# Fiskars X27



## ironguy (Feb 15, 2013)

Hi Everyone,

I just received a Fiskars X27 from Amazon and took it out yesterday to try it out. I'm curious, what kind of edge retention is typical on these axes? The edge on mine is beat up a bit more than I thought it would be for no more work that I did with it. Most of the splits were done with the log to be split resting on a stump. Only a handful of pieces were challenging. I happened to look at the edge after maybe just 3 or 4 pieces, and already I could see it was starting to look a little nibbled. I'm sure I can stone the edge back into shape, but is that kind of wear normal for these axes? I can't decide if this is par for the course or if I got an axe that's maybe a little soft. I'm sure the heat treatment on these axe heads is completely automated and dialed in. Makes me wonder if the cutting edge initially suffers from a touch of decarburization; I wonder if it improves once it's been sharpened a few times and that outermost layer of steel is removed. Thanks for any thoughts.


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## Researcher1 (Feb 15, 2013)

Mine is chewed up a little bit but doesn't seem to be affecting it at all.  I have had mine since jan 2012 and have used it a lot.


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## Mr A (Feb 15, 2013)

I read some of the reviews on Amazon. Some recommend buying the sharpener and touching up the edge out of the box. I did this and it split better.


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## ironguy (Feb 15, 2013)

Thanks for the replies. I expected it would get dinged up a little; I just didn't expect it so quickly. It gave me pause, I guess. But it does do a very nice job splitting the wood. It's a far cry from the axe I was using. It wasn't a splitting axe, so the work was twice as hard. At least.


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## Paulywalnut (Feb 15, 2013)

I too got the sharpener and it does touch it up nice.
You can really get it very sharp. I ran my leather glove
down it and it cut it open like paper. Missed my finger.


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## bboulier (Feb 15, 2013)

The Fiskar's axes do get a little beat up, but sharpen up fine.  Highly recommend the sharpener.  Easy to use and does a good job.


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## ironguy (Feb 18, 2013)

Thanks for your thoughts guys. I think this axe is a very nice tool. I'm not going to worry about the little dings in the edge. It sharpens up pretty well, and it sure does a nice job splitting wood.


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## colin.p (Feb 18, 2013)

Maybe I'm not holding my tongue right, but after 2 years and the better part of a cord of various kinds of wood, I have yet to put even the hint of a nick in it. I did, however, buy the sharpener, but I really don't think it puts any magic edge on it. Maybe it does?


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## ironguy (Feb 18, 2013)

Wow. No kidding. I've chopped a couple of cords already, and the edge is plenty nicked.


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## Scols (Feb 18, 2013)

The edges do get nicked with minimal splitting. As far as sharpeners, I prefer the accusharp to the fiskars sharpener. I think the accusharp gives a much better edge and when the little stones inside the sharpener wear down you can either turn them around or replace them.


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## new_wood (Feb 18, 2013)

Scols said:


> The edges do get nicked with minimal splitting. As far as sharpeners, I prefer the accusharp to the fiskars sharpener. I think the accusharp gives a much better edge and when the little stones inside the sharpener wear down you can either turn them around or replace them.


Scols, do you happen to remember where you purchased the accusharp? Thanks.


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## Jerry_NJ (Feb 18, 2013)

I've split about 1/4 cord of White Pine, green and wet, and sappy -  I hit the ground at least a couple of times and on examination I could see a couple of dings in the edge.  A few passes on a stone and it looks fine. I think it is a great splitting axe and while Pine is "soft" it isn't particularly easy to split.


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## Mr A (Feb 19, 2013)

Some of the Amazon reviews mention the axe being made of "soft" metal, similar to chef knives. What does "soft" metal mean? The axe is light weight, so a sharp  edge, and it's balance enable it to split better than a heavier maul. I'm guessing "soft" metal is a forging process that is easily sharpened?


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## mtneer (Feb 19, 2013)

The edge on mine was pretty weak at first. It would get dings in it just hitting a round the wrong way. Give it a few sharpenings and it will be solid (as long as you don't hit concrete).  I haven't had to touch mine up in 4+ cords of splitting.


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## ironguy (Feb 19, 2013)

I've got the Fiskars sharpener on order. Thus far I've been using a couple of slipstones that I use to sharpen carving tools. They work fine, but I think the sharpener will be more convenient.

What those people mean by soft is that the edge deforms, or rolls, as opposed to chipping, which happens if it's been left too hard and is brittle.

mtneer----I kind of suspected just what you say. I had no idea how much grinding was done after heat treatment, but the way the edge got damaged so easily, it made me wonder if there wasn't a layer of decarburized steel there that would get removed in a few sharpenings.


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## Scols (Feb 19, 2013)

new_wood said:


> Scols, do you happen to remember where you purchased the accusharp? Thanks.


