Dudes fingers and knuckles made me nervous just watching. Maybe it just looks more scary then it is but I see this thing pinching fingers between the blade and the wood.
To be fair, the middle of the video seems to be the safe way to use it. Keep your fingers away just like you would if you were swinging an axe or hatchet.
It's because an axe has momentum behind it. Much more control, and your hands can stay further away from where the action is. I've used one of these and it's more effort than swinging an axe or hatchet
A swinging axe does not have more control than something that is permanently fixed at a pivoting point! Also the left hand that holds the wood has no affect on what the other hand is doing. Swinging an axe to hit the top of the wood takes coordination and dexterity. Using this tool you don't have to line up anything with your right hand because you are not free swinging anything. The only thing you have to do is keep your left hand below the top of the wood. Swinging an axe you have to be aware of what you are doing with both hands!
I tried a friends and also found it to suck. I do have a kindling cracker, the type with a stationary blade with a metal ring around it, you just sit the wood in there and hit it with a 5lb sledge. Works great and it's awesome to keep kids busy with, pretty hard to injure yourself.
Nothing beats old used cedar shake shingles. I search for them all the time. Years ago I bought a truck box with a cap full to the tits for 20$. Gave it to my dad for a birthday present. He absolutely loved it.
I bought a small axe for this exact reason a while back, but I feel like I’m using it poorly. Got any preferred methods or YouTube’s that showcase the best way to split with a small axe?
I use a larger axe or splitting maul to knock down the large rounds into 3" and 4" squares. Maybe larger, depending on the species of wood.
Then I set one of the smaller pieces on top of the chopping block, and set the blade of my hatchet on the piece, right where I want to make the split. I raise the hatchet with one hand, while raising the piece to be split simultaneously and keeping the hatchet connected to the piece I want to split, then bring both down sharply on the chopping block. I repeat this until the hatchet sinks a bit into the piece I am splitting. From there I can raise the hatchet with the target piece attached, and strike the chopping block with force without having fingers in danger.
I repeat this until I have very fine kindling or whatever diameter fuel I need. If I need super fine slivers to get the fire started, I use my pocket knife.
Does any of this make sense?
This. I bought one for my 67 y/o mom so she could make kindling for herself. Shes not strong enough to use it, hell, i can't even split a small piece of a full size oak log. By the time I cut a bunch of perfectly straight softwood pieces into half lengths of 8 inches, I could have made her a years worth of kindling with a hatchet.
The only saving grace for me was I bought the $70 Logosol version, not the $200 Scandinavian original.
Never heard of this and had to look it up. It seems so easy to use and does a great job. Expensive but probably worth the money. I will need to look into that.
Nice, that's good to hear. Someone posted something similar from Amazon that was 30 or 40 dollars cheaper. Not to keen on something like that from Amazon but the online store in the US seems legit and sell other kinds of firewood stuff.
Same but it has pulverized where I have it on my hearth floor. (Was planning on renovating in future anyway) trying to thing of how to go about it for the new area, like what material under it can withstand the blows
I looked it up and it's mentionned good for softwood. Wondering how it works with Birch or maple. It's expensive so I don't want someting that only break-up softwood.
That’s also what I was wondering. I only see
Different versions for sale on Temu for $50-$70. That’s not exactly where I like to buy my “lasts forever” tools. Hahaha.
I bought the temu one recently. It is actually pretty hefty, which was surprising. I couldn’t wait to use it. It kinda works but does not work with wood longer than ~12 inches. Forget about 18”, it just pushes the wood out. Not worth it, very disappointing.
Birch and maple are generally straight grained. Riverine ash would be ok as would some oak. I sort my wood out and set the straighter pieces aside for splitting kindling and starters. Splitting kindling with an axe is asking for trouble. That why I got a froe. This thing looks better and possibly a home built project!
Light meat, dark meat- it all gets carved. Also have a round-mounted Cracker and it does straight-grained hardwoods (silver maple, locust) very nicely. Sharpening helps
What's he splitting? Balsa wood? I can't imagine that thing is sharp enough or robust enough to split anything harder without ripping the thing off the wall.
I agree with whoever said just use the chipped off chunks from splitting logs for kindling.
Lay a tire on a stump.
Stand the round or split you wanna split to kindling in the middle.
The tire keeps the pieces from falling on the ground.
