I have two Fiskars axes, and I use one or the other maybe a few times a week during the wood-burning seasons ... mostly for processing kindling and/or splitting rounds that I collect every summer. One is an X15 (and actually there's a second one strapped onto the quad), which I think-of as a high-speed scalpel. The other is the big X27 with the 36" handle. I think of it as a heavier almost-as-fast high-speed scalpel.
Like most Canadians, I bought them at Canadian Tire during their frequent "20% Off" deals. Heads up fellow Canucks ... prices on Amazon.ca seem all over the map and ridiculously high, at least for the X27. Would you believe $100 and $150 and $190 from three different Amazon vendors? When it's only $75 (regular price, not the common/frequent $60 sale price) at Canadian Tire! (All prices in Canadian dollars, naturally.)
The 3-minute maintenance? When I'm finished whatever work I'm doing, I polish the edge (about one minute per side) with the green belt on my Worksharp. Small sparks fly as I try (freehand) to keep the angle as acute as possible on both sides, but inevitably there's gonna be some minor beveling because of the minor bending of the Worksharp's flexible little belt. Not a big deal ... some folks intentionally bevel the blade a significant amount right from the get-go because they think that the wider "shoulders" make the edge more resistant to chipping and folding. Lots of online chatter. Me, I like the scandi/sabre edge that them Finnish engineers designed for their axes.
So, about one minute per side with the Worksharp, and the edge is clean and shiny and reasonably sharp.
The final touch is about ten strokes in each direction with the cheesy little $10 plastic Fiskars ceramic-wheeled sharpener. It looks flimsy and half-fast but mine is still going strong after more than two years. And the result? That blade is now very very very sharp ... instantly obvious. Unreal sharp. The angle of the ceramic wheels is exactly the same angle as the factory edge of the Fiskars axes, which probably helps.
I remember reading somewhere that they (Fiskars) claim that the little sharpener is good for knives too. I tried it on my carbon steel "Peasant's Knife" (an all-round decent-quality kitchen knife from Lee Valley) and the results were unremarkable. YMMV.
Like most Canadians, I bought them at Canadian Tire during their frequent "20% Off" deals. Heads up fellow Canucks ... prices on Amazon.ca seem all over the map and ridiculously high, at least for the X27. Would you believe $100 and $150 and $190 from three different Amazon vendors? When it's only $75 (regular price, not the common/frequent $60 sale price) at Canadian Tire! (All prices in Canadian dollars, naturally.)
The 3-minute maintenance? When I'm finished whatever work I'm doing, I polish the edge (about one minute per side) with the green belt on my Worksharp. Small sparks fly as I try (freehand) to keep the angle as acute as possible on both sides, but inevitably there's gonna be some minor beveling because of the minor bending of the Worksharp's flexible little belt. Not a big deal ... some folks intentionally bevel the blade a significant amount right from the get-go because they think that the wider "shoulders" make the edge more resistant to chipping and folding. Lots of online chatter. Me, I like the scandi/sabre edge that them Finnish engineers designed for their axes.
So, about one minute per side with the Worksharp, and the edge is clean and shiny and reasonably sharp.
The final touch is about ten strokes in each direction with the cheesy little $10 plastic Fiskars ceramic-wheeled sharpener. It looks flimsy and half-fast but mine is still going strong after more than two years. And the result? That blade is now very very very sharp ... instantly obvious. Unreal sharp. The angle of the ceramic wheels is exactly the same angle as the factory edge of the Fiskars axes, which probably helps.
I remember reading somewhere that they (Fiskars) claim that the little sharpener is good for knives too. I tried it on my carbon steel "Peasant's Knife" (an all-round decent-quality kitchen knife from Lee Valley) and the results were unremarkable. YMMV.
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