏🏽
I definitely bought the wrong axe!
Definitely beats the mauls I used over the years. I hear people say a maul works better for tougher pieces but I have the fiskars maul also and I can split anything with the axe that I can with the maul.
@@waynejohnson9855 what axe are you using in the video? Great work too by the way. Way cool. It takes me about 2 hours to chop that much with a cheap maul.
@@jacobortwine7063 fiskars x27. I got another video where I split red oak which generally splits easier, I split 1/3 of a full cord in about 12 minutes. I should make more videos but I don’t have the patience. I’m the myth buster of firewood videos. 🤣 so basically a pain in the ass.
If you would sharpen the maul up, it would split better! Reason i know its to blunt and dull is? Bouncing off the wood, Not getting penetration Remember! if you get penetration. ITS GOING TO SPLIT
It’s not a maul it’s a axe and it’s pretty sharp it’s almost new.
@@426superbee4 it’s pretty sharp.
@@waynejohnson9855 The principal is the same on a axe or maul. This new stuff i bad about having blunt ends, and need to rebevel them slimmer. It maybe sharp! but not slim enough to penetrate. Every new axe or maul i bought has been way to thick of a bevel. Every one of them i slimmer down the bevel > NOW PENETRATES AND SPLITS > NO MORE bouncing off the wood
That don't mean CAT. If it don't penetrate! It can be razor sharp and not split
@@426superbee4 I’ve run into white oak that it’s hard to split even the smallest rounds that you split.
Woodpecker is trying to give you a run for your money
I think he would beat me.
Ein Tipp von mir
th-cam.com/video/aqzqoOEvJHc/w-d-xo.html
Versuch das einmal.
Oben einschneiden, etwa ein Drittel...und dann in die Schnittstelle schlagen mit der Axt
I can do that on some red oak 42 inches around
Red oak split easier than white oak, and I can split anything with the x27 you will split with a maul. If a maul was better I would be using one.
I aggree.
You can't split green wood, I know I am a smart feller.
I split green wood all the time, I cut a tank full of gas and I split it right away.
None of it was fresh cut for sure
It was likely just some place super cold. Cold climate =drier wood. Splitting in 10° north is childs play compared to splitting here in FL.
With maul is better
lol you didn't prove anything. in the beginning you could have said old people get weaker as they chop wood and you would have "proved" it
Put a video up if you think you’re better. Not as good as I was but probably would beat you yet.
Woodpecker in the background!
I never noticed when I was working.
See folks there's two wheelbarrows full of wood right there