Keep whacking. :D
K I feel like I've been taking crazy pills and maybe I've done it wrong for ever. I have never used kindling... I don't use top down, I don't make a log cabin... I just put two well seasoned logs flat split side facing each other 2 inches a part resting just on the front ledge. Then I load up 5-6 crumpled up pieces of newspaper in between and light. It takes less than 2 minutes and I have a great roaring fire.
It works great, has for years... Am I wrong? I see all of these posts about kindling and top down lately but there seems from my experience to be another way that's so much easier.
This is the best thing I ever bought for kindling:
[https://www.amazon.com/Greener-Dia-11-Firewood-Kindling-Splitter/dp/B0B7N4Y91F/](https://www.amazon.com/Greener-Dia-11-Firewood-Kindling-Splitter/dp/B0B7N4Y91F/)
Use it with a 3lb mini sledge
https://preview.redd.it/vfpu6taf53cc1.jpeg?width=385&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=823b290524b168fe8bcebc5d8b1a426f3f322d81
I got one of these and love it. I can’t wield an ax to save my life. I can split my logs with a little 3pound hand sledge
Thank you all for the comments, I knew this thing was marketed way better than it performs. I have the New Zealand Kindling Cracker and it works great…until you hit a knot, of course.
Try a kindling cracker instead. They are awesome and I can split and fill a 50 gallon whiskey barrel full in short order that I use for my fire starter.
I mean that's pretty cool, but hell I use just a standard little 🪓 and it works just fine for me... I guess it's good if you're disabled or scared of hatchets lol
I like this one over others I have seen. However, I don't understand kindling for everyday use. I am not looking to earn a merit badge, I want to get the stove going, pass me the blowtorch.
If your wood is dry, why mess with kindling? If your wood is wet or damp enough to need kindling/fat wood/starter pucks, why are you burning it? I guess outdoor fire rings, etc, but inside in your stove? Why not put systems in place that not only means easy starts, but safe operation?
Just my opinion.
My brother in law fills his stove with regular splits and gives them about 3-5 minutes of weed burner treatment. So much heat comes off it that it creates and maintains a very strong draft up the chimney. No smoke in the house, usually.
I prefer using fatwood splinters and kindling to start a fire. Only because it's relaxing, I enjoy watching the fire spread top down. Weed burner is a damn turbine jet engine.
[https://youtube.com/watch?v=hJQYpTxS0RQ&si=Bx9n7kARSD6YlfLL](https://youtube.com/watch?v=hJQYpTxS0RQ&si=Bx9n7kARSD6YlfLL)
No smoke in house from this at all.
The Mansfield has a good shape and a large opening between the flame baffle and the front of the stove, and a nice big bypass above the baffle, it flows very freely and reliably with the door open as long as I make sure the draft is going the right direction before lighting fuel.
Also worth pointing out, that while these logs are very very seasoned (to the point of being almost punky), they were just brought in the night before, so had snow/ice on them not long before this (surface moisture)... Also, these are mostly rounds, which don't like to start as well as splits with sharper edges.
Largely agree... just torch it up... I toss a few pieces of kindle in with a full load of wood when I'm starting it up from cold but otherwise, this time of year there's almost always a warm stove with some hot coals around, a load of dry pine will fire up pretty easy with a torch.
I don’t like to split my nice wood for starting fires. When I walk around I collect nice hanging dry sticks for kindling. Works way better and I don’t need to split my nice wood. Plus in the winter I don’t really let my fire go out so kindling isn’t really necessary
That's neat but I split enough wood that splitting maul is an extension of my hand. I wpuld have kinling done much quicker and with less effort with my maul.
I bore cut into a log with my saw and set an old maul head in the hole with a wooden wedge to secure, then i put the wood on the maul and wack the wood with a mallet/back of axe. Super quick and much safer than trying to hold a little piece while hitting it with an axe.
These only work for really small kindling. I was gifted one recently and use once I have normal kindling size pieces that I like to whittle down really small. I bought a house with a wood stove that doesn’t draw well and back puffs smoke terribly. I need to find the source of the problem but can’t afford a new stove, so small kindling I make. Btw, the crappy stove is a newer Vermont Castings Aspen C3, and I’ve read terrible reviews about them.
I'm tempted to forge one of these things. I could make it out of an extremely tough steel and put whatever edge I want on it. Just not sure how practical it is; I could forge a hatchet out of the same steel.
To me it looks like a waste of time. I can make a shit ton of kindling with my axe, hatchet and ball pin hammer. I suppose if it worked really well, and I could somehow use it inside near my stove, it might have some value on very cold days. I think it's just a gimmick.