 Most hardware stores and bait and tackle shops carry them. Im sure amazon has them too. I use the one with the blue handle.


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## Jerry_NJ (Feb 19, 2013)

I use, not often, a two sided (course and medium I think) puck shaped stone. 

Interesting discussion on metallurgy (whatever that is)... I like the idea that the factory shipped edge is not the fully hardened heat treated due to the thinness of that small area (different temperature?) during heat treatment.  Maybe I misunderstand : (   I like the idea that the edge gets stronger with sharpening. : )


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## Thistle (Feb 19, 2013)

I use either 220 grit diamond stone,followed by washita or soft arkansas soaked in water for a few strokes.Wear heavy leather glove & pay close attention while doing this.I got a minor 'bite' a few months back,first time wasnt wearing gloves & had a small cut on finger that took a couple days to close up.Could've been much worse,that edge is like a razor!


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## Jerry_NJ (Feb 19, 2013)

Thistle said:


> I use either 220 grit diamond stone,followed by washita or soft arkansas soaked in water for a few strokes.Wear heavy leather glove & pay close attention while doing this.I got a minor 'bite' a few months back,first time wasnt wearing gloves & had a small cut on finger that took a couple days to close up.Could've been much worse,that edge is like a razor!


Stop it you are scaring me, oh, yes, that's the value of telling us.

I worry more about a miss that comes around to my feet/legs.  I have the X27 and am tall and mostly chop on a block/large round, and keep my feet apart - and I don't sharpen my axe to razor sharp, still works well and is still is a scary weapon/tool.


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## tbuff (Feb 19, 2013)

Believe it or not, I find my little X7(kindling ax) more intimidating then my X25! Maybe cause I'm doing more tedious chopping or maybe because its easy to forget that a small, lightweight ax can do some serious damage to a misplaced finger..


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## ironguy (Feb 19, 2013)

I find hatchets a little unnerving. It's so easy to get it back into your legs or feet; or to lose your grip. I don't have any problems at all with an axe. I'm 6'1". A 36" handle is a good fit for me. I swing it a lot like I would a sledgehammer, as if I want to drive something straight down. I never have a problem with it wanting to rotate around into my feet or legs. I split everything on a stump.

BTW, full disclosure, I'm no metallurgist. I'm just a metalworker who knows some stuff about the materials he works with. My main concern with this axe was just to see what other people's experiences with it were like. Its edge was far more fragile initially than I'd expected it to be. There's a lot me you'd have to know, to know for sure why that is. Like I don't have any idea what tool steel the head is made of.


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## bboulier (Feb 19, 2013)

tbuff said:


> Believe it or not, I find my little X7(kindling ax) more intimidating then my X25! Maybe cause I'm doing more tedious chopping or maybe because its easy to forget that a small, lightweight ax can do some serious damage to a misplaced finger..


 
I am not sold on the X7.  It is nice for some tasks (e.g. chopping branches), but I don't think it is a good splitting axe for kindling.  It is too "slippery".  The axe doesn't stick in a preliminary cut.  It slides out.  I find choking up on the X25 (my favorite  axe) or the X27 works much better.


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## Mr A (Feb 20, 2013)

Lifetime warranty is good, if the company is still in business. Looking at this tool, there would be no way to replace the handle if it ever broke.


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## NW Walker (Feb 20, 2013)

I do find them a bit soft, but it also translates to easy to sharpen for me.  I prefer the x25 for general duty, and only use the x27 for knocking the big rounds apart.  I most often use the technique of flopping the axe on it's side on impact, so it's important to me that it is sharp.  I think that technique is harder on the edge as well.  Still, they are by far my favorite tools for splitting.  I'll never go back to a heavy maul.


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## ArsenalDon (Feb 21, 2013)

Like any other edge on any cutting tool, a quick run on the grinder and it is good as new. Holds an edge amazingly well for me, a nick or two is expected now and then. just grind it out


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## ArsenalDon (Feb 21, 2013)

NW Walker said:


> I'll never go back to a heavy maul.


nor will I


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## Trooper (May 21, 2013)

Jerry_NJ said:


> I've split about 1/4 cord of White Pine, green and wet, and sappy - I hit the ground at least a couple of times and on examination I could see a couple of dings in the edge. A few passes on a stone and it looks fine. I think it is a great splitting axe and while Pine is "soft" it isn't particularly easy to split.


