Preferences for a Kindling Axe

T

thunderstick

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Jan 15, 2007
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I have tried many different axe setups over the years for splitting kindling for the wood stove--belt axe/hatchet sizes, boy's axes, small splitting axes and full size generalist axes on 32" handles. I have two clear favorites for kindling--a 4# Miner's axe on a 20" handle and a 3.5# Kelly with phantom bevels on a 28" curved handle. A straight handle from 24-28" would work fine also. I like the 28" handle if you want to start by breaking down a larger piece into small kindling.

Things I prefer on the head are:
1. a thin bit like a felling axe so it starts easily
2. a long edge so the axe does not pop out the side of the kindling as it goes down through when dropping the axe head with the wood together onto the chopping block.
3. weight of a full size head so you don't need to swing hard and the weight of the axe does the work. You can also split the wood when laying horizontal on the block when you have full size weight.
4. a wide poll to open the split quickly after it is started good
5. relatively flat cheeks so the wood doesn't want to slide off the high center

This is not the best profile for splitting full rounds but it works well for kindling.
What are your favorite setups for splitting kindling?
 
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My choices are quite different, probly because I seldom split kindling from rounds. Much of my kindling comes from job sites in the form of cedar shake tearoffs and framing/trim scraps, or from the woodlot as 1-3” limb segments about a foot long. A small hatchet splits these easily, or I just use one the spike hawks I carry in the woodlot. Also carry a bucket to hold the splits, cause for some reason it annoys me to pick up a tangled pile of them from the ground.

My woodlot is mostly red alder, with a few spruce/cedar/hemlock. Pretty easy splitting.

Parker
 
thunderstick said:
I have tried many different axe setups over the years for splitting kindling for the wood stove--belt axe/hatchet sizes, boy's axes, small splitting axes and full size generalist axes on 32" handles. I have two clear favorites for kindling--a 4# Miner's axe on a 20" handle and a 3.5# Kelly with phantom bevels on a 28" curved handle. A straight handle from 24-28" would work fine also. I like the 28" handle if you want to start by breaking down a larger piece into small kindling.

Things I prefer on the head are:
1. a thin bit like a felling axe so it starts easily
2. a long edge so the axe does not pop out the side of the kindling as it goes down through when dropping the axe head with the wood together onto the chopping block.
3. weight of a full size head so you don't need to swing hard and the weight of the axe does the work. You can also split the wood when laying horizontal on the block when you have full size weight.
4. a wide poll to open the split quickly after it is started good
5. relatively flat cheeks so the wood doesn't want to slide off the high center

This is not the best profile for splitting full rounds but it works well for kindling.
What are your favorite setups for splitting kindling?
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Sounds pretty spot-on to me, on all fronts. For kindling working from rounds or large split pieces those specs are pretty much the bee's knees.
 
I found my ideal setup just this year. This is for my wood stove kindling box, not out in the woods. I just use a Fiskars X25, well sharpened. I chainsaw split pieces down to 6-8" chunks, and pack it into the "truck tire on a stump". The short length, even with burr oak and hickory, really transmits the force like a lightning bolt. I can do 2 weeks worth of top shelf kindling down to 1-2 finger width in about 10 minutes ... I find I can get it much finer by starting with short pieces, no full swing required, just a 2 foot drop with accuracy.

For campfires, it's a toss up between the Gransfors SFA for limbs and larger pieces cut with a Silky, or the Fiskars X7 for doing fine kindling against the edge of a log (Mears method). Usually I only feel like packing the Silky and the X7 for weight.
 
I use a faller's axe on a straight 24" handle for camping so it can be used for both chopping or splitting. My fallers (chainsaw companions) are essentially the same profile as my kindling axes. I like a lower center/flatter profile for cleaning out the chainsaw felling notch and a wider poll for driving wedges. The faller axes work great for limbing, scavenging dead wood, splitting smaller rounds, or busting up kindling for the campfire.
I would be happy with a faller as a kindling axe.