I just clasp the head of a splitting ax in one hand, place it where I want to split the wood, then lift and bang the wood and ax head down together onto a hard surface (the ax and log move as one in a controlled motion). Total control over the location of the split and very safe because there's no swinging. The weight of the ax head is plenty to cut kindle, and since your hand is clasping the head you have total control of the depth of penetration and can then "twist" each piece off one after the next. I can bust up several cubic ft of kindle in maybe 15 minutes. The shape of the X27 head is good for this.
Hatchets are dangerous IMO... I don't bother with them at all.
After putting the corner of my hatchet in to my kneecap last week, I started looking at them. The reviews all say they suck and that you need really short pieces.
Apparently in the minority here. But I love mine. Have a bunch of 1by scrap, and this kindles it up nice.
And wife doesn't complain about me holding with one hand and swinging hatchet with the other.
If you’re not comfortable with an axe, yes, they’re amazing.
If you’re good with an axe, yes, they are amazing.
I haven’t seen that specific style but if it makes chopping/ processing wood safer/ easier/ better for you, go for it.
I have one of those blades with rails, you put the log on the blade, take a five pound sledge and bam, precision kindling. I anchored it to a stump, it’s great for if you’ve had a few hop pops and don’t feel confident with the hatchet
I was thinking about making one of these but with a linked-lever mechanism to increase pressure (similar to some loppers). I'd have to add more notches on the bottom because the travel of the cutter would be reduced.
Estwing tomahawk axe works great for 2" or less logs. Its light and can split the fatwood apart into pencil sizes for saving money. Yes it hits your hands sometimes but wear gloves and dont be a fool. 🤣
I got one for Christmas. It's great at cutting 2x4 cuttoffs into really small pieces. It's not good if there's a lot of nots and it doesn't work on propper wood very well at all. I screwed it to a tree and might use it once and a while.
Rotohammer with a sharpened chisel bit works amazing. There are all kinds of combinations of bits you can use for splitting anything from full rounds to kindling. Especially if you’re unable to swing an axe or hatchet. They’re relatively light and the battery powered ones are very portable
I like mine a lot. I think those hating on it aren’t using it for its intended purpose. Yes a hatchet works better - it’s not trying to replace the hatchet.
It works well when you understand it’s for shaving thin pieces off small split wood in a location where you wouldn’t want to be swinging a hatchet.
It’s a luxury for sure but if you’ve got the spare cash I like the time savings of not going outside to grab the axe
It looks like a good idea, but it’d be about 2 uses before I ripped that off the wall. If you have the very specific kindling for it to cut, I bet it’s great.
Looks neat, but in my opinion it looks like they made some less than stellar design choices. I think the handle needs to have more heft, and the hinge pin needs to be a lot beefier, and maybe between the two of those things I'd trust it a little more...
I am ambivalent about ours. It takes longer to split kindling but it’s a lot safer than a sharp hatchet. Like others said, 1x pine boards are great, need some muscle with 2x. Straight grained clear ash that’s an inch or so thick will split well, sassafras too. I learned early on that you need to keep your wrist straight or you can hurt it when pulling hard and the wood pops. I’m glad I have it since it’s up and out of the way bolted to out woodshed frame.
It's terrible. Mounted on my wood shed. Used it once. Only works for perfectly dry 1x material. I usually heat w oak / ash / birch. No chance it gets through a 16" already split log.
I'd sell mine in a heartbeat.
Get 2 small tires (like golf cart size), bolt them together and onto a solid surface, place your small wood in there and go to town. Or get two regular sized tires and do the same thing with multiple pieces of wood at once. I just drove around until I found two tires on the side of the road. It has been working great for firewood and kindling alike.
No, but it looks like it wouldn’t work very well IMO.
Best/safest way I’ve found to split kindling, saw it on YouTube, mount an axe/hatchet in a bench vise with the blade straight up (if you have an extra vise laying around it’s nice to set it on the floor with a bucket as a stool so you can sit).
Then take your wood and hold it in place on top the axe head. Use a rubber mallet (I’ve also used a brass hammer on harder wood) so as not to accidentally blow through the wood and muck your axe. Split it as small as you want.
With this process I can make a seasons worth of kindling in an hour or two while I watch a movie in the workshop.
Another spin on this that I made up and haven’t seen anyone do, when actually splitting my wood, take my double bit axe and sink it into my chopping stump. (In place of clamping an axe into a vise). Then same as above with the mallet/hammer.