 
Hi folks.  I picked up an X27 after all of the rave reviews and I am generally very happy with it.  It split the hardwoods quite easily, and also the smaller pine rounds that I have.  A couple comments/questions:

Like Jerry_NJ, I have a number of large wet, sappy, knotty pine rounds that gave the axe trouble.  By 'wet' I mean there was water coming from the round after being struck with the axe. I ended up using a sledgehammer and a wood grenade to split, then the axe worked fine, unless it came across a knot.  Is this normal?  Should I just wait until the rounds dry a little and re-attempt?
After about an hour or so of splitting I noticed a chip in the blade, about half-way up.  Is this to be expected?  I had the rounds on the ground, so I guess the axe could have hit a rock.  Would this be covered under warranty?
Thanks,
Trooper


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## Jerry_NJ (May 21, 2013)

Trooper, I have continued to split pine that has been cut to rounds and sitting on the ground since last October (Storm Sandy), and I think it is a little less sappy, nicer to handle, but still pine.  I also find the grenade helpful in breaking off a edge on a larger round, say over 12".  Always split from the outside in, don't try to split down the middle - unless the round is smaller, say 10" or smaller, then the Feskar will handle too.

I don't see your situation under warranty Just sharpen the edge and use a chopping block, use one of your larger rounds as a chopping table, that will limit contact with the ground.


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## Trooper (May 21, 2013)

Jerry_NJ said:


> Trooper, I have continued to split pine that has been cut to rounds and sitting on the ground since last October (Storm Sandy), and I think it is a little less sappy, nicer to handle, but still pine. I also find the grenade helpful in breaking off a edge on a larger round, say over 12". Always split from the outside in, don't try to split down the middle - unless the round is smaller, say 10" or smaller, then the Feskar will handle too.
> 
> I don't see your situation under warranty Just sharpen the edge and use a chopping block, use one of your larger rounds as a chopping table, that will limit contact with the ground.


 
Thanks Jerry.  Our soil here is more like rock with some dirt thrown in...because of that I should be more mindful of striking the ground.  I also find a tire helpful as well.


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## mnowaczyk (Nov 20, 2015)

My wife bought me an x27.  I love it.  A tree was cut down in my front yard and I had to post on craigslist to get folks with chainsaws to come chop up the bigger stuff an take it away.  The guy who came knew his stuff and told me to get the fiskars sharpener.  I finally ordered one for $10 off ebay, and when it came, the plastic hits the wider end of the axe before the sharpening wheels seem to have any significant effect. I wonder if I got the wrong fiskars axe sharpener.   

7861 1 AXE SHARPENER

BARCODE 46561 17861


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## KenLockett (Nov 21, 2015)

mnowaczyk said:


> My wife bought me an x27.  I love it.  A tree was cut down in my front yard and I had to post on craigslist to get folks with chainsaws to come chop up the bigger stuff an take it away.  The guy who came knew his stuff and told me to get the fiskars sharpener.  I finally ordered one for $10 off ebay, and when it came, the plastic hits the wider end of the axe before the sharpening wheels seem to have any significant effect. I wonder if I got the wrong fiskars axe sharpener.
> 
> 7861 1 AXE SHARPENER
> 
> BARCODE 46561 17861


I too thought that but you just have to carefully align.  Honestly I am not that impressed with it after a few years of use.  Find myself just using a hand file for a much quicker and finer sharpening/removal of nicks.  Just my 2 cents worth.  Good luck.


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## mnowaczyk (Nov 21, 2015)

KenLockett said:


> I too thought that but you just have to carefully align.  Honestly I am not that impressed with it after a few years of use.  Find myself just using a hand file for a much quicker and finer sharpening/removal of nicks.  Just my 2 cents worth.  Good luck.




Thanks!  This is probably good for kitchen knives, but the grinder wheel has worked fine for everything else.  I was expecting something special for the x27, but hey... It's just an ax, not exactly some precision too.  The benefits of this thing are the handle and weight distribution, not some rocket science in the cutting edge.  Right?


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## KenLockett (Nov 22, 2015)

mnowaczyk said:


> Thanks!  This is probably good for kitchen knives, but the grinder wheel has worked fine for everything else.  I was expecting something special for the x27, but hey... It's just an ax, not exactly some precision too.  The benefits of this thing are the handle and weight distribution, not some rocket science in the cutting edge.  Right?


That is right.  All about the balance for me.


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## Hasufel (Nov 22, 2015)

I found a couple of nicks in my X27 after the first half cord or so. Mostly I split on a block but maybe I accidentally hit the ground with it a time or two. I'm being extra careful now and haven't noticed any new dings. It certainly does great work, although there are still some things that it won't go through easily. I have some hickory with a really dense core that the X27 bounced off of a few times, even when sharpened. But it makes short work of oak and maple!


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## rowerwet (Nov 22, 2015)

I've had an X-27 for three years now. The blade is nicked and not straight, I use the fiskars sharpener to keep it sharp.
It still gives just as many one hit splits as it did new IMO.
For stringy stuff or big rounds I drag out the sledge and the wood grenade.


