Comment by jeffbarr | Hacker News Reader

Comment by jeffbarr | Hacker News Reader

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I bought a Vipukirves axe early this year. I have a wood-fired pizza oven in my backyard and use small, nicely split pieces of wood in order to retain some control over the fire.

Before buying the axe I used a four-sided wedge (basically an elongated pyramid) and a sledgehammer for splitting.

So, how does this axe perform? Overall, I am very happy with it and proudly show it off at every opportunity. After spending some time learning how to use it, I can report that, for some types and conditions of wood and with the right grip on the handle, it truly does split wood in the manner shown in the video.

As noted in the other comments, certain types of wood are easier to split than others. After my pizza oven was finished, I somewhat foolishly bought a 1/2 cord of apple wood from the apple-growing region of Washington state. This wood is incredibly dense and has proven difficult to split by any means, even after 3 years of seasoning. The splitting issue is made worse by the overall knottiness of the wood.

I also bought a 1/2 cord of mixed wood from a local supplier. The axe is at its best on straight, dry, knot-free pine, oak, cedar, and so forth. The vertical motion is translated into horizontal motion milliseconds after the blade of the axe penetrates the wood and the split-off portion flies to the side with explosive force, often landing 8 to 10 feet away.

It took me an hour or two to learn to use the axe properly, with a relaxed grip to allow the head to rotate after it strikes the wood. Wearing gloves (recommended in any case) can make this even easier.

The blade of the axe is not razor sharp and does not require sharpening or other maintenance.

It also easier to spit wood when it's cold out -10C to -20C it seems to crack better.

I used to hate fall as a kid when wood splitting season began. Pneumatic splitters are great but slow. You learn to hate hard wood when splitting but it's great to burn.

An old joke: I was 10 years-old before I learned my name wasn't "Get wood!"

It was because of my father that from the ages of seven to fifteen, I thought that my name was Jesus Christ and my brother, Russell, thought that his name was Dammit. "Dammit, will you stop all that noise?" And, "Jesus Christ, sit down!" One day, I'm out playing in the rain, and my father yelled, "Dammit will you get back in here!" I said, "Dad, I'm Jesus Christ!" -- Bill Cosby

True story time. My oldest daughter is five and, uh, let's just say she has a lot of energy and doesn't focus very well. Sometimes we have to try really hard to get her attention.

A while back, I listened to her explaining to her younger sister how people can have different names. For example, I can be called "Bob" or "Dad". Then she said, "Like me. My name is Lily, but I have another name 'Earth to Lily'."

:)

I was also the wood splitter sent outside in the winter to take care of that task. The worst part is that it was pure vanity: my dad just liked having a fire in the fireplace.

The colder it gets, the dryer the wood. This is why it splits so nicely. As soon as it heats up at all, wood gets humid and a little tougher to split.

I, personally, still just use a maul and a sledge.

I use a Fiskar X27[0] splitting axe and swinging that into a 12" round log of white birch or white spruce at -30C to -45C is like cutting through butter.

[0] http://www2.fiskars.com/Gardening-and-Yard-Care/Products/Axe...

Yeah, but that's cheating. Anything goes through white birch like butter.

I can also confirm that the Fiskar X27 is awesome ! I initially was skeptical when I read the reviews online but once I used it was so great. It saved me a lot of time and energy.

Another vote for the Fiskar X27. I haven’t used anything else for a few seasons now.

I don't know how common the "tire guard" featured in the video is, but it seems like a damned good idea. It would solve the problem of split pieces flying off with explosive force. I'd probably pursue that idea posthaste.

I should mention that the pieces fly off in a very predictable pattern and end up in a stack! The force is tightly constrained based on the direction and orientation of the axe when it strikes the wood.

My son joked that I could probably reproduce something we once saw in a cartoon, where the chopped pieces assembled themselves into a log cabin.

That's remarkable. I'd love to see a video of someone making a pile of wood from the chopping block. The rest of the internets probably wouldn't mind it either.

Some sushi/tepanyaki chefs on HN maybe?

This is one of those things that seems common once you see it. I spent a couple years living in Prescott National Forest in northern Arizona, and split wood to warm my house. It didn't take long for a neighbor to come over and suggest a tire after watching me chase down all the wood I flung in every direction.

It seems this leveraged action (which is absolutely awesome, by the by) would necessitate the use of a tire even more. Beware of windows, cars, etc. without one.

It's even more important given how this axe works -- using the remainder of the kinetic energy to essentially exert force outwards on the two parts of the wood.

I have also seen folks use bungee cords. You can get a lot more wood in a big circle, then stand on top of it and split it.

I’ve always used the bungee trick, too. Easier than getting split wood out of the tire.

I think the tire trick is fairly well known / common ... I've seen it as a setup in quite a few splitting tutorials on youtube, etc.

i agree, when i saw that in action, i was like, that is an amazing idea! i live in central AZ and don't really need to split wood very much though..

Bah, living the dream. Have you figured out how to make exceptional neapolitan pies yet? I'm a regular at Paulie Gee's and would love to be able to make pizza like that.

We are doing our best to make exceptional pizzas! So far the most important factors are:

* High heat - I aim for a deck temperature above 900 degrees Fahrenheit, but am having trouble keeping it that high during the cooking process.

* Great dough - My wife uses double-zero (00) flour and a Jamie Oliver recipe that seems to work well. We are working on extending the proofing time for a better rise. We don't know how to toss the dough yet.

* Tasty toppings - Anything fresh is awesome. At 900F, the pizzas cook in about 2 minutes so the toppings retain their essential oils and flavors. I am working to grow many of my own herbs and tomatoes this year.

* Fresh cheese - My wife and I are planning to make our own mozzarella cheese sometime soon.

* Great guests - We aim for a truly participatory event - everyone gets to help to prepare, cook, and eat!

The "30-minute" Mozzarella recipe that most people start with really is easy and generally has a good success rate. It might not be completely authentic or "world-class" but it goes great on pizza.

Yes! The 00 or similar is key. I add a bit of semolina flour too - it's quite yellow and seems to help make the dough extra stretchy. In other regards I follow the Jamie Oliver recipe too. The bases cost about 5x as much to make compared to when I used normal high grade flour, but they are so much better.

Honestly, just start tossing it. It was much easier than I expected. Make an extra dough ball, so if you drop it dinner isn't ruined.

A useful rule: "What the eye doesn't see, the chef gets away with." -- from Fawlty Towers

It helps if the dough is cold, too. When we make pizza, we've started letting it rise in the fridge for 24 hours or so. The result is a flavorful dough that's super-easy to toss.

Use sourdough in your crust.

I've basically been using these instructions for a few years and have nothing but rave reviews for my pies no matter what toppings I put on it: http://www.varasanos.com/PizzaRecipe.htm.

See also: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1464760, and https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2023280.

I know nothing about that type of wood, but I have found that leaving wood for too long makes it way harder to split - I try and do it within the year. However native New Zealand wood and pine is likely different to your situation.

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