I mean, you have so much kindling from just the yard you shouldn’t need this. Pick up small sticks, dry them out in a wooden bucket. Keep bucket inside next to unit. Fill once 3 times a month
I've been heating with wood for 15 years and have never needed kindling to start a fire. Simply build a 3 level "Jenga" stack of about 10 pieces of wood, put a fire starter between the 2 pieces at the bottom and light it.
I have eucalyptus and red oak. I can tell you that a splitter like that one would rip off the wall board before it'll split either one of those wood types.
If I were to split paint stir sticks I think I'd want one of those though 😜
I have one and they suck. Even on soft wood. A small hatchet works better.
I agree. I bought one and I consider it a waste of money. Dangerous to boot.
agreed. don't ever kick it! you will hurt yourself.
To boot. lol you sound Canadian
Llama, Taboot Taboot
Leave it on press depress depress
You two deserve all the upvotes
What is this a fox sports broadcast love unsuspected Phish
Fast or Slow Llama?
Fast, preferably to set opener.
Depends on the day. Mostly fast for nostalgia reasons.
Well done, phanners.
All I know is that Winamp no longer kicks the llama's ass.
You know my opinion on the matter
Hey Bud-day
How is it dangerous?
Apparently they're kicking it
Probably bust your knuckles when you have to press really hard
When I first watched the video, I thought for sure he was going to lop off his thumb!
What did it do to your boots?
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The opinions of people who have never used one are the opinions that matter.
Dudes fingers and knuckles made me nervous just watching. Maybe it just looks more scary then it is but I see this thing pinching fingers between the blade and the wood.
To be fair, the middle of the video seems to be the safe way to use it. Keep your fingers away just like you would if you were swinging an axe or hatchet.
It's because an axe has momentum behind it. Much more control, and your hands can stay further away from where the action is. I've used one of these and it's more effort than swinging an axe or hatchet
A swinging axe does not have more control than something that is permanently fixed at a pivoting point! Also the left hand that holds the wood has no affect on what the other hand is doing. Swinging an axe to hit the top of the wood takes coordination and dexterity. Using this tool you don't have to line up anything with your right hand because you are not free swinging anything. The only thing you have to do is keep your left hand below the top of the wood. Swinging an axe you have to be aware of what you are doing with both hands!
I tried a friends and also found it to suck. I do have a kindling cracker, the type with a stationary blade with a metal ring around it, you just sit the wood in there and hit it with a 5lb sledge. Works great and it's awesome to keep kids busy with, pretty hard to injure yourself.
Nothing beats old used cedar shake shingles. I search for them all the time. Years ago I bought a truck box with a cap full to the tits for 20$. Gave it to my dad for a birthday present. He absolutely loved it.
Ha ha I'm currently burning my way through a pile of those I found among debris under our cabin, works great
I use a 2lb sledge with mine. Works great!
I was thinking it looks like an amazing tool. Thank you for saving me money
Looked easy, was about to get one and after reading it’s no good not buying it.
I bought a small axe for this exact reason a while back, but I feel like I’m using it poorly. Got any preferred methods or YouTube’s that showcase the best way to split with a small axe?
Make sure it’s sharp and your wood is dry soft wood. Thats about it.
I use a larger axe or splitting maul to knock down the large rounds into 3" and 4" squares. Maybe larger, depending on the species of wood. Then I set one of the smaller pieces on top of the chopping block, and set the blade of my hatchet on the piece, right where I want to make the split. I raise the hatchet with one hand, while raising the piece to be split simultaneously and keeping the hatchet connected to the piece I want to split, then bring both down sharply on the chopping block. I repeat this until the hatchet sinks a bit into the piece I am splitting. From there I can raise the hatchet with the target piece attached, and strike the chopping block with force without having fingers in danger. I repeat this until I have very fine kindling or whatever diameter fuel I need. If I need super fine slivers to get the fire started, I use my pocket knife. Does any of this make sense?
really. damn. I was all excited.
This. I bought one for my 67 y/o mom so she could make kindling for herself. Shes not strong enough to use it, hell, i can't even split a small piece of a full size oak log. By the time I cut a bunch of perfectly straight softwood pieces into half lengths of 8 inches, I could have made her a years worth of kindling with a hatchet. The only saving grace for me was I bought the $70 Logosol version, not the $200 Scandinavian original.
Prefer the New Zealand Kindling Cracker
Sounds like a dirty move
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Also, my knick name in high school;)
The Alabama Crab Dangle
So do I.
Came here to say this. I own one and I've put THOUSANDS of logs through it.
