Fiskars Super Splitter REVIEW

[CJRages]

Purchased off of Amazon last week. Received yesterday. Used after work last night (some in the dark with a head lamp lol) and some this morning.

This tool has easily met my expectations so far. Please note: my expectations were rather high after reading all the posts here and reviews on Amazon.

My first thoughts when I began using the tool:
Wow! It really works!
The handle is super lightweight.
This is a blast!
I better watch my shins ;-)

So here is a list of what I've split so far:
GREEN wood (bulldozed over 2 months ago - bucked 3 weeks ago):
Lengths varied between 12" and 20"

Red and white Oak - 4-6" rounds
Hickory - 4-6" rounds
Mulberry - 4-12" rounds
Hackberry - 4-18" rounds
Elm -4-8" rounds - some pieces could not be split with the Fiskars - others did eventually. You know - stringy, nasty elm. ;-P

Seasoned wood:
Elm - 4-8" rounds
Mulberry 4-12" rounds
Red oak 4-6" rounds

As you can tell I have not split anything very LARGE yet. The Fiskars busts through green stuff, and it really tears up the more seasoned rounds.
The ground here is completely thawed out now, so some of my energy went into sinking the rounds a few inches into the soft earth before splitting. Oh and when I missed short - the Fiskars head would disappear into the dirt. Oops! I haven't hit too many rocks yet thankfully.

This is a precision tool. I have not yet masted the technique. I often over apply or under apply force. My aim isn't that great. I'm still used to swinging heavier mauls.
Great efficiency could be obtained though. It doesn't wear me out. It is a perfect balance of work and enjoyment. The shorter handle is different, but really a non-issue.

Overall a highly efficient product. Well worth the $40. (sorry no pics yet)

 

[jlbjr]

Just wanted to chime in. I recently started splitting wood in hopes to have a stove set up for next year. I borrowed a fiskars like yours and a monster maul to figure out what I wanted. I split about a cord with each, everything from 6" to about 24". Over all the fiskars super splitter has it hands down IMO. Its a big improvement to the old school 8# mauls I used when I was in my teens. Im curious how amazon did with your order. Thats where I was thinking about getting mine.

 

[DanCorcoran]

I ordered the Fiskars Pro Splitter (28 inch, 2 1/2 lb head, $41.58) from Amazon two weeks ago and it arrived very quickly. I ordered January 12 and it arrived January 14, with free shipping! The sharpener was shipped separately and arrived on the 16th.

 

[jlbjr]

Thanks Dan, I'm ordering a Fiskars supersplit from amazon tomorrow. Silly little tool, but I'm exited!

 

[kestrel]

I got mine today and took it out to the pile of rounds. Its an excellent splitting tool! Went through a few big, twisted hickory rounds that I had set aside because I couldn't split them with my maul. Really unbeleivable that such a tool could be so far superior to the stuff in the hardware stores around here. You would think that there was nothing new in the world of axes. It's not exactly a recent invention.

I got mine off ebay. (I think it was Denny and Cathy's). It came out to $40 with shipping and arrived in about 5 days.

The only drawback - I have to seriously watch myself to avoid ending up in the emergency room. The thing is sharp. My old maul was dull and when I occasionally hit myself in the shins I'd just leave a bruise. This thing would tear me open. I'll have to wear a set of chain-mail pants.

 

[CJRages]

The only drawback - I have to seriously watch myself to avoid ending up in the emergency room. The thing is sharp. My old maul was dull and when I occasionally hit myself in the shins I'd just leave a bruise. This thing would tear me open. I'll have to wear a set of chain-mail pants.

You are correct about the sharpness of the SS. It would be super destructive to land a blow to your lower extremities. The sharpness factor is a major component of this well designed product. I do not think a dull Fiskars would work well or correctly. It reminds me of the saying we have all heard in respect to knives: "dull knives are more dangerous than sharp knives." I'm not 100% sure if this holds true for splitting axes. Makes one think...

 

[karri0n]

The only drawback - I have to seriously watch myself to avoid ending up in the emergency room. The thing is sharp. My old maul was dull and when I occasionally hit myself in the shins I'd just leave a bruise. This thing would tear me open. I'll have to wear a set of chain-mail pants.

You are correct about the sharpness of the SS. It would be super destructive to land a blow to your lower extremities. The sharpness factor is a major component of this well designed product. I do not think a dull Fiskars would work well or correctly. It reminds me of the saying we have all heard in respect to knives: "dull knives are more dangerous than sharp knives." I'm not 100% sure if this holds true for splitting axes. Makes one think...

I've had mine for over a year and have never sharpened it - seems to bust things up just as good as ever, though with more efficiency as my precision and technique have improved. I'd say just due to the taper, it's probably still sharper than a regular splitting maul, though. I think the geometry of the very unique taper on this tool is more important than a truly keen edge.