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## rowerwet (Nov 22, 2015)

Or did until I bought a hydro splitter...


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## mnowaczyk (Nov 23, 2015)

rowerwet said:


> I've had an X-27 for three years now. The blade is nicked and not straight, I use the fiskars sharpener to keep it sharp.



Do you know if it is the same sharpener I have and the same part number?  

I wonder if I bought the wrong thing.  It's not the end of the world, but I can't understand why something that doesn't seem to work at all would come so highly recommended (from a few people).


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## rowerwet (Nov 23, 2015)

I'm not sure, I got it the same time as the X27 off Amazon, it was what they recommended together.
Fiskars makes plenty of different blades and probably different sharpeners.


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## rowerwet (Nov 23, 2015)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0000...=x27&dpPl=1&dpID=31cbCoMkhVL&ref=plSrchplSrch this is the recommended sharpener


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## Ralphie Boy (Nov 23, 2015)

Its a splitting tool, ya ain't gotta be able to shave wit it. Mine is 2 years and 5 cord old; the edge is dinged stupid and it splits about as well as the day it was delivered. Don't sharpen my wedges either. Did try to sharpen my 10 pound sledge once, but that didn't work so well for me!


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## mnowaczyk (Nov 23, 2015)

Ralphie Boy said:


> Its a splitting tool, ya ain't gotta be able to shave wit it. Mine is 2 years and 5 cord old; the edge is dinged stupid and it splits about as well as the day it was delivered. Don't sharpen my wedges either. Did try to sharpen my 10 pound sledge once, but that didn't work so well for me!



That's a good point.  I'm not real experienced with splitting.  I've probably split less than 10 cords in my life.  I used my brother's Home Depot-plastic-handle maul, and then this x27 my wife gave me.  I have a splitting wedge I found in our house, but never used it.  I've generally had enough wood to split that I can just toss a knotty piece back in the pile if I can't break it down small enough.

I sharpened my brother's maul on my grinder wheel once or twice, but I've not sure it's made any difference popping splits.  It was really the comment by the craigslist guy that made me think I should buy the x27 sharpener.  

Since the edge is pretty dinged up, I figure it's probably time to sharpen the x27.

The weight and handle on the x27 seem to be the great features.  The handle is nice so it doesn't slip out of your hands.  I love that handle-end.  

I think I would always swing the maul over my shoulder, and that's how I was swinging the x27, right handed.  Now I've discovered that I can go directly overhead and get a more symmetrical swing with the x27 without feat of losing the axe/maul.  I have not tried the technique with the maul, but I think I would feel much less safe doing that with it.  The x27 doesn't require I grip it as tightly, definitely causing less fatigue.  

Anyway, I won't worry about my sharpener.  In fact, I've split most of my wood for the year.  I need some seasoned stuff (other than 2x4s and scrap) for this winter.


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## TheAardvark (Nov 24, 2015)

Ive had my x27 for a year now. Split about 2.5 cord with it(mostly red oak and maple). Yes it gets some dings, but its nothing a few swipes with a file wont fix. If I would have been using a wood handle maul I would have broken it a few times on overstrikes by now. The x27 just hasnt broken. Im happy with it.


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## warno (Nov 25, 2015)

I used my fiskars x27 for the first time this morning. pretty happy with it considering I have never split wood by axe before. I only did a few small rounds to test it out. I had some poplar and some hedge to split. It mowed right through the poplar round 1 hit. I decided that splitting hedge is more of a hydraulic sport. It took about 3 hard hits to get a crack to start. Then about 3 more to get it to bust. I gave up on one round all together. 

But all in all it'd say its not a bad tool to have.


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## AmbDrvr253 (Nov 27, 2015)

Hedge is tough stuff. Even the mighty fiskars will struggle with certain woods. Elm, hedge, and any twisted grain or crotches need hydraulics.


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## CentralVAWoodHeat (Nov 29, 2015)

Any splitting blade that makes contact with dirt, rock, metal, or non-wood medium will nick, chip, or dent.  I have many, many axes, mauls, etc.  They number literally near one hundred.  Some are mine and some are passed down from my father and grandfathers/great grandfathers.  They span everywhere from modern, to over 100 years old.  All of them will nick on repeated non-wood contact.  I notice no greater chance of damaging the blade during normal use on the particular axe you mentioned.  However, I find their particular sharpener, while inexpensive, to be unnecessary.  Your typical single mill file, dual grip sharpening stone, and honing stone will do the trick nicely.


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## Espartaco (Dec 12, 2015)

Just got my x27 today, glad I got it over the x25, like the extra handle length. Only issue is I am already going to possibly get stitches in my foot. Decided to come up for a smaller piece, lesson learned! The x27 went through the wood like a hot knife thru butter.  Great tool!


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