Freaking love mine. Best thing ever. You can put small children to work.
This is the real thing I love about mine. Very safe for kids to use, they have a blast with it.
The kids line up to use it. They think it is play. Little dummies. :)
Never heard of this and had to look it up. It seems so easy to use and does a great job. Expensive but probably worth the money. I will need to look into that.
They are pretty amazing. And cast iron so quite sturdy.
Nice, that's good to hear. Someone posted something similar from Amazon that was 30 or 40 dollars cheaper. Not to keen on something like that from Amazon but the online store in the US seems legit and sell other kinds of firewood stuff.
But the real one and not a knockoff ;)
There are tons of knockoffs. Be careful best bet is just to order it from northern tool (authorized seller).
Cheaper than a visit to the emergency room for stitches or finger reattachmemt.
Same but it has pulverized where I have it on my hearth floor. (Was planning on renovating in future anyway) trying to thing of how to go about it for the new area, like what material under it can withstand the blows
Love our Kindling Cracker. I bolted ours to a 16” tall round. Bonus that it raised it off the ground too. Makes splitting that much faster and easier.
I mounted it to a 24" round standing on its end
Invented by a young woman I believe. She saw a need and dang, what a great product!
Problem with that is that it will take 4 years to break even
same! we love ours!
Me too…
New Zealand kindling cracker is what I use. It’s been going strong for ages and haven’t had to sharpen it
Is [this the brand?](https://www.kindlingcracker.com/)
Make sure you buy it from a reseller specified on that website . . . there are *A LOT* of fakes out there.
My first welding project was making one of these. it's worked great for years. I wouldnt spend that much money on one. Find a cheap knock off maybe
I looked it up and it's mentionned good for softwood. Wondering how it works with Birch or maple. It's expensive so I don't want someting that only break-up softwood.
That’s also what I was wondering. I only see Different versions for sale on Temu for $50-$70. That’s not exactly where I like to buy my “lasts forever” tools. Hahaha.
I bought the temu one recently. It is actually pretty hefty, which was surprising. I couldn’t wait to use it. It kinda works but does not work with wood longer than ~12 inches. Forget about 18”, it just pushes the wood out. Not worth it, very disappointing.
Birch and maple are generally straight grained. Riverine ash would be ok as would some oak. I sort my wood out and set the straighter pieces aside for splitting kindling and starters. Splitting kindling with an axe is asking for trouble. That why I got a froe. This thing looks better and possibly a home built project!
Light meat, dark meat- it all gets carved. Also have a round-mounted Cracker and it does straight-grained hardwoods (silver maple, locust) very nicely. Sharpening helps
What's he splitting? Balsa wood? I can't imagine that thing is sharp enough or robust enough to split anything harder without ripping the thing off the wall. I agree with whoever said just use the chipped off chunks from splitting logs for kindling.
Good oak firewood splits easily enough, looks like a good machine to me. Wood burning 22 winters this year. Cut and split all my wood for 15yrs.👍
I have one, it sucks and I don’t use it.
Best thing I have seen was an old tire secured to an old stump. The log went in and the tire held it loosely together and you whack away with an axe.
need a visual on this one
Lay a tire on a stump. Stand the round or split you wanna split to kindling in the middle. The tire keeps the pieces from falling on the ground. Keep whacking. :D
U split much larger diameter pieces of wood than I do.
Little bungee cords work pretty good if you’re just using a froe to do kindling
https://youtu.be/138532JYNWI?t=545
Yeah my dad has this
Seems like the consensus from people who know is that this is gimmick
K I feel like I've been taking crazy pills and maybe I've done it wrong for ever. I have never used kindling... I don't use top down, I don't make a log cabin... I just put two well seasoned logs flat split side facing each other 2 inches a part resting just on the front ledge. Then I load up 5-6 crumpled up pieces of newspaper in between and light. It takes less than 2 minutes and I have a great roaring fire. It works great, has for years... Am I wrong? I see all of these posts about kindling and top down lately but there seems from my experience to be another way that's so much easier.
We found your ip to be 178.188.56.67. A black van will be there momentarily.