 

[DanCorcoran]

Because Fiskars sells a sharpener made for splitters and axes, I bought one at the same time as I bought the Pro Splitter. Before I used the splitter, I sharpened it. Made a huge difference in the sharpness, compared to the way it was shipped from Fiskars. (As someone else said on this forum, you can shave the hairs on your arm with it).

 

[Pagey]

Another happy Fiskars user. Love mine. A+. 5 stars. Would split again. :lol:

 

[WoodPorn]

I ordered mine last Wednesday from Deny & Kathy's... have not received yet, starting to get worried!

 

[chad3]

I have ended up using it with a short straight up pull with a hard downward swing. Can't swing it like a standard maul and don't just lift and sit like I do with the monster maul. Different creature but works very well.
You'll be happy I'm sure in the long run.

 

[Jeff S]

I ordered mine last Wednesday from Deny & Kathy's... have not received yet, starting to get worried!

I've bought 3 of these splitting axes from Denny and Kathy's,1 for me and 2 for others.These are good people to deal with ,they are probably just a little back logged from all the Hearth.com members putting in their orders.

 

[Skier76]

Another happy Fiskars user. Love mine. A+. 5 stars. Would split again. :lol:

LOL! Some great E-Bay esque feedback!

 

[karri0n]

I have ended up using it with a short straight up pull with a hard downward swing. Can't swing it like a standard maul and don't just lift and sit like I do with the monster maul. Different creature but works very well.
You'll be happy I'm sure in the long run.

Sounds like you might be expending some extra energy with the "hard downward swing". Everyone is comfortable with a slightly different lifting method. I tend to lift it to the side, then up and over, like lifting for the backswing on a golf club, then lifting the rest over my head. I give it a slight push downward, then give it some juice with a wrist snap at the end of the swing. I've noticed I get a harder, more accurate hit like this, with less fatigue, than when I was using my arms/shoulders to give it the juice at the beginning of the swing.

The main advantage of this tool is the accuracy and precision. I can make my splits just about any shape and size that I want, which I'd never be able to do with a much heavier tool.

 

[Danno77]

Will a fiskars improve my current setup? (some of you may remember this picture from last year, but I just re-stumbled upon it and it still cracks me up. guess I'm my own biggest fan)

 

[CJRages]

LOL

Instead of a house on the far left how about some huge boulder/mountain. Your house may be damaged by to much high power Fiskars splitting action.

 

[Danno77]

LOL

Instead of a house on the far left how about some huge boulder/mountain. Your house may be damaged by to much high power Fiskars splitting action.

no, i bet that with a Fiskars it requires much less work than we ever thought. I think this is the proper Fiskars method:

 

[quads]

LOL

Instead of a house on the far left how about some huge boulder/mountain. Your house may be damaged by to much high power Fiskars splitting action.

no, i bet that with a Fiskars it requires much less work than we ever thought. I think this is the proper Fiskars method:

:lol:

 

[WoodPorn]

LOL

Instead of a house on the far left how about some huge boulder/mountain. Your house may be damaged by to much high power Fiskars splitting action.

no, i bet that with a Fiskars it requires much less work than we ever thought. I think this is the proper Fiskars method:

--Way too much time on your hands! ;-)

 

[Stlshrk]

Awesome! :lol:

 

[jlbjr]

finally, my fiskars supersplit arived today. A splittin I will go

 

[golfandwoodnut]

I got mine today and gave it a try. It did work well, I was mainly splitting maple that splits pretty easy but it was good. I think now with my Monster Maul and Fiskars I can split about anything. I kind of feel like I am cheating on my MM when I am using it.

 

[jlbjr]

Wow, thats a lot of love for a maul. Dont worry, your MM will be there forever. Their indestructable. I'm the third pair of hands on my MM, its got to be 30 years old. I'm finding that the fiskars and a monster are a winning combo (for MY budget that is).

 

[trumpeterb]

I just received my fiskars super splitter the other day as well, and despite the 10 degree weather we have been having, I had to go out to the pile of rounds in my back yard and give it a try. It went through the cherry rounds very well. I split one round before my hands were numb...I had forgotten my gloves. I leaned the fiskars against the pile and went inside to get my gloves. To my ashtonishment, when I returned several minutes later, I noticed that the rest of the rounds were split and neatly stacked in my wood racks! The fiskars was leaning against the pile with a nice smile on it's face. Wow does this thing work

Seriously though, it did go through the cherry without any problems. I can't wait to use it in warmer weather.

 

[Gunks]

Got my super splitter before Christmas. Finally get to use it. A lot lighter (4 1/2 lbs) than my old maul (8 1/2) and works just as good.