So it seems to be one of the most important things in a test like this. Is consistency? We’ve got to have consistent wood to get accurate outcome right. How much more consistent Can we get then two rounds from the exact same tree? So let me fire up the chainsaw, We’ll cut out four rounds here, We’re going to try to splitting methods We’re going to try Working around the corners, knocking the edges off and then we’ll do the traditional p ie method.
I think this is going to give us a pretty good on answer on which one is the best bits best splitter. I Was thinking on the way down here, one of the funniest things, one of funny stories I ever heard I wanted to share with you guys all the fighting here was From some of you guys from the old days of Wrangler. Barn blog will remember my old hint, a neighbor Henry Henry was in his late 80s Early 90s Get, but he was a logger.
His whole life up on Mount Hood and Mount Saint Helens up in that area Worked as a mechanic as well, and he was one of the most brilliant guys. I ever met smartest guys Mechanical genius. He never learned to read So he was telling me a story. His wife Marion they used to she used to do a lot of canning, and so she was doing this water bath canning in her kitchen, and she was Had this big metal jack.
You know the jack the game used to play where you drop the ball And you pick up the jacks. You know they kind of look like a cowl trap, those little metal things with the balls on the ends. Well, she had kind of a novelty one. It was a great big one here, several pounds and she had that in her kitchen And she would use that to wait down the jars, because when your water bath canning, You know they want to lift up.
You got to keep him down, so this Jack had been sitting in this boiling hot water for a long time. You know like half hour, so it was hot. You know hundreds of degrees. Well, She she had oven, mitts or something she would take it out And she sat it on the counter right when she set it down the counter one of Henry’s friends came by To visit and he came in and sat down at the counters, like hey, Marion How’s it going Where’s Henry at and He looked at this great big jack and he reached over.
He granted It Just come out of this boiling hot water. He reached over his bare hands, picked it up and set it back down. I looked at Marion and said: don’t take me long to look at something Told me that story. I thought that that was That I ever did here. You know he didn’t haul her or hoop or yell. I mean that’s the epitome of that’s a tough guy right. There Don’t take me long to look at. I thought that that was pretty funny here, All right.
Let’s get this sharpened up and we’ll make that last cut and we’ll get to Get this article moving along. Alright, alright, let’s bring out the first the first round. Alright, let’s talk about two radical different schools of thought right here, So first off This is this: is my go-to right here? This is the Prandial. It’s called. I call it the Bismarck because it looks to it. It reminds me of everything: It’s German, big, strong, overbuilt Powerful, lasts a long lifetime It.
This is my go-to. When all else fails It would I really get something: that’s gnarled and and big. This is my biggest heaviest sledge And there’s a lot of really cool features of this. You know you take it for granted. You most people just look at this and think oh yeah Sledge is a sledge is a sledge, but it’s not there’s so much evolution. That’s went into this Perfect example. This is rare to see this on an edge this here.
That’s for hooking, That’s having two tools in one you notice earlier. Maybe that I was using this to move those rounds around. You can use the tool to bite into there because of that little beak That sticks down and move things around very rare. You don’t see that on big box stores, You don’t see that hardly anymore, That that’s really a nice attention to detail a long taper. Look at that beautiful taper.
In this thing It’s got a long taper, so you don’t have a great big bulbous And on it that when you strike into something wet would you’ve had malls it just bounced out very frustrating. You don’t get so much of that here because of just the superior design and shape now this over here, the the Chopper one. This is a very different school of thought here. This is more of A splitting axe rather than splitting maul.
What’s the difference? Well, the handle for one you can see: it’s got a traditional style, a handle there We’ll cover that here in a minute, But a little bit faster swinging speed a little bit different concept. Of course, the the chopper one has this mechanical advantage. When, then, that’s what we’re we’re here to find out today is this going to be superior to The traditional heavy maul as he sort of wings flip out there? Is it going to below this waterway It’s going to knock it out, So that’s well find that fight.
That’s what we’re going to find out today, let’s cover the handles real quickly and then we’ll get into the test. So not only do the heads share a Completely different school of thought when it comes to splitting wood, So the handles you want to see two perfect examples of how handles should be done right here. Oh so so much this I could go on and on about this all day again to the casual observer, You’re just going to Think as a handles and handles a handle right, no man, this brandy, I I wish brandy axes were available in the States.