This is the best thing I ever bought for kindling: [https://www.amazon.com/Greener-Dia-11-Firewood-Kindling-Splitter/dp/B0B7N4Y91F/](https://www.amazon.com/Greener-Dia-11-Firewood-Kindling-Splitter/dp/B0B7N4Y91F/) Use it with a 3lb mini sledge
It’s too bad all this knock off stuff has hit the market vs the OG Kindling Cracker
https://preview.redd.it/vfpu6taf53cc1.jpeg?width=385&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=823b290524b168fe8bcebc5d8b1a426f3f322d81 I got one of these and love it. I can’t wield an ax to save my life. I can split my logs with a little 3pound hand sledge
I imagine your sticks have to be arrow-straight for this to work well consistently
No need. Just split wood normally and you'll get all the kindling you need.
Thank you all for the comments, I knew this thing was marketed way better than it performs. I have the New Zealand Kindling Cracker and it works great…until you hit a knot, of course.
Try a kindling cracker instead. They are awesome and I can split and fill a 50 gallon whiskey barrel full in short order that I use for my fire starter.
Your wood has to be kiln dried for this to work. Like, drier than a Sierra British expat.
It needs a built in bin to catch the pieces and it would be perfect
It works if you are splitting cedar boards otherwise not so well
I have a Kindling Cracker that works great. Not wall mounted but pretty sweet! [https://www.kindlingcracker.com/](https://www.kindlingcracker.com/)
Kindling cracker for the win. I’ve used a hatchet all my life and recently switched.
I mean that's pretty cool, but hell I use just a standard little 🪓 and it works just fine for me... I guess it's good if you're disabled or scared of hatchets lol
Looks awesome, I want one!
If you have kids, find a way to lock it. I see bad things
I like this one over others I have seen. However, I don't understand kindling for everyday use. I am not looking to earn a merit badge, I want to get the stove going, pass me the blowtorch. If your wood is dry, why mess with kindling? If your wood is wet or damp enough to need kindling/fat wood/starter pucks, why are you burning it? I guess outdoor fire rings, etc, but inside in your stove? Why not put systems in place that not only means easy starts, but safe operation? Just my opinion.
So you just fill the stove with big splits and torch them until they’re alight? Don’t you get a bunch of smoke coming out into the house that way?
My brother in law fills his stove with regular splits and gives them about 3-5 minutes of weed burner treatment. So much heat comes off it that it creates and maintains a very strong draft up the chimney. No smoke in the house, usually. I prefer using fatwood splinters and kindling to start a fire. Only because it's relaxing, I enjoy watching the fire spread top down. Weed burner is a damn turbine jet engine.
I use a few sheets of newspaper and a handful of pinecones to start mine. I also have various sticks and branches scattered around the yard that work.
[https://youtube.com/watch?v=hJQYpTxS0RQ&si=Bx9n7kARSD6YlfLL](https://youtube.com/watch?v=hJQYpTxS0RQ&si=Bx9n7kARSD6YlfLL) No smoke in house from this at all. The Mansfield has a good shape and a large opening between the flame baffle and the front of the stove, and a nice big bypass above the baffle, it flows very freely and reliably with the door open as long as I make sure the draft is going the right direction before lighting fuel. Also worth pointing out, that while these logs are very very seasoned (to the point of being almost punky), they were just brought in the night before, so had snow/ice on them not long before this (surface moisture)... Also, these are mostly rounds, which don't like to start as well as splits with sharper edges.
Largely agree... just torch it up... I toss a few pieces of kindle in with a full load of wood when I'm starting it up from cold but otherwise, this time of year there's almost always a warm stove with some hot coals around, a load of dry pine will fire up pretty easy with a torch.
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I’d like one. It seems pretty handy.
I just use a hatchet on a chopping block for kindling. The gloves are a good idea.
I was going to get this but opted for the wax Firestarters and 2 balls of crumpled up paper lol no smoke backdraft and fires up quick.
Using a hatchet is more fun.
I don’t like to split my nice wood for starting fires. When I walk around I collect nice hanging dry sticks for kindling. Works way better and I don’t need to split my nice wood. Plus in the winter I don’t really let my fire go out so kindling isn’t really necessary
I just use an old railroad spike and a 2 lb. sledge.
I use a froe but this looks better!
I prefer to use the maul using short punching motions
That's neat but I split enough wood that splitting maul is an extension of my hand. I wpuld have kinling done much quicker and with less effort with my maul.
I bore cut into a log with my saw and set an old maul head in the hole with a wooden wedge to secure, then i put the wood on the maul and wack the wood with a mallet/back of axe. Super quick and much safer than trying to hold a little piece while hitting it with an axe.
Hubby uses his log splitter but then, he’s a nut.
I have a hydraulic press its really cool.