I have an X25 Fiskars also that I used for a while on kindling. I like it for medium splits but it does not work as well as for me on starter kindling as the head is wider than my liking for that purpose. Using a tire on short lengths would make a difference as it would hold everything together while you make the small splits with an X25.

We use a fair amount of kindling, as we often start the stove in the morning, and let it run hot for an hour or so to clean the chimney, and then let it burn out during the milder days. Our solar heat panels make enough heat on milder days when the sun is bright. So we often start the stove again in the evening. In the moderate weather with cool nights, starting the stove morning and evening runs through a lot of kindling but it uses less wood overall than burning all day with the windows open. I prefer not to smolder the the stove for hours each day.
 
Wether Im cutting off of a large cypress round or breaking down some pieces of firewood to kindling size I want something sharp in the 2lb range with a 24” or less handle.
At the camp I use a Harbor Freight Fireman’s hatchet.
At the house I use a 2 1/4lb boys axe
 
My idea of kindling might be different but I used a short thickesh machete and a round locust mallet. But then my kindling is thumb sized in thickness. I do miss having a wood stove. Just have my firepit to enjoy now.

Bill
 
Don't think I ever used a baton to make kindling for the woodstove but a a machete does work well on smaller pieces.
 
Grandpa chopped the end of his left thumb off when he was a kid. When I first started helping in the woodshed, he gave me a leaf spring with an edge and a hammer. That evolved into said short heavy machete and a wooden mallet of locust.
Bill


Sorry, left out the pertinent part- he was splitting kindling with a hatchet.
 
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thunderstick said:
When making small kindling its safer to set the edge on the wood and drop the wood and exe together on the block. This is one of the reasons I prefer a full size head on a kindling axe because the weight makes this safe method very efficient.
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Bingo. And part of why having the first 1/4" or so of the bit nice and thin helps, to keep them stuck together as you do it.
 
Square_peg said:
I have a late model Plumb (Cooper era) house axe that is my primary kindling maker. Essentially a boys axe on a 19" handle. Good weight and size for kindling. For me it's the perfect kindling axe.
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Almost the same thing for me. Mine is a newer Craftsman - pretty much flat cheeks and I used the same length handle. I have no idea how old it is but it can't be very old - 90s maybe 80s.
 
I've tried (and have) plenty, but none have usurped my 3 lbs, ground down, Rixford wedge pattern on a 28" haft. It bites, it crushes, it wins every time! I produce kindling from larger hardwood pieces so I need some muscle. I have a boys axe with a similar profile but about .6 lbs lighter (and thinner) and it's kind of useless outside of ideal conditions (I don't live in idea conditions). And yes, that's hockey tape around the collar.

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lmalterna said:
Glenn,
Something we used to do with wooden handled mauls for splitting was wrap thin steel wire around the haft below the head(like the wrap on a broom) and then seal with expoy. It will not save from a severe overstrike but it keeps the handle from getting gouged by the wood you are splitting.
Bill
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Thanks Bill,

I know there are loads of options for protecting against over strike. The hockey tape is 1) cause my wife uses this to split kindling (she learning) and 2) it's not a big axe with a big swing. Tape is good enough protection for my wife's swing and 3) we have hockey tape be we have hockey equipment. We're in Vermont!
 
Hockey tape is my preferred handle saver also. It protects well if you give it multiple windings. I use black as my base and sometimes use red or green over it to help the axe stand out when I lay it down in the field. It's easy to replace--and yes I played a fair amount of hockey for 14 years.
 
Sometimes I wrap and contact cement a handle with leather and impregnate it with boiling hot beeswax to make it tough and then sometimes put tape over that. I put the joining seam on the back of the handle overlap it and cut both pieces of leather at the same time so there is perfect fit. Heat the leather and pull it tight when you glue it--then apply the hot beeswax straight from a double boiler with a paint brush. Work it in with a heat gun and the leather will shrink tight to the handle when it cools and be "tough as nails."
 
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