Yeah, I assume as david does that the head spins or the handle rotates, But I would also be curious that with a denser wood, if the head doesn’t push the handle sideways rather than use the leverage to split the wood. making for some herkey-jerkey chopping.
Slow TV.
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Eccentric in all senses… Having done my share of splitting with axes and mauls and wedges, this little toy does make sense to me mechanically, But at that price I think I’m inclined to wait for the patent to lapse or be licensed out.
logruszed: They do recommend a grip that loosens a bit as it hits. Given that it’s lighter weight than most of the alternatives that’s probably not unreasonable. Even with a normal axe or maul you shouldn’t need a deathgrip on the thing. (Pete Seeger demonstrating how to drive railroad spikes taught me that for striking downward, you should be using your muscles only to lift the tool and provide a bit of guidance on the way down; its mass should do all the work at impact.)
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Forget the axe, it’s his recommendations for building the chopping block that have me impressed. For all of the years I have been splitting wood, I never thought my maul was a problem, but picking every damn piece of wood up and putting back on the block for the next split drives me crazy.
That said, I’ve moved on. Got a pallet of these last fall and they are awesome.
From the FAQ
Question 8: Does the axe concentrate a lot of strain on the wrists by constantly levering to the side? Does is strain the arms as much as a traditional axe?
Answer: The technique of using the VIPUKIRVES™ is unique, as the grip is loosened when the blade strikes the log. The blade automatically creates a levering movement and detaches chopped wood with more force than the traditional axe. The handle doesn’t jolt in the user’s hands during the hewing. The handle just turns in the user’s hands and the laws of physics work to your advantage. You shouldn’t restrain or force the movement. The VIPUKIRVES™ doesn’t slip upon striking the log because its kinetic energy stops when it hits the wood. Like everyone who has ever chopped firewood knows, a traditional axe jolts occasionally and injure the user’s wrists. This tool was developed to address that disadvantage.
So, that’s kind of weird.
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“$250 for an axe? That’s insane! Go rent something from Home Depot!”
The same commenters in other threads:
“$0.50 for a piece of plastic? That’s insane! Build a 3D printer from scratch to make one yourself!”
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It’s also known as COLD YOGA™
my splitting maul has a diamond shaped second wedge on one side that serves several functions:
- it forces the split even wider
- it prevents the splitting maul from becoming stuck
- it twists the head upon reaching several inches like a lever similar to how this axe works but not as dramatically, er… eccentrically.
I believe I paid $45 for it with the shock absorbing core fiberglass handle. I’ve been using it for years even on really hard to split woods like madrona and highly knotted wood, without ever having an issue or having it stick. i keep the sucker razor sharp and it is quite possibly the best wood splitting tool i’ve ever used. i love splitting wood by hand and would never buy a hydrolic splitter unless i was selling wood professionally. 4 cords a year split by hand is fun, and a good outdoor exercise nature time. it is a meditative practice.
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Funny you should mention that, just as “Fargo - the Series” is about to open. 
My friend took the end of his thumb off while laying a log on a splitter – it got pinched between the log and the wedge…
maul … second wedge on one side … $45
Yep. I’ve also seen mauls with cams to try to produce this kind of increase in sideways forces. And, yes, that’s a more reasonable price range.
On the other hand, a maul head is generally considerably heavier than this seems to be. (See my earlier comment about sledge technique.) If the new design can accomplish the same thing with less effort, I’d willingly pay 2x to 3x the price of a maul for it… but after euro-to-dollar conversion it appears to currently be priced closer to 5x-6x.
I agree with others that the tire trick is a nice “free bonus” idea; I’ll have to keep that in mind. Not that I split wood very often – I don’t have a fireplace – but I do occasionally turn log sections into smaller pieces for woodworking, and without a sawmill that starts by splitting them down into pieces small enough to machine further.
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yeah the tire trick is awesome!! I’d never seen a tire used and love the idea, i’ll be getting one.
i have seen a lot of people use the chain & bungee which is the same idea though and more portable.
i agree that the lighter weight design of this axe would be a nice option in many cases. I’ve found with hard to split types of wood you really need the extra impact energy/force that the heavier weight brings to the equation. if this new tools worked as well with the lighter weight impact force on difficult to split wood, i’d also probably want one when the price comes down to a reasonable place. heck i’d probably want one either way once it is on par with the price of similar tools.
i’m all for smarter better made tools if they aren’t gimmicks and can get the job done better and more efficiently. 
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Someone did, in fact, reinvent the wheel. Check it out: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1537100752/shark-wheel-the-square-skateboarding-wheel-that-sh
Square wheels are more efficient than circular ones. Wrap your brain around that.
Sorry, that thing gets top marks for ease to the user and is interesting, but of all the tools shown so far looks like the slowest and least efficient, topped off with looking like the most dangerous of every tool so far. I would not want to sit anywhere near that thing.
Or choke cherry. We took down a big choke cherry tree a few years back. It wore down a chainsaw blade in the process. We later shattered a wooden maul handle and a fiberglass axe handle trying to split it. So we borrowed a log splitter from a family member and it killed the damned thing after half a dozen logs. Fractured one of the metal support beams. It was crazy dense, hard, full of knots and weird warped grain. We eventually gave up and sent it to the town dump (they make mulch from yard waste), stuff smelled like death when you burnt it anyway.
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Now that we can chop wood more efficiently, it’s time to carry water more efficiently. Screw you zen masters!
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As a log-splitter from way back, I love the idea of the tire, but what do you do if the log doesn’t fit nicely in the tire the way all the ones in the video do?
Oh, I see someone provided a video of a chain and bungee. That’s good. I’ll use that, because the logs I split are 5-12" in diameter, too small to be held steady in a tire.
Not to be pedantic, but a splitting maul is a type of axe.
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I may be wrong but I think that’s maple. For splitting you want seriously hard wood, like oak or ash. When it dries out properly it will split rather easily. It’s harder to split yellow or loblolly pine because it’s full of resin, and when the wood is dry the resin is still just a tiny bit tacky and it acts kind of like glue, keeping the fibers bound together. Cedar splits VERY easily when dry but isn’t as good for firewood as hardwood - burns cooler and creates more creosote in the chimney. DON’T EVER try to split southern live oak. Commercial firewood sellers won’t touch it because it breaks hydraulic log splitting rams. Any kind of wood, remember before you try to split it the stuff has to be as dry as store-boughrt fruitcake. Let it stand (out of the rain and off the ground) for at least 18 months before you split it.
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…hilarious, in a Lake Wobegon kind of way.
A curious idea; it’s hard not to see this as a straight-up contradiction in terms. I take it to mean, "Hilarious, if your sense of humor is Minnesotan or thereabouts. Otherwise… 
"