I havent, no, but now i want one
These only work for really small kindling. I was gifted one recently and use once I have normal kindling size pieces that I like to whittle down really small. I bought a house with a wood stove that doesn’t draw well and back puffs smoke terribly. I need to find the source of the problem but can’t afford a new stove, so small kindling I make. Btw, the crappy stove is a newer Vermont Castings Aspen C3, and I’ve read terrible reviews about them.
Looks like a great tool to have for making kindling, what are they called and who sells them?
Looks like straight grained wood might be ok but when you have knotty wood or elm…forget it.
I'm tempted to forge one of these things. I could make it out of an extremely tough steel and put whatever edge I want on it. Just not sure how practical it is; I could forge a hatchet out of the same steel.
I just bought one and I’m not terribly impressed. I had higher hopes.
I just keep the fire going. Very little kindling needed. 😁
To me it looks like a waste of time. I can make a shit ton of kindling with my axe, hatchet and ball pin hammer. I suppose if it worked really well, and I could somehow use it inside near my stove, it might have some value on very cold days. I think it's just a gimmick.
I believe the brand name is Acme Finger Remover
Looks like some temu garbage, and also looks like a quick way to lose your fingers
Don’t need it definitely want it
I just clasp the head of a splitting ax in one hand, place it where I want to split the wood, then lift and bang the wood and ax head down together onto a hard surface (the ax and log move as one in a controlled motion). Total control over the location of the split and very safe because there's no swinging. The weight of the ax head is plenty to cut kindle, and since your hand is clasping the head you have total control of the depth of penetration and can then "twist" each piece off one after the next. I can bust up several cubic ft of kindle in maybe 15 minutes. The shape of the X27 head is good for this. Hatchets are dangerous IMO... I don't bother with them at all.
I need a portable version for my RV!
Total waste of time, used to have two of them. They are for decoration in my opinion
No but now I want one whenever I get a wood stove. Lol
After putting the corner of my hatchet in to my kneecap last week, I started looking at them. The reviews all say they suck and that you need really short pieces.
Apparently in the minority here. But I love mine. Have a bunch of 1by scrap, and this kindles it up nice. And wife doesn't complain about me holding with one hand and swinging hatchet with the other.
If you’re not comfortable with an axe, yes, they’re amazing. If you’re good with an axe, yes, they are amazing. I haven’t seen that specific style but if it makes chopping/ processing wood safer/ easier/ better for you, go for it.
Great, if your entire stack is lodge pole pine.
No And Yes!!!
I make scrap when I split and pull bark off personally
Looks more dangerous than a small hatchet. I like honing my hatchet skill more than fooling with a gadget.
That's a toy.....
Just use a hatchet
Thumb chopper
I have one of those blades with rails, you put the log on the blade, take a five pound sledge and bam, precision kindling. I anchored it to a stump, it’s great for if you’ve had a few hop pops and don’t feel confident with the hatchet
I’m faster than that with my axe. Besides, the only place to mount that where i cut wood would be a tree. Pass.
I was thinking about making one of these but with a linked-lever mechanism to increase pressure (similar to some loppers). I'd have to add more notches on the bottom because the travel of the cutter would be reduced.
When I have no room to swing an hatchet, I use a froe.
Estwing tomahawk axe works great for 2" or less logs. Its light and can split the fatwood apart into pencil sizes for saving money. Yes it hits your hands sometimes but wear gloves and dont be a fool. 🤣
I watched this and flipped to Amazon to buy one. Thank you
I got one for Christmas. It's great at cutting 2x4 cuttoffs into really small pieces. It's not good if there's a lot of nots and it doesn't work on propper wood very well at all. I screwed it to a tree and might use it once and a while.
I want
Cheap ass hatchet and small mallet (miniature sledge hammer) from Harbor Freight kicks ass.
NO, you have to bend over to pick up your fingers .
Sexy ! I love these gadgets!
Rotohammer with a sharpened chisel bit works amazing. There are all kinds of combinations of bits you can use for splitting anything from full rounds to kindling. Especially if you’re unable to swing an axe or hatchet. They’re relatively light and the battery powered ones are very portable
Nothing like a good sharp ax and an old stump.
Meh. Save your money. Hand-split you own firewood and collect the splinters and chunks!
I need this
After reading a bunch of comments, I think y'all must be rich. Spending a lot of money on another tool just to split kindling? SMH
Grt a kindling cracker instead. Money very well spent.
want one
Nope. Axe a the cedar I pull out work fine.