Instead of just a Europe because man, they are the more that I use them, you know they have become Next to grab force, Brooks my go-to axes, the ones that I keep. I access coming through my hands all the time, The ones that I’m really reluctant to give away are these. I just love them They’re, so much good to say about them. Just the handles alone would be a article look at this strong Heavy handle right here, But it what it does is it gives you that strength up here where you have a tendency to over strike.
We’ve all done that you’ll look at malls and they’re beat up right. There gives you some longevity there. It gives you a few. If you miss, you can make a few mistakes on it, not break your handle and Then it tapers down here to where your hands are going to be working into a nice comfortable, more manageable size. This is too fat. This is just right, But they don’t stop. There and here’s where the rubber meets the road and what you don’t see is it actually has a little palm Swell on it that that really helps with fatigue, and it’s it’s not typically done, because it costs more money.
You have to start with a much bigger piece of wood to end up with that, and then they I mean there’s so much this Hand. I can’t even tell you from the way It’s hung to the eye. It’s really really well done, but it’s a straight handle. So and that’s what you usually get from a mall now, this here is a Splitting axe. Now these are more popular, They were certainly more popular out west, especially There’s guys that used to split wood all the time.
Even I think, when my dad was in high school, There was some guys to have the paper mill. Young guys would work down there And that’s what they did all day. Is they split firewood for the wood boilers and he said they look like look like Mr.. Olympian, bodybuilders yeah the shoulders in the back. Imagine having a job where you split wood all the time, but they preferred a splitting axe and that may have something to do with.
It could be regional as well as The type of wood that we split, which would have been Douglas fir at that at that mill. But look at this. This is Handle perfection right here. It is got a beautiful fawns foot with a little kick on it. It has a nice curve to it. It is so good. I’ve looked at it and felt it and studied that I am going to use this as a template for future splitting axes. It’s really that good.
I mean look at that. It’s got a nice big swell at the end of it. You know if you can see that or not right. There comes down fits the hand really well beautiful. Sweeping sweeping arc really Just really works with the body. It’s I just man, I’m ranting. I could go on and on about these head, let’s split Good grief of going on about handles and go on all day. Should it’s a whole article in itself there? Okay! So I changed my mind: we’re going to We’re going to use this one piece: We’re going to Chop opposite sides, because it’s so symmetrical that I think that that’s going to give us the best best test so Plus and run out of daylight, been messing around so Long, okay, So, let’s start with the chopper one chopper one here will work on the right-hand side and then we’ll work over here on the left with the HMS Bismarck.
Okay, you ready We’re going to Just do the side chop method here, Oh Didn’t! Stick! Let’s give it two hits Three Four: Okay, five! Well, We have five right there to knock it off the side. Nice thing about it. Is it didn’t? Stick right, We don’t like sticking. That’s Creep makes us gives us a lot of extra work. Okay, now the Bismark. Try to do a hit in the same place here, Both those split in the same okay.
Let’s move the camera and they’ll work. Don’t hit these two side. I guess we could do it right here. It’s a little bit tall for me, this chopping block, but That’s alright, We’ll make it work. Hopefully we’re going to focus okay, so we’ll do the right here With the chopper one. Oh man, that was a good! Oh Yeah! That’s two: oh, if I would have hit it that would have been the third one would have knocked that off there, That was User error.
Oh man, the pressures on pressures on for the Bismark Got the same piece of wood, pretty consistent here. Oh, that was a good one, felt the crack. Oh again, the same thing I’ll back up a little bit okay, so we got three again three again, So you remember, we talked about the fibrous Fibrous. I wonder if that would have that Chopper would have knocked that one off if I would hit it right. Okay, Now We got two more splits here.
Can this? Can we do it in one with the chopper one? Here we go. Oh Yeah, look at it blasted apart, no fibres remaining. Alright, That’s pretty good we’re were we were on the top there yeah right there Will the Bismark Will let chop And one here, Oh Even with more authority, if I had to admit it, Okay. So, let’s do a quick: Let’s do the pie method. I’d say that was a push That was a push Man. Is there anything better then out in the forest, splitting Doug Fir In the cold autumn day 27 degrees.
Today, Okay, now We’ll try the pie method, We’ll see what happens, who comes out on top and I’ll, give you my conclusions here, I’m forming opinions right now So last time we did the slabbing method right, where we take it and knock the four corners off and Then usually one billet left in the middle, you can split it We’re going to do the traditional way, the pie method, this time and I’ll just I brought you a little bit closer And then we’ll alternate.
So, let’s start with a chopper one, We’ll see how many times It’s going to take the split here so ready. Okay, one two, Three, Four: Five! Oh! I missed six, Seven, eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven twelve thirteen Fifteen. Sixteen come on It’s complete split over here. I would, of course I would have moved around with the split, but I wanted to see if I could split it. I Lost track We’re going to we’re in it now come on, come on Getting personal.
What was going on there? It wasn’t any there’s no nod or anything there really Man that that was not very good. All right, That’s well another one on See what the Bismarck can do, man How to get you out, Get you in shape. So this is Actually the Bismarck set a bit of a disadvantage here, because this one’s even bigger This one’s, even bigger, We’ll see we’ll see what happens same tree. These two were connected to each other side.
Whoo All right, I don’t know how how scientific this is. Let’s just We’ll get others a knot right there. There wasn’t a knot. There wasn’t a knot with the chopper one well come on with German power they can overcome. Oh, I feel solid one, two Three, We might be here for a while I’ll. Let you guys can’t worry about All you hardwood guys. Tell me all the time how easy this stuff is to split. We work for our Steel Whoo.
That’s a heavy Malda split! I just wait. We got a crack, that’s it! It’s Curtains now matter time. Oh Yeah! I love it, love it CrossFit CrossFit. Does it counter if I pry it apart, We keep at it We’re not going to give up Yeah Come on one more All right. I wasn’t Counting give me a Give me the count in the comments. Man. I think I need to get out and chop some more wood all right. So, let’s wrap it up with my conclusions, All right friends, So I Wanted somebody go go back and if you can reread that put the comments, how many well, how many swings did it take for each one? I Guess is that definitive, but it was a tie on the first one.
It was probably pretty close to a tie on the second one, so it’s all going to come down to user experience. How about that user experience because they’re, obviously they both work. I have to say That I do feel a little bit of I don’t know if I’d call it pain or discomfort In my hands from the mechanical motion of the vibration coming from those jaws slapping up Transferring through the handle. Even though There’s a good hickory looks like a Hickory handle my hands, They hurt a little bit.
I don’t. Maybe it’s just me, maybe I’m just soft, but I don’t think that it would be of wise or a guy would really want to. If you were say one of those guys back in the 60s that split wood for a living, If you’d want to swing this all day, you know I don’t know – I haven’t done it, But I kind of feel like that may could be a problem. Now is that going to be an issue for the rest of us who, you know maybe go out and split wood for 3-4 hours in the Morning or until lunch not probably not, but it could be.
I don’t remember, I split a lot of wood and I don’t remember feeling that that pain in my hands and I think That it’s a direct directly to that. I knew it now. I know when I went into the wood I could kind of jarred me. It’s kind of that’s kind of uncomfortable, So I’d say that that was a downside. It there’s no such thing as magic. Of course We knew that, but I can pretty much say From my experience so far that it’s not a toy.
It is not a toy, and – and – and this is This is a one specific Type of wood – will it work better with maple or with beech or with oak or Hickory. You know, I don’t know that’s up to you. Would I recommend it over something? Like the Bismarck, No, I don’t. I don’t think so. I don’t dislike it at all, but that that pain From the vibration is a big problem for me, even though I do like a lot about it, but you’re going to have some added maintenance issues there Possibility these things breaking.
I just don’t know I I just haven’t seen an advantage that would overcome The kind of the hand pain factor over the ee old Bismarck right here. This is a good one right here. That’s That’s pretty hard to beat a little easier to swing this one. This was a little bit lighter, But I think that’s enough. I think we you draw your own conclusion, so appreciate the Appreciate you guys taking the time to read.
If you don’t mind, take a moment. Click the thumbs up, I’m working hard out here for you guys, So it’s what you could do to way. You could say thank you. It helps the blog out and so another article I wanted to do that. I thought we maybe will do real quick, while I’m out here is Maybe test the Bismarck up against a wedge after wedges I’ve got two style wedges I got the prandtl’s Versus the regular wedge And I’ve always been curious to see.
Is it? Is there an advantage which one would be better Which which is going to be faster and more efficient? So if you’d like to see that, let me know in the comments – and we can I’m going in it’s going to be suppertime here But come back out tomorrow and do it. So thanks for reading and we’ll see you guys on the next article
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