Slide action wood splitter - GIF

[PJs]

Is that a beheading wedge...so much for what looks to be fiberglass handles. Merry Christmas Dude!

[Toolmaker51]

I won't split with a maul or handled wedge. This video shows another reason why. He barely reacts; unless a wince deflects flying objects?...especially heavy flying objects?? Not to mention stump teeters on what ever surface he's using.
I am aware any kind of splitting requires solid support in proportion to stump mass and density. Most wood hereabouts is oak; I like Oregon Grenades and they work.

[Frank S]

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This just goes to show that you should never try to split green wood with splitting maul.
A couple years age I went through and flagged several dead mesquite trees. I might fell a few live ones but they don't get split for 2 years minimum.
You should try split a green cut mulberry tree. Without hydraulics it is not going to happen.
Most of my splitting is done with a standard single blade ax and if need be a 10 lb sledge
Ax in 1 hand and sledge in the other I can split wood faster than the wife can set them up

[PJs]

I learned on a double bladed as a youngun, then to a single blade and a sledge & wedge for tough stuff. Never used a maul and saw no real need. Most of ours was oak and Always dried properly. TM51 is absolutely right about the stability of the stump and never let the wood tilt toward you or wobble about, like a bobble head...just l@@king for a glancing blow to spit a shin or foot. This guy got Christmas early.

[Jon]

The Chopper1 axe. Stand back, she's patented.



28-second split with the Chopper1 axe:

1:32 video of axe head rotating:

Purchase: https://chopper1axe.com/chopper1-axe
Patent: Patent Images

[Frank S]

A lot of patents are issued for things that are less than useful. regular old splitting mauls will do everything one of these will do and do not have moving parts to break bend or fowl.
With one of these you have to strike with a high force every time or risk the pawls not fully flipping with enough force to split the wood.
Not all trees are readily split-able so no matter how hard you strike the log you still need a good sledge to drive the ax or the maul on through.
this thing has an even wider angle than just about any splitting maul making it harder to split the tougher wood since it has such a short penetrating edge

[PJs]

I'm with Frank. Seems like a Pricey ($100), semi fragile geegaw but they've been around since 77' which says something...Perhaps a gullibility or the one with the most toys wins factor. The stresses on the pins would be excessive imho and those little springs are just waiting to be tweaked or fouled as Frank says, as well as the spaces between the rotating levers and the body. Anyone that has split wood before knows the mess that accumulates around the stump after a session. Worst of all was a 1:32 video of a spinning product...I'll never get that time back, Really!

[BruceFenster@gmail.com]

I can not argue with some points made.

I haven't split a lot of wood in the last 20 years but the 22 before I did. I've owned one of these for 42 years. It was a gift to my father about 1977 and I used it to split wood for him and then eventually took it to my place. It does work and it's been trouble free, no parts have ever broken.

It is a tool, and like most tools is not a perfect tool, able to do everything you want it to do. For example, it is a terrible ax, it's incapable of chopping done a tree. But this is why we have more than one tool. Bet you have 30 screw drivers if you have one. Who among us has one hammer? And every tool is not for everyone.

If I had wood to split this is the first thing I'd grab from my tool pile. It will not split all wood types, but it will split lots of wood types. It is simple, I grab one tool. I don't have to grab a maul and a few wedges. I don't have to chase after my wedges for each log. Like any tool there is a technique to using it.

[owen moore]

I had one of these when I was a younger man and split a couple of cords with it. If you modify it by welding it to one end of an I-beam and put a hydraulic ram on the other end , I think you will find that they will work much better. In all seriousness, they might be ok for straight grained soft woods like pine, etc. Try using this on some narly twisted oak or the like.

[PJs]

I can not argue with some points made.

I haven't split a lot of wood in the last 20 years but the 22 before I did. I've owned one of these for 42 years. It was a gift to my father about 1977 and I used it to split wood for him and then eventually took it to my place. It does work and it's been trouble free, no parts have ever broken.

It is a tool, and like most tools is not a perfect tool, able to do everything you want it to do. For example, it is a terrible ax, it's incapable of chopping done a tree. But this is why we have more than one tool. Bet you have 30 screw drivers if you have one. Who among us has one hammer? And every tool is not for everyone.

If I had wood to split this is the first thing I'd grab from my tool pile. It will not split all wood types, but it will split lots of wood types. It is simple, I grab one tool. I don't have to grab a maul and a few wedges. I don't have to chase after my wedges for each log. Like any tool there is a technique to using it.

Nice to hear from someone who used one since their inception and good regard for them. True about tools and having kit enough to handle a variety of tasks with the ones fitting the need of the job...or improvising.

PJ