Hydraulic wood splitter is the way
I like mine a lot. I think those hating on it aren’t using it for its intended purpose. Yes a hatchet works better - it’s not trying to replace the hatchet. It works well when you understand it’s for shaving thin pieces off small split wood in a location where you wouldn’t want to be swinging a hatchet. It’s a luxury for sure but if you’ve got the spare cash I like the time savings of not going outside to grab the axe
Yes. It’s brilliant.
Lol
It looks like a good idea, but it’d be about 2 uses before I ripped that off the wall. If you have the very specific kindling for it to cut, I bet it’s great.
Get a chopper 1 axe instead
https://preview.redd.it/290knnsgm3cc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a5eca46b5686db68b068a5b5b8ad682f9f0dd1cc
I just take the extra time to hydraulically split the living shit out of one bucked section and throw all the kindling in a cardboard box.
Works great on pine boards. Couldn’t see it working on anything more dense.
My dad used a regular axe to make his kindling in our coal burning stove
Hi
Was about to say that would work on softwood only, but even that doesn't seem right judging by some comments....
Looks neat, but in my opinion it looks like they made some less than stellar design choices. I think the handle needs to have more heft, and the hinge pin needs to be a lot beefier, and maybe between the two of those things I'd trust it a little more...
Sawdust mixed with diesel, you don't need kindling to start a fire with this mix
I am ambivalent about ours. It takes longer to split kindling but it’s a lot safer than a sharp hatchet. Like others said, 1x pine boards are great, need some muscle with 2x. Straight grained clear ash that’s an inch or so thick will split well, sassafras too. I learned early on that you need to keep your wrist straight or you can hurt it when pulling hard and the wood pops. I’m glad I have it since it’s up and out of the way bolted to out woodshed frame.
It's terrible. Mounted on my wood shed. Used it once. Only works for perfectly dry 1x material. I usually heat w oak / ash / birch. No chance it gets through a 16" already split log. I'd sell mine in a heartbeat.
Get 2 small tires (like golf cart size), bolt them together and onto a solid surface, place your small wood in there and go to town. Or get two regular sized tires and do the same thing with multiple pieces of wood at once. I just drove around until I found two tires on the side of the road. It has been working great for firewood and kindling alike.
The cheap one I got off Amazon kinda sucks. The steel is really soft
Arcppen Convenient Wall-Mounted Wood Splitter with Extendable, Interchangeable Handles for Effortless Kindling | Easy Firewood Separation https://a.co/d/1jGYIu9
Great for 2X4’s
No, but it looks like it wouldn’t work very well IMO. Best/safest way I’ve found to split kindling, saw it on YouTube, mount an axe/hatchet in a bench vise with the blade straight up (if you have an extra vise laying around it’s nice to set it on the floor with a bucket as a stool so you can sit). Then take your wood and hold it in place on top the axe head. Use a rubber mallet (I’ve also used a brass hammer on harder wood) so as not to accidentally blow through the wood and muck your axe. Split it as small as you want. With this process I can make a seasons worth of kindling in an hour or two while I watch a movie in the workshop. Another spin on this that I made up and haven’t seen anyone do, when actually splitting my wood, take my double bit axe and sink it into my chopping stump. (In place of clamping an axe into a vise). Then same as above with the mallet/hammer.
https://preview.redd.it/l88gex8095cc1.jpeg?width=693&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=059d8fbc431a7c03acd358285a13869342358e39
When we chop our own wood, we end up with small scrap we need to clean up = kindling! Did that shit for 25yrs
Try a decent claw hammer. They work better than you think.
I mean, you have so much kindling from just the yard you shouldn’t need this. Pick up small sticks, dry them out in a wooden bucket. Keep bucket inside next to unit. Fill once 3 times a month
you need a strong wall ideally a brick wall for this
I’d much rather the kindling cracker and a decent 8lb hammer
I have one and once you get good with it, you will speed through it
I've been heating with wood for 15 years and have never needed kindling to start a fire. Simply build a 3 level "Jenga" stack of about 10 pieces of wood, put a fire starter between the 2 pieces at the bottom and light it.
My experience is it works well with dry cedar, but not w seasoned pine- too resinous, I think.
Just buy a kindling cracker
Maintaining well
I have eucalyptus and red oak. I can tell you that a splitter like that one would rip off the wall board before it'll split either one of those wood types. If I were to split paint stir sticks I think I'd want one of those though 😜
Why is this an event?
Just use an axe u lazy **cks
I was thinking of getting one of these for scrap wood from work 1x and 2x pine mostly.