Have you seen this?

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
  • Hope everyone has a wonderful and warm Thanksgiving!
  • Super Cedar firestarters 30% discount Use code Hearth2024 Click here
Status
Not open for further replies.
The first stitch in the emergency room usually runs about a grand.


That stikkan thing (not sure what to call it) doesn't seem so expensive in comparison.
 
  • Like
Reactions: TreePointer
The first stitch in the emergency room usually runs about a grand.


That stikkan thing (not sure what to call it) doesn't seem so expensive in comparison.

Never saw a price?
What's total price $$ &
how much shipping charges $$


Great kindling maker, :
HD & Lowes. In store pick up, no shipping .
[Hearth.com] Have you seen this?
 
buy that for my wife and I would be sleeping in the wood shed
 
That would be a great Bottle / Coffee can / Burglar opener too !

Pete
 
Never saw a price?

It was like $269.00 I think !!! Edit: $275.00

Needed to split n stack some today, so made a bunch of kindling with the splitter,does go pretty fast , and works out real good with the wide winges I put on it , a couple of old table saw extension wings I had laying around :)
 
Kindling for what?

I make fires by putting logs in the stove, little piece of a firestarter (strike-a-fire) and that's it. Use good dry wood, don't need to mess with anything else.
 
Kindling for what?

I make fires by putting logs in the stove, little piece of a firestarter (strike-a-fire) and that's it. Use good dry wood, don't need to mess with anything else.
Post#24
I started using kindling to start a fire cuz I can get the 8 cu ft Fire Box hot a lot quicker in the morning
 
Whatever works I suppose.

The stove my folks had was something around 40 cu ft and we generally didn't use kindeling.
 
Let me save you all some trouble re the Stikkan wood splitter. I got a great deal at Plow and Hearth and caved and ordered the thing, as I'm a fairly small though strong woman and I hate splitting wood. Here's the review I wrote (not published so far!) for P&H:

"Well, while this is an interesting concept, I would by no means characterize the process as "effortless," and I'm sad to say I bear no resemblance to those winsome Scandinavian lasses who seem to be able to slice through their woodpile like butter. While I have managed over the course of an afternoon to amass an untidy half pile of kindling out of nine potential logs, 90% of my efforts have been met with frustration. First and foremost, the blade frequently REFUSES to penetrate the top surface of the log more than a quarter of an inch, no matter what angle, level or configuration I attempt, or how much pressure I apply. Maybe my logs are too hard, but I have a good selection of different woods, all well seasoned, and none seem particularly amenable to that blade. When a piece does split off, a knot or curve in the grain will instantly abort the cut, leaving one to extricate the half split section from the blade. I hated using my former "gimmick," a manual log splitter tool with a long handle down which you slammed a heavy sleeve, but it worked a hell of a lot better on the same woods than this thing does. I may have to go back to it. :-(

I am gong to persevere, though, and try to figure this thing out, and have my husband make a video of my efforts, which I will put up on YouTube alongside the official Stikkan commercial, for comic relief if nothing else. Caveat emptor. "

Guess I just need to bribe my adult son to return to the nest. ;)
 
......while I have managed over the course of an afternoon to amass an untidy half pile of kindling out of nine potential logs, 90% of my efforts have been met with frustration. First and foremost, the blade frequently REFUSES to penetrate the top surface of the log more than a quarter of an inch, no matter what angle, level or configuration I attempt, or how much pressure I apply. Maybe my logs are too hard, but I have a good selection of different woods, all well seasoned, and none seem particularly amenable to that blade. When a piece does split off, a knot or curve in the grain will instantly abort the cut, leaving one to extricate the half split section from the blade..... ;)
This ^^^ is mostly what I would suspect from that product from watching the "Sales video".

Welcome to Hearth.com:)
 
A draw knife or other similar means makes a butt load of kindling fast. I can darn near make a year or more worth of kindling out of 1 split. I also use splitter waste
 
Fiskars X25 is my kindling maker.

To make kindling, you shouldn't really swing at the wood with an axe. You should set the axe on/just in the wood split, pick the wood up (and the axe with it resting on top while holding onto the axe handle), and let both drop to the floor. Wood stops but axe keeps moving. Pretty hard to injure yourself that way.
 
After processing any decent amount of firewood, should give plenty of kindling on the ground afterwards.
Between that and burning 24/7, not much need for kindling cept in the shoulders. In the few time I do split kindling, a hatchet works just fine. Same welding gloves used for loading, work well for splitting kindling also.
 
  • Like
Reactions: D8Chumley
I usually do the pull hand away and swing the hatchet thing. (whatever you do, don't mix up the order) When things get hairy I will use a piece of kindling I just chopped to hold the piece in place that I'm about to split.
 
Mallet & Froe ... need to get me one!
http://kk.org/cooltools/archives/583
https://www.lehmans.com/p-686-lehmans-own-old-fashioned-froe.aspx
I've only seen this in use once, in combination with a mallet much like the one shown in the Lehman's link. A friend gave it to his wife, who is shall we say, coordination challenged and not comfortable with axes and hatchets.

Lehman's shows as out of stock. Amazon has one by Peavey for $60 and one by Gransfors for a lot more (of course).

I usually use an Eastwing hatchet for kindlin', but I NEVER hold the piece w/ my other hand. EVER. I put on top of my splitting stump (round, really, but I refer to it as a stump) leanin' on old split that stays on the stump just for that reason. If the piece won't stand up, I try to split it layin' down. I should try usin' a mallet on the hatchet. I don't have a wooden mallet, but a heavy rubber mallet should do the trick. Not as well as a froe, but less $$.

I would think that the Stikkan, or a froe, or any similar method would be much more successful with straight grained wood. Most ash and some pine basically split if you look at them sideways. Things like elm, eukie, and live oak - furgetaboutit!
 
Last edited:
I just use a big knife. I find it easier and safer than a hatchet. No swinging! Just take a smallish piece on a chopping block, set the knife on it, and tap the top of the knife with a small limb piece to drive it through. Your hand is on the handle, no swinging blade, you'd be hard pressed to hurt yourself and its super easy. Done.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.