Fiskars X27

[ArsenalDon]

I'll never go back to a heavy maul.

nor will I

 

[Trooper]

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:

1. 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?
2. 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

 

[Jerry_NJ]

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.

 

[Trooper]

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.

 

[mnowaczyk]

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

 

[KenLockett]

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.

 

[mnowaczyk]

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?

 

[KenLockett]

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.

 

[Hasufel]

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!

 

[rowerwet]

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.

 

[rowerwet]

Or did until I bought a hydro splitter...

 

[mnowaczyk]

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).

 

[rowerwet]

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.

 

[rowerwet]

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

 

[Ralphie Boy]

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!

 

[mnowaczyk]

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.

 

[TheAardvark]

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.

 

[warno]

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.

 

[AmbDrvr253]

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

 

[CentralVAWoodHeat]

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.

 

[Espartaco